The Impact of Displaying Your Family Photos through Artwork
[Read time: 12 Minutes]
We spent 4th of July in Sperry, Iowa for the Beckman Family Reunion. The *most* all-American weekend you’ll ever see! We had mass in the old barn, big family BBQ, my first barn dance, karaoke, fireworks, and tours around the small town of Iowa. 🇺🇸
This is where my grandma & her siblings grew up. The stories that took place in that barn, the small farmhouse, church, and cemetery are too many to count.
As a photographer, you know I bee-lined it for old photos. It’s just so neat to see photographs of generations that have come before you!
I realized that this was the very beginning of photographs as I held an old, black and white photograph of my great-grandmother as a child in my hands. It is priceless, because that is the only photo of its kind. There aren’t duplicates. You can’t track down the digital copies. It is so valuable. A treasure.
To think this was probably the one photo of this person we have. Can you imagine the pressure while doing your hair that day?
It’s crazy to think of how far photography has come since then! Now we have an insane amount of photographs.
Real Check – mama, how many photos have you taken of your little one this month alone?
But I would argue that printed photographs still hold just as much value.
We have thousands and thousands of photos now! It’s overwhelming. We are constantly looking for a system to organganize them.
Unfortunately, I’m reminded of this quote from John Mark Comer’s Book The Ruthless Elimation of Hurry everytime I open my closet drawers:
“If you have so much stuff that you have to organize it, box it up, label it, and stack it in a way that cuts down on space, then the odds are you have too much stuff!”
And the same applies to our photos. With SO MANY photos on our phones and hard drives full of them – we actually run the risk that they will never really be enjoyed.
Are your photos safe? Or just forgotten about?Are they collecting digital dust on an old hard drive?
(side note: if you are looking for a system for organizing all your digital photos – check out Nancy Ray’s Course: The Legacy Photo System.)
👩🔬 Pull out your thinking cap —
Because in today’s blog, I’m sharing about the impact of displaying your family photos through artwork. As well as the things to keep in mind while ordering yours.
If you are new around here, artwork is any way you choose to display your family photos. That may be through framed pieces, albums, matted prints, etc.
Artwork is Good for your Children
Having photos of your family up on your walls or in an album on the coffee table, not only makes your children feel loved, but it also strengthens your family. It boost your children’s self esteem to know they are loved and gives them a sense of belonging.
Professor Geoff Beattie, Dean of Psychological Sciences at the University of Manchester, says,
“For children in particular, looking at photographs is part of the socializing process, learning who you are and where you fit into the family. By displaying photographs of our children at different stages of their lives, we are making a very public statement that we are proud of them.”
Not only does it boost their self-esstem, it also increases their emotional intelligence and encourages open play:
According to a study from Chatbooks and HP:
“Printed photos strengthen your family: 76% of families say printed photos help their family members connect in ways they wouldn’t with digital photos.
Printed photos encourage open play: 68% of parents say printed photos enhance their children’s imaginations and storytelling abilities.
Printed photos increase emotional intelligence: 67% of parents say that looking at printed photos with their children prompts them to talk about emotions.”
I find it so fascinating that just by displaying your family photos, you are loving on your children in one more way!
Artwork Boost Your Gratitude
Naturally, when you look at your family photos, you feel a sense of gratitude. Gratfitude for your family, their personalities, how they make you feel, the amount love in your family.
“53% of parents say they feel more relaxed after looking at printed photos with their children; 55% say a photo browsing session leads them to feel more forgiving toward their children.” – A Study from Chatbooks and HP
If looking at pictures causes you to have even more gratitude for your spouse and kids and lends you to be quicker to forgive them, then let’s start displaying your family photos all around your home.
Artwork Makes Your Home Cozy
After my parents remodeled their house, it was perfect! But my dad was quick to request putting family photos all around – of course we hopped right on that! Having artwork all around your house, really does make your home very cozy and personal!
I love this excerpt from Sally Clarkson in The Life Giving Home:
“Each of us longs for a place to belong, a connection that gives roots to our wandering lives. Our hearts hunger for a community where we are intimate members, a sense of belonging to people who love us. Our souls crave a purpose bigger than our jobs, a connection to a sense of meaning. [..] All of these may be found in home– a place to belong, a people to be apart of, and a purpose where God’s righteousness and design are celebrated and cherished in community every day.”
…And having your displaying your family photos does just that for your home!
I don’t think it matters so much as to the ‘how’ you decided to go about displaying your family photos. It may be a matted print in a frame on the side table, a large gallery wall, or even just an album out. But having family photos around in every room really showcases the love that is already so present in your home.
What to Keep in Mind While Designing Your Artwork
This is why I am so passionate about helping my clients get their photos printed! My heart is first and foremost with cheering on marriages and close families. It is a joy to be able to capture that for my BG Families!
And if having artwork all throughout your home is *actually* good for building up your family, loving on your children, and just helping to make your house a home, then I want to help my clients to get their photos around their house and make it as easy for them as possible.
After my sessions, I sit down with my BG Moms and together we choose their favorites, decided where they want to display their photos, and together order their artwork.
The best system is the one you can stick to and it is the same with your photos. A lot my my BG Families come back to update their photos yearly, so in those situations we are doing more long term planning.
Find a system for display your photos, that you can easily update every year!
That may look like:
- Design a gallery wall with simple rectangles or squares, that you can easily update each year.
- Create a 5 year matted print box – each year you order 6 matted prints from your session, display them in frames all year round, then swap them for the new matted prints each year. And the old matted prints can live in the linen box. And every 5 years you order a new box.
- Maybe you choose to order an album from each session. Then down the road you will have this beautiful library of family photos each year.
I hope this blog was helpful for you to see the impact that artwork can have on your family! And helps to get you started on how you may want to approach planning for your own artwork.
Grab the *complementary* BGP Guide: How to Take Your Family Photos from Digital Clutter to Heirlooms
If you want more ideas on how to get started with artwork and thinking of it long-term, be sure to grab the *complementary* BGP Guide: How to Take Your Family Photos from Digital Clutter to Heirlooms
This is a list of the best ways you can preserve your favorite family photos in the digital age!
Not only that, but you can put together the long-term plan for how you want your photos to be enjoyed, organized, and displayed by the time you are 70. Think of this as the ‘collectors guide’ to family photos!
It’s all yours, right here.👇🏻
