How to Care for your Printed Images

Last week, I delivered print images to a corporate client.  How cool is that?  Normally, when I'm working for corporate clients I'm delivering digital files (along with licensing terms).  This particular client wanted to do something special for it's employees and offered a print of their favorite image to keep or give to a loved one, which in some cases, was not the same image chosen for their professional image.

I always work with my portrait clients to create custom images that they can live with everyday, whether on the wall or in an album and discuss how to care for their images when they receive them, but it's rare that I am talking about it with corporate clients!

I'm a big believer in living with your images and I work with professional lab partners to produce the highest quality archival images possible on photographic paper, art paper, photographic albums, canvas and metal prints.  Here's a quick primer on caring for your printed images--with proper care and handling, your printed photographs should last a lifetime and beyond.

Images that I create for my clients are printed with archival quality inks and on mediums that are chemically stable and will not deteriorate quickly. My images are printed on high quality archival papers, canvas or metal.  Images 5x7 and larger printed on photographic paper and all canvases will have a protective coating applied to the surface.  Album pages also have a protective coating applied.  This will help prevent fingerprints as well as provide some protection against UV light.  Exceptions would include images printed on photographic art papers or fuji's deep matte paper.

Most damage to photographic prints is often caused by acidic materials (like non-archival matts, backings or tapes), temperature changes, humidity, UV light and physical damage. Avoiding these will go a long way to preserving printed images.

Handle photographs with care to avoid bending, denting or scratching their surface.  Avoid touching photographic surfaces with your fingers.

Don't write on the back of your photographs, as inks from pens can penetrate the surface and cause damage.  Label the outside packaging with a soft pencil.

The images I deliver to you will have a protective coating applied to the surface, but can be protected further by framing them behind glass with Acid free matting or glass spacers and acid free backings. Archival quality mounts should be used to attach the photographs.  Canvas and metal prints will be delivered ready to hang on your wall.

Don't laminate photographs as this can cause permanent damage to the emulsion layer.


Display images in an area that is cool, low light and dry.  Avoid direct sunlight or rooms with high humidity.

Avoid contact with water or liquids.  Here's a really helpful tip:  if the photograph is framed, clean the glass by putting glass cleaner on a soft cloth first, then cleaning the glass so that liquid does not come in contact with the photograph.

Canvas prints may be dusted with a soft, dry cloth.

Metal prints are the exception and are very durable and maybe wiped with a damp cloth to clean the surface.  Use caution with a metal print with sharp corners--they are extremely sharp!  Infused onto thin aluminum, the metal print while durable, can be dented if dropped.

Do you have more questions about how to care for your images?  Drop me an email--I'd love to help!

My favorite holiday gifts

It's that time of year.  The trying to find gifts for everyone on your list time of year.  As my parents have gotten older (THEY get older, I, however, do not.) they want for less and less.  In our family we've been aiming for less knick and knack and more memory and experience and I don't think it's just me:  I find more and more friends, acquaintances and clients aiming for the same.  As a photographer, I LOVE to give (and get) my favorite images onto something I can see and love all the time that reminds me of family and my true priorities.

With that in mind, here's a few of my very favorite photography related gifts:

I love, love, love these little accordion mini albums!  What a great way for grandparents (and you!) to carry around lots and lots of your favorite images in a small package.  Wallet size, it unfolds and can hold up to 12 images.  A little magnet clasp holds it closed and a frosted slipcover protects it.  They come in sets of 3 or more--perfect for grandparents, aunts and uncles and of course yourself!

For the person on your list with a modern aesthetic, metal prints make fabulous and unique gifts!  They are available in a matte or glossy finish and can be hung without a frame.  In fact, they are float mounted, which means they hang a half inch off the wall in an ultra modern display.  Metal prints are absolutely brilliantly vibrant and show extraordinary detail.  My favorite part of metal prints is how durable they are--they have an ultra hard, scratch resistant surface that is waterproof--you can clean them with a soft rag and glass cleaner!  Your favorite part will be the look on the recipient's face when they see your amazing image on metal!

A portrait album can hold ALL of your favorite images from our session.  I love designing albums for my clients, but my favorite part about portrait albums?  Delivering them and watching the kids go through them and seeing their story unfold in the pages.  Priceless.  I know that someday those kids are going to show that album to their kids. It becomes not only a great gift for the whole family today,  but for generations to come.


What if you haven't had your portrait taken yet?  Call me today! There's still time--just give me the head's up and we'll work on your gifts first.  My lab partners have taken lessons in swiftness from Santa and are shipping all the way through December 23rd!


But one of the coolest gifts I can think of is the gift of an upcoming portrait.  I have gift certificates available, all wrapped up and ready to give to your favorite people.

Give a gift that will remind you and your loved ones year round of FAMILY and your true priorities this holiday season!

I can't wait to see you!

We've had our portrait taken--Now what??!

It seems overwhelming when you see the portraits of your family!  "I want them all!"  is something I hear a lot!  "What should I do with them?!"  I'm here to help...

We've probably already chatted about your ideas for using your portraits--the wall you have in mind, the album for the coffee table, the portraits for your child's room.  I may have even asked you to send me a quick photograph and the dimensions of the wall spaces you are considering for your wall portraits.

Once we take your portraits, I'll have paper proofs printed for you.  Yes, paper proofs.  Yes, you'll have actual photographs to touch and gaze at.  Yes, you'll be able to hold them in your hands and see every detail.

Once we've narrowed down your selections, I'll show you samples of the some of the product options we've already talked about and perhaps even a few that you hadn't thought of.  Canvas prints, metal prints, float mounted prints, albums, mini albums...I'll help you choose what will work best for your images.

If we're going to create a wall portrait grouping, I'll start by sketching out a design for your wall.

If I asked you to take a photograph of the wall that you are considering for portraits, I'll create a wall portrait image so you can actually see what the portraits will look like on your wall.  (It's like magic, right?!)

If we're creating an album, we'll pick the images to include and then back at my office, I'll design the cover and populate the inside pages using all of your favorite images. 

Once we've decided on the perfect way to display your portraits, I'll go back to my office and begin finalizing your portraits.  Once perfected, I'll send them to my professional photo lab.

I await your finished portraits almost as eagerly as you do--I love delivery days at the office!  Sometimes I'll even text you a picture to let you know they are here!

And if you need help hanging your portraits, I'm always available.  

So let's get going and create that portrait you've always dreamed about!

Living with your images!

  A few weeks back, I installed a beautiful wall portrait display in my client's home.  Every time I do this, I am reminded of how fabulous it is to live with our images everyday--not just on our phones or computers or Facebook, but to really LIVE with our images.  We've become so accustomed to seeing those images on our phones, but have you thought about what it might be like to have those beautiful images to admire and treasure in sizes larger than that phone screen?  How many wonderful images do you have that are lost or forgotten on hard drives?

My clients have a beautiful entry hall that screamed for something--barren walls don't make for warmness in a home!  Our portrait session at the beach told a story about their beautiful blended family--from the energetic 7 year old to her older polished siblings.  With so many images to tell the story, it didn't make sense to hang just one family portrait on the wall!  They choose their favorites and we created their story on the wall in my favorite new product--metal prints!  Metal Prints are a new medium for preserving photos by infusing dyes directly into specially coated aluminum sheets. The image is infused into the surface and not on it, so the images take on an almost magical luminescence--they are breaktaking!  They are float mounted off the wall creating a breathtaking display!  Metal prints aren't for everyone, but there are so many other ways to show off your treasured images--why not take advantage of all the new advances in displaying your imagery?

But here's where a lot of my clients get stuck:  

How do you go about creating a wall grouping and then actually getting it onto the wall?  Wanna know how I do it?

First I measured the wall--side to side and top to bottom.  We decided how much of the wall we wanted to fill--this gave me preliminary dimensions to work with.  We decided what images we wanted to work with--not necessarily the sizes yet; only choosing the images.  Then we worked to decide the sizes for the display.  Some images lend themselves to being a focal point.  In this case, the portrait of the whole family was to be the focal point. 

When the metal prints came in (it's like Christmas for me!), I made templates using craft paper.  First, I drew the outline of the piece on the craft paper.  I cut out the template and then laid it on the back of the metal print and marked where the hangers were on my craft paper.  You can affix the templates to your wall, arrange as you'd like and hammer in your hangers.  You can do this to easily hang any pieces.  In this instance with seven prints, I put the templates on a larger piece of craft paper, measuring the distances I wanted between images, and affixed them with tape to the larger piece of craft paper.  We showed up at my clients, affixed the large piece of craft paper to the wall.  We used a level to make sure it was level and then nailed our hangers at the appropriate spots on the wall.  We carefully removed the template (we wanted to save it, just in case) and hung the portraits.  Easy Peasy!!  No more extra holes in the walls!  You can buy templates just like this, but why, when you can make your own?  I use a large roll of craft paper because I do this so often, but you can use any clean paper to create the template.  I recycle my templates by giving them to my daughter to paint and color on.  (Then I have that art to hang!)

If you like the look of photographs with other mementos or images, how about incorporating your family portraits into a wall display as sort of a three dimensional scrapbook?  Canvas or framed prints with glass may be classic ways of displaying your portraits, but why not create a display using some of the fabulous new products available?  Have questions?  Want some ideas?  Call me for a consultation on how to get those images off your computer and into your life!