To highlight the importance of saving images in a non-digital form, Professional Photographers of America (PPA) has partnered with industry leaders to launch the PRINT Movement. It’s a public awareness campaign to help people see the importance of purchasing or creating printed photographs.
It is estimated that professional photographers take approximately 4,160 digital photos a month just for business. And thanks to the enhanced capabilities of cellphone cameras, industry experts predict amateur photographers will take another 3,650 photos per year per person. That means a global population of photographers taking 14 trillion pictures annually.
But there has been a worldwide change in how these photos are preserved. The PPA discovered that a staggering 53 percent of consumers have not printed a photo in more than 12 months, 70 percent do not have photos albums, and 42 percent no longer print photos at all. This is a problem for both amateur and professional photographers.
Technology is changing so fast that many photos taken five or six years ago are stored on devices that are no longer supported. A whole generation of people is likely to look back decades from now and wonder where photos of their childhood, holiday get-togethers, relatives and friends have gone.
“Unless we change our ways, I think time will prove that we have gambled away our family histories – trusting too much in our ability to protect our memories on our phones, tablets and other devices,” said David Trust, PPA’s CEO.
Nashville photographer Krista Lee Newbill of Krista Lee Photography made a business decision to stop selling digital files and only sell prints. This bold move not only helped Newbill rediscover the art of print, it boosted her bottom line. Her customer base increased, her per-session sales average rose, and she started seeing increased foot traffic in her storefront. Clients liked her artisanal images.
“It’s so easy to get busy and not have time for prints,” says Newbill. But she believes professional photographers can play a role in helping more people preserve and display their memories. Professional photographers who want to join the movement can download promotional materials and resources from the PRINT movement website.
Photography conference speakers are underscoring the message that professional photographers should help remind people why prints matter.
For example, photographer Sue Bryce said that instead of simply giving clients disks full of digital images, “We need to return to our roots as professional photographers. We need to print our work, and value this legacy we are capturing.”
“With so much photography never touching paper of canvas today, there has never been a better time to perfect the art of printing and specialize as a print artist,” said photographer Tim Walden.
In addition to PPA, the PRINT movement is being support American Color Imaging (ACI), Bay Photo, BWC Printmakers, Canon, Canson Infinity, ChromaLuxe, Collages, Finao, Fundy Designer, GW Moulding, H+H Colorlab, Hahnemühle, Kodak Alaris, Marathon, Meridian Professional Imaging, Miller’s, Simply Color Lab, Tyndell Photographic Packaging, and White House Custom Colour.