Product Spotlight: Our deckled edge prints

I’m so excited to be introducing our newest keepsake artwork, our Deckled Edge prints. These are some of the most stunning wall art pieces I’ve ever seen and I love them so much! I’m thrilled that families can now take these one-of-a-kind pieces of artwork home to celebrate their family. The first time I saw the deckled edge prints, they took my breath away and I know you’ll love them too!

Each portrait is hand-made. The picture is printed on fine art photographic paper and the edges are torn for a handmade paper effect. The paper is floated in a mat and finished with a gorgeous frame of your choice. All of this is completed at a professional lab, and the final result is stunning. With a variety of frames to choose from, there’s an option for every home decor!

I just had to show them off so you could get a better look at how beautiful these prints truly are!

As always, no matter which heirloom product you choose to create from your portraits, my goal is the same… I want you to celebrate your family every single day and enjoy their faces on display in your home. Learn more about one of my other favorite heirloom products below!

Gallery Walls Plus Ideas for Displaying your Family's Portraits

Now that we are in our forever home I have been planning all sorts of ways to enjoy our portraits up on the walls. Before we moved, I knew we weren’t going to be in our home forever and we had very limited wall space, so I didn’t hang up too, too much. But now we have so many more walls with countless options to enjoy our artwork, and I am loving all of the possibilities!

A few of my favorite options for displaying wall art are:

1. Photo ledges. These are great for swapping out different-sized photos and artwork. I use different frames and shapes on ours, and a variety of sizes for a really beautiful effect.
   

2. One large statement piece on the wall. My favorite size is 20x30 for a medium-sized wall, or 30x40 for a larger wall. The 20x30 gives you the most versatility to move all around the house, and the 30x40 really has a big wow factor!
   

3. A trio of 16x20s over an entry table, bed, or bureau. Or mix it up with a 20x30 or 20x20 in the middle, and two 16x20s on the sides.
   

4. A gallery wall with 7x10” prints matted to 11x14”. I love this size, and it is what we include in our Collection Boxes. It’s very versatile, and you can use 6 or 8 of them over the sofa or in the hallway.

Below you’ll find some inspiration for different groupings on your walls. When we get together after your session we’ll choose your favorite portraits and look at your walls to find the best sizes and options for your home. We have fine art prints, gallery wrap canvases, and wooden wall art so there are styles for every home.

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You’ll notice that I’m a big fan of trios of portraits. Groupings of three are very pleasing to the eye and they feel beautifully balanced without being too overwhelming or cluttered.

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Did you know that there are certain things you can do to care for your artwork and ensure that it looks as good as new for many, many years? I’ve compiled a blog post filled with tips to care for your artwork here. Go check it out!

I love symmetry in gallery walls, and I especially enjoy the versatility of a large family portrait in the middle surrounded by a collection of 8x10s matted to 11x14 on the sides. Then when you change things up in a few years, these are all easy sizes to re-home in different rooms throughout your home!

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Here’s a gallery wall example with a set of 11x14 matted portraits!

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Tips to Organize and Print Your Family's Photo Albums

One of my biggest projects during quarantine last spring was to finally get caught up on printing my family’s personal photo albums. And by “caught up”, I mean get started.

I was hugely inspired by Kate L. Photography’s blog post about her annual yearbooks, and I decided to use the same printer (Blurb Books) and album size that she uses. I loved her colorful covers so much that I wanted those bringing cheer to our bookshelves, too, and I am so glad I did! The covers are one of my favorite parts of these albums! A huge thank you to Kate for the inspiration that I needed to finally tackle this project!

I had already printed 3 different albums since Grayson was born in 2018 with his Fresh 48 photos, first year photos in the studio, and some lifestyle images done by a photographer friend, but I still hadn’t done anything with all of the hundreds of other photos that we had taken over the past few years. We had thousands of photos on my phone and my husbands phone, and hundreds more that I had taken on my camera of our day-to-day adventures. I was overwhelmed with where to start, but I knew that I wanted to get those photos organized and printed so that we could start to enjoy reliving those moments again and again.

I wound up organizing my photos from 2018 and cranking out the design for the first book in a few days. When it arrived in the mail and I saw how interested Grayson was in reading the book, turning the pages, and talking about every single photo and every single story, I knew that this was definitely going to be my new priority.

I quickly created 2019’s book, and for the past year we enjoyed the set of books. Grayson literally pulls them off the shelf multiple times a week and will spend an hour looking through the pages and talking about our adventures. It makes my mama heart so happy to see how much he loves these books!

So with 2018 and 2019 in print, of course I made it a priority to capture even more moments of our day to day lives in 2020 with the goal of preserving these stories in our annual photo album. When it came time to create the album, I designed it in two nights and sent it off to print. Easy peasy!

Now, if you’re feeling like I was a year ago and you’re wondering where to even begin with the thousands of photos sitting on your phone and hard drive, I want to help you!

Keep reading for tips on organizing your photos and making this task something you look forward to instead of dread & avoid!

I have compiled some of the things I’ve learned from making my own albums, plus tips I’ve talked with friends about and strategies that they’ve found to work for them. Take what you will, and make it work for you!

1. Start small.

You know that quote that goes something like, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” This is how you want to approach this project. You don’t have to organize all of your photos at once. Start with the most recent ones and work your way backwards. Right now, just focus on last year. Do all of these tasks for one year at a time, and then when you’re done go back to the one before that until you’re all caught up.

2. Choose your favorites first.

If you have a ton of photos on your phone, this part is easy! I’ve only ever owned an iPhone so I don’t know how it works on an Android, but I’m sure it’s similar. Go through and click the heart/favorite button to mark all of your favorite photos. You can scroll back to look at the ones in a particular month/year. While you’re at it, go ahead and delete the screenshots, cast-offs, and any other photos that are just clogging up your phone. Put a reminder on your phone every evening for a week to spend 15 minutes going through and marking your favorites. Before you know it, you’ll have a whole year of favorites saved in an album that is ready to export!

3. Get the photos ready to print.

Now you need to get the photos off of your phone and onto your computer to design the album. Or you can use a printing company that will just let you upload from your phone. I hear that www.chatbooks.com is great for this! I have not personally used them, but I heard you can upload right from your phone.

You can plug your phone into your computer to transfer the photos. You can save them to the cloud or Dropbox and access them that way. You can AirDrop them. However you want to, get those photos onto your computer.

Are you going to edit them? This is a personal preference. I chose to adjust the brightness and color of most of my cell phone photos in Lightroom. I also used that to crop them to whatever crop I felt best suited each portrait. You can get a Lightroom CC subscription for just $9.99 a month, and this would be a great way for you to try out the software if you’re new to it!

When saving your photos, sort them by month to make it easy to plug them into your album. I export in Lightroom and I automatically have them sorted by capture date. This names them in the order the photographs were taken, and it is really easy for me to them put them together in a logical and sequential order when I go to design my book (next step!).

4. Design your album!

Most album companies have free software that lets you drag and drop your photos into templates to easily create your album. I recommend choosing a few of their pre-made layouts that you love and repeating those throughout the book. I tend to do layouts with 2-6 images on each spread, and sometimes I will do a page with 4-9 smaller but related images in a grid.

Make sure to not try and fit too many photos on each page because you want to be able to see the details in each one without making it feel cramped. I like layouts that have a little white space between the images and at the top & bottom of the page.

Don’t overthink it, and don’t let your perfectionist tendencies take over here. Done is better than perfect right now. If you keep tweaking the layout you will never get around to getting the album printed, and you’re going to get a lot more enjoyment out of it when sitting on the couch flipping through the pages with your little one than you will by spending another night moving photos around on your screen to see how they look a different way.

5. Print it & enjoy!

Once I designed my album I was so proud of it that I wanted to print it right away. But I had heard that Blurb Books ALWAYS has sales so I decided to wait for a sale — which is a good thing because my albums tend to have 110-125 pages!

Sign up for their emails and before you know it, you’ll get a notification about a sale. Simply upload it to print, and you’re done! Then you can start waiting by your mailbox for it to arrive, eager to tear open the box the minute it’s delivered. (Wait, I’m not the only one that does that, am I?!?!)

Psst!!! Use this link to save $30 on your first album! (affiliate link)

6. Create a system to stay organized moving forward.

After you’re all caught up and you’ve printed however many years worth of family photos that you have backlogged, create a system to stay on top of it.

Have only a few minutes a month?
Choose a time once a month to sort through your photos from that month and mark a few favorites. If you do this regularly, it will only take you 10-15 minutes to add a few to your favorites folder each month. Put it on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone, and make sure you do it! Then at the end of the year you simply open up that favorites folder and start designing your album!

Have an hour a month?
Pour a warm cup of tea or a glass of your favorite wine, put on some music, and get to work! Set that reminder on your calendar so this is an evening activity you can look forward to each month. Mark your favorite photos from the month, and upload them into an album design right then and there. As the year goes on you’ll slowly add to your album page layouts, and at the end of the year it will all be done for you and ready to print.

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Product Feature: Introducing Our New Collection Boxes with Matted Portraits

Maybe you’ve already enjoyed a peek into our Collection Boxes on The Artwork page of our website, or on this week’s social media stories. But in case you missed it, today we’re sharing an in-depth look into this gorgeous new keepsake product that families are falling in love with.

Our new Linen Collection Boxes are the most versatile product in the studio. The boxes are filled with your favorite portraits printed to 7x10” and matted to 11x14”. Why so versatile? Here are a few ideas for how you can enjoy these portraits:

• Frame one as a gift for the grandparents.

• Frame one or two to display on a smaller wall in your home, or create a gallery wall with 6 or 8 matted portraits to fill a larger space like over the couch, in an entryway, or down a hallway.

• Keep some in the box and rotate your wall art throughout the year.

• Keep them all in the box to flip through like a modern day album.

The portraits are tucked into a gorgeous linen box, and you can customize the linen color AND the debossing text on the lid. If you decide to frame all of your portraits and you don’t know what to do with the box, simply save the box for your little one’s keepsakes that don’t fit into their baby book. It’s truly beautiful and so luxurious to the touch!

Another reason that these collection boxes are so popular with our families is because not every family is in their forever home yet, and they may not want to commit to large wall art when they’re not sure what will fit in their future space. The collection box is filled with safe sizes — 11x14 is a versatile size that fits in any space without feeling too big or too small! Plus, this product packs up small and travels well, just like our Heirloom Albums, which is perfect for families that will be moving at some point in the near future.

But really the best part?

These gorgeous prints are handcrafted with archival materials, meaning they will last for generations. You’ll be able to enjoy them on your walls now, putting a smile on your face every single day. Your kids will be able to enjoy them for years to come, and many years from now they will still be timeless and your grandkids will love looking through these portraits.

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Love these collection boxes and matted prints? Pin this image or any from the post above to save the inspiration!

Product feature | Our New Deep Matte Linen Album

I want to share a secret with you.  It's our brand new DEEP MATTE album, and every family that has seen it in person at our gallery reveal appointments has fallen in love with the look and feel of the pages in this heirloom album.

Album details:
10x10 Fine Art Album
Cameo Cut-Out with Photo Cover
Linen color: Tundra
Pages: Deep Matte

Our other albums have a lustre coating on the pages, but this one is toned down with a deep, rich matte finish.  It looks incredible, and it even feels smooth like butter beneath your fingers.  It looks particularly amazing with our newborn sessions, and I personally love it for family session albums as well!

Here is a peek into Barratt Raymond's lifestyle session album.  I love how the rich tones on the pages complement the beautiful and neutral nursery decor for this family's session!

Just like with all of our fine art albums, there are 15 linen cover options to choose from so you'll be able to find the perfect shade to suit your style.  A few of the most classic ones are Tundra (this dark gray shown here), Sand (a beachy beige), and Tusk (a creamy white). 

Lately a few families have been having fun and using a few of our more colorful linens like Summer Breeze (a festive blue), Orchid (the softest lilac), and Peach (just the right shade of a soft peachy blush pink).  Fog is also a new favorite for many families, and the light gray is woven with a silver thread that adds just a hint of sparkle to the cover!

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Curious about our other keepsake products?  We truly believe that you'll enjoy your memories more when they are printed -- check out a few of our options here!

The Wooden Keepsake Box
Heirloom Wooden Wall Art
Accordion Albums
Birth Announcements
Thank You Cards
The Storybook Album

After the Cake Smash : 11 Ideas for what to do with your cake smash photos

12 months have flown by, and in the blink of an eye your baby is 365 days old.  You're going to celebrate with a first birthday portrait session, of course.  But what will you do with the images AFTER the session?  

The last thing you want is to let them sit on a USB in a drawer somewhere, to forget about these moments that you captured of your baby's big smile, excitement, and curiosity.  You want to remember the dimples on their finger, their first few teeth poking through, and those tentative first steps.  But maybe you don't want to fill every wall of your home with cake smash pictures.  Read on for 11 ideas on what you can do with your cake smash photos after the session!

1.  Design birthday party invitations.

This is a perfect option for families that plan their cake smash at least 1.5-2 months before the baby's first birthday party.  Most families do a theme for the party, and we can incorporate that theme into the invitations.  From the shoot, to the gallery reveal, to holding your artwork in your hands, the entire turnaround time is typically one month from start to finish.  So plan ahead and get those invites printed with your photographer!

2.  Or, use the images for thank you cards!

Most families plan the cake smash close to the baby's actual birthday, so it's not always possible to send them out on party invitations.  This is where thank you cards are the perfect alternative -- we'll even leave a little blank space on the back for a heartfelt handwritten note!

3.  Hang them up at your party!

Many families like to share a canvas or a fine art album with their family & friends that come to celebrate at their baby's first birthday party.  Bring a little easel and set it up on the gift table, or find a spot on the wall!  After the party, move the canvas into the nursery for a playful pop of color on the walls!

4. Create a keepsake album.

Our fine art albums are my absolute favorite product that we offer, and they are the perfect way to enjoy every single image from your cake smash session.  This will quickly become your child's favorite book, and you'll spend hours curled up on the couch telling the story of their first birthday while they point out "mama", "dada", and "baby".  Bring it out every year on their birthday for a new tradition!

5. Complete your baby's first year book.

No baby book is complete without a first birthday.  Use your cake smash images to end with a celebratory note!

6. Give the grandparents their favorite gift EVER.

Grandparents love photos of their grandbabies.  Print a few 8x10s, or give them a small album from the session.

7.  Enjoy an accordion album!

Speaking of albums, our accordion albums are wonderful grandparent gifts!  These pocket-sized books hold nearly a dozen photos, and they are available in sets of three so that you can give a few away and keep one for yourself!

8. Tell a story with a storyboard collage.

A cake smash is all about the story -- weave 9 images together in a 3x3 grid and share all of the sweetest moments from your baby's session!

9. Hang a gallery wall in the nursery.

These playful images are the perfect addition to your nursery, and they're going to put a big smile on your face every time you see them -- even on the sleepless nights!  Hang them in a spot in your home where you'll enjoy them every single day, and where they'll bring a little bit of joy to your day!

10.  Do a "Smash & Splash", and hang them in the bathroom!

I love finishing our cake smash sessions with a splash in our adorable white clawfoot bathtub that is the perfect size for one-year olds.  Most babies love water, and they have so much fun splashing around.  We capture so many smiles and excited laughs during this portion of the session!  This makes great wall art for your bathroom, and it's definitely a talking piece that all of your houseguests will ask you about, sure to put a smile on everyone's face!
 

11.  Create a keepsake you'll add to every year with mementoes and letters for your child.

Next to our fine art albums, the wooden keepsake box is my favorite interactive product and the perfect way for you to enjoy your child's birthday memories.  Frame the photos, or display them in the little wooden easels that are tucked inside of the box.  Keep the box, and every year add little mementoes from your child's birthday -- a photo of them blowing out their candles, their birthday party invitation, a special card that they received.  Or, have friends and family write them a letter each year on their birthday and tuck them away inside of the box for an extra sweet surprise to gift them with when they turn 18!

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Let's get real for a minute here -- who has time for all of this?  

Time to design albums, party invites, thank you cards, and keepsake boxes?  That's where hiring a professional photographer comes in.  Let me do all the work for you, and you can sit back and enjoy your baby's birthday celebration, knowing that I will create the wall art, the heirlooms, and the thank you cards so that you don't have to worry about a thing!

When a Photographer Forgets to Print Her Own Photos.... Or, happy second anniversary!

I debated for awhile on the title of this post.  I wasn't sure if I should make it more about celebrating our second wedding anniversary, or keep it photography-related and tell you how it took me almost TWO YEARS to design & print our wedding album.

So I chose to do both.

You see, I'm just like you and every other person who has countless files of digital images from their own lives.  Tiny JPEGs sitting in a folder on their hard drive, rarely seen and never enjoyed.  And just like you, I had no time to print them.  

But wait, you're a photographer!  Your job is to print photos!

That's true.  I spend my weeks designing albums for other families, ordering boxes & boxes of prints from my photo lab, wrapping up custom birth announcements, and receiving more photo shipments in the mail than I can possibly count.  The UPS guy knows me by name, and I recognize the sound of the delivery truck pulling into my driveway like a dog recognizes their owner's car coming down the street.  

Yet it took me more than a year and a half to finally sit down and design our wedding album after our perfect wedding day in 2015.  Why?  Time.  Indecision.  Distractions.  Procrastination.  Not wanting to begin the task of narrowing down the hundreds and hundreds of photos in our gallery to choose a few favorites to feature in our album.  You know, all the same reasons it takes you forever to print your own photos, right?  

But I finally did it.  And now we have a leather-bound keepsake of our beautiful day surrounded by our closest family & friends on a brick patio with twinkly lights and rustling leaves overhead.  It is so perfect, and as Jeff & I celebrate our second wedding anniversary today, you can bet we'll be flipping through the pages of our wedding album to relive the day we said "I do."  

A huge thank you to Hope Taylor Photography for capturing our day so beautifully.  P.S.  I know you didn't offer albums to your clients two years ago, but I'm so happy that you do now because this is definitely a task that all newlyweds should leave to their photographer so that they can enjoy their heirloom albums right away!  

Print your photos, friends!  #printsnotpixels