Why I Still Print Pictures

I know our recent reliance on our phones can create a “bad/good” discussion. We’re so addicted to them, we can’t function without them, we’ve lost many social skills and the ability to communicate. Often it seems we aren’t enjoying our life happening around us because we’re too focused on that incoming text, email, social media post. These things are all true, and often sad and maddening. If you’ve tried to get through a “no technology” dinner with a couple of teenagers, you know what I mean.

But they’ve also brought a lot of good. We feel better knowing when our kids are out that we can reach them to check in. Or they can call if they’re concerned about something. We probably find it easier to get in touch with our friends and family, or to reconnect with someone we haven’t seen in a long time. We have–literally at our fingertips–access to just about any piece of information we need at any given moment: What time does the store close? What does that word mean? What ingredients do I need to pick up for that new recipe I want to try tonight? And one I know we all love: Let me pull up a map that will talk to me and tell me step by step, exactly how to get to my destination.

But for me, one of the best features of having my phone always at the ready is the ability to take pictures. You young’uns don’t know what it used to be like. We needed an actual camera to take pictures, and you didn’t walk around with yours every day. You only had it with you when you were attending a special event: Vacations, parties, graduations. Not your everyday activities. Even if you wanted to take your camera with you all the time, you wouldn’t because it was bulky and possibly heavy. Then, you not only had to pay for film, but you also had to pay to have the pictures developed. And you could attempt a selfie, but you couldn’t see what you were taking a picture of, so you never knew what you would end up with. Cause, oh yeah, until you had the film developed you had no idea what your pictures would look like! Safe to say, a lot of those prints were unrecognizable and therefore useless. So yes, the quality, and quantity, of pictures have definitely improved.

What I dislike about our phone photos is the difficulty in viewing and sharing them. Sure, your phone can probably store lots of images. I guess with the cloud it might actually be limitless. And yes, you can share all 100,000 of them on social media. But how often do you go back and look at some of the older ones? Maybe on a special occasion when you want to post a baby pick of your daughter who just became a teen. Or on Mother’s Day, a pic of your young mom, who has since passed. But I don’t think we look at pictures on a regular basis to just enjoy the memories. And what happens if you do want to review the pictures? First you have to scroll. And scroll. And scroll. Scroll through all the pictures of your pets and aesthetically pleasing meals you’ve made recently, to find the pictures you’re hoping to see. Part of the problem with the ease of using our phones for pictures is that we take too many pictures. And we keep them all, making it difficult, and tiresome, to find the one you’re looking for. Frustrating. Then, when you find the group you want, the screen is too small to notice the details, and you can’t really share it with the people who are with you, except by passing it around so each person can squint to see what you’re showing them, before passing it to the next person.

So I still print pictures and put them into photo albums. I don’t mean online photo albums, but actual, physical, photo albums that are located in a bookcase in my home.

Of course, back in the day, we had no choice but to print our photos and usually we put them into albums. Some of us might still have some of the folders of pictures we picked up at the pharmacy, or maybe even recieved in the mail after sending the film out. I’ve probably been better than most at keeping up with this task of getting those pictures into albums. I started in my teens and soon came up with the idea of having one album for each year. They’re labeled with the year so if I’m trying to locate something in particular (remember that vacation to the Grand Canyon!? Was that in 2010 or 2011??) I can usually find it pretty quickly.

And although I’m a little behind, I still buy a new album each year, faithfully write the year in the front cover, choose the photos I want to include, go to a local pharmacy to print them, and then put them dutifully into their assigned place in the album. Yes, it takes time. And quite a bit of space in my home. But I wouldn’t have it any other way, because looking at photos like this is an exercise in nostalgia, laughter, and closeness with my loved ones.

Recently, we were planning a trip to Vermont, and I told my kids that they had been there once before, when they were much younger. As I talked a little about what we had done, my daughter exclaimed, “I remember that!” I was a little skeptical, thinking she had been too young too remember. Guessing she was about 4 or 5, I easily located the correct album, and the pictures of the trip to confirm that yes, she probably had been old enough to remember that trip.

By far, the best part of the story about remembering Vermont is how my daughter and I sat together on the couch, with the photo album opened on our laps, and flipped the pages, pointing and laughing together at the wonderful memories spread out before us. And if you want to share photos with your kids of things that happened before they were born, I promise you, printed pictures in an album will have a much greater impact than those on your phone. For the greatest emotional impact, digital photos are a poor substitute.

As I plan a graduation party for my son, I want to include a clothesline of photos of him through his 18 years, for partygoers to look at. I will easily locate, and retrieve, the album from the year of his birth and starting there, I can pull out one photo of him from each album to represent his 18 years. Granted this project will take a while as I get caught up in looking at those older photos, but so worth it. Imagine trying to accomplish the same task with photos on your phone? More time and frustration and none of the nostalgic smiles that my albums produce.

I try to look at the albums on a regular basis: My kids birthdays, when planning vacations, when trying to remember, who was with us when we went there? Were we still living at the old house, or the new one? If you still have a wedding album, pull it out on your anniversary and look it over with your betrothed. I promise you it will bring out many happy memories and have you looking at your partner with stars in your eyes.

Turns out that looking at old photos is good for your health. In fact, research done recently in England shows that looking at older photos relaxes you more than meditation. And albums are better than digital because of the tangibility, and especially the sharing capabilities of sitting together and enjoying the memories together.

One thing I’m most happy about is that I will one day hand these albums down to my kids. Not only will they appreciate the physical value of these old memories, especially as they get older, but my albums started well before cell phones, and so those earlier photos are the only versions available, and therefore irreplaceable. I consider them my most valuable possessions.

One other positive outcome to looking through old photo albums together? The whole time you’re reminiscing, no one will be looking at their phone.