The Pro vs. Con List When Printing Images

I did a photosession with my kiddos late this summer/early autumn. It was a gorgeously beautiful day and the kids were full of energy, joy, and laughter. As I edited the images, I fell in deeper love with each one and couldn't wait to display them. I didn't have the time to order prints, or for that matter decide just how I wanted to use these pics.

I know there are options...many options...and as a photographer and graphic designer, sometimes my mind is flooded with so many ideas that I simply cannot choose how I want to display these moments. I gather ideas...I search Pinterest for out of the box ideas, follow photography blogs, chat with my friends about what they do with their prints.

But it's January and I still haven't decided where or how I want to use them.


It's time.

So I brainstorm ideas of how I'd like to decorate with them, and it goes something like this:

Frames for a gallery wall at the top of the steps. Pros: Buy frames once, but put new pics in each year, so it's a one time investment. Con: Gallery walls consist of lots of frames, and there's not wiggle room in the budget for a home gallery wall. Tip: Get frames from thrift shops and paint. But that's a summery project to me, when we can dance and play and paint in the grass.

Option 2: Dream option. Canvas. Either a big canvas print for our entryway, or smaller collage of canvas prints. Pros: Beautiful. Lasting. Trendy. Fun. Bright. Cons: Pricey. Cannot decide on just one image I like. If I get a large print, it stays up for a LONG time...not easily updated. And I still haven't decided if I like the pictures to grow with us and be changed out each year, or to leave older images up. It's simply a personal preference, but I have yet to decide which side I fall on. Idea: I could save money by printing a large black and white image and mod podge it onto a plain canvas. Much more budget friendly.

Idea #3: Photobook. I LOVE hardcover 8x8 photobooks. We've started our own little library of them. I usually wait until I get a free or 50% off coupon in my email from a reputable photo company. Pros: Lasting. Lots of images. Fun to sit down and look at them all through the year(s). I have a first year 8x8 hardcover photobook for each child, one for us when we first moved before we had kiddos, and one of just my hubs and I of a fall photosession. Cons: I don't currently have a coupon, or the time to create the book. File idea away for a wintry, snowy, blustery day project. Tip: I try to upload images to my favorite photo book company frequently so that when the time comes to do a project {in other words, when that coupon graces my inbox}, then half of the project is already done as the images are already sorted}. If I had gobs of time set aside, I might even start a book and save the project, so that come coupon time, I simply review/edit, and print.

After thinking through the pro vs. con list, I've decide that a) I don't know which images are my favorite if I were to make a canvas; b) I don't have the time for a photobook design and no coupon; c) I love the gallery idea, but not the budget of frames. And I know I'm not the only one in the Midwest with this conundrum.

How to solve the dilemma? A free photo banner. By printing the images on cardstock, hanging them on a banner with itsy bitsy clips, I can view them often but without the price of frames and this helps me decide which images I like the best for when it's a good opportunity to work on the projects mentioned above. It's a temporary, but pretty fix so that I can finally grace my walls with these beautiful images, but not need to invest too much time or money right now.

Did I mention it's a free DIY project? Sometimes the best solutions are the easiest and cheapest.

Best part of making your own: You can make the images any size you wish. 

Ok, so may not free if you want to be technical. These were $1. But my mama spoiled me with them when she saw me looking at them in my favorite section of Target at 11pm on the day after Christmas. Did I mention my love affair with the Target $1 bins?

All clean and ready for February, the month of love. Confession: I had to finally erase the December calendar off. Yep. Fifteen days late on that chore. 

That pic is coming out at her wedding.