In the past couple of weeks its like a tidal wave has hit Kaelee Denise Photography. Inquiries and photo orders have been flooding my inbox. My office is a mess (even messier than usual)- I’m lacking sleep and overworked but I STILL LOVE WHAT I DO. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I absolutely love getting to capture the memories for so many smiling, crying, laughing, fighting, happy families. YES, there are frequent sibling fights, tears, the occasional skinned knee, burps, laughs and smiles during many of my sessions. But we go with the flow and move on with the photo shoot because that’s how life goes.  I absolutely love seeing the same families once (sometimes multiple times a year) for portrait sessions.  I love capturing the personalities as they start to emerge and the changes as infants grow into toddlers and toddlers blossom into children.  I want to thank each and every family for allowing me to capture their memories.

With the recent and seemingly constant flow of photo orders I’ve begun the process of amping up my packaging! I’m growing tired of the old and dull and wanting something fun and new! So what have I been doing while Im on a mini-vacation this week in Colorado?!? Ive been spending down time editing photos and designing and ordering new fun and exciting packaging products, stickers, boxes, CD cases, etc. Lots of fun and love is soon to come your way in the form of packaging 🙂

While doing some research yesterday I came across this article written by Marmalade Photography. I love how well put this article is and hope my clients will take the time preserve their memories 🙂

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{Preserving your Memories}
The ultimate investment in the longevity of your families’ memories isn’t digital media. I know, I know…you’ve been told by numerous people that that’s the way to go but honestly it’s a huge misconception among many partly because digital photography is all the rage and it’s easy, right? The truth isn’t so easy though: digital media is really meant to be temporary storage. Hard drives fail, burned CDs and DVDs become inoperable, types of storage media fade into antiquity before data can be transferred, off site storage companies go bankrupt, SD (or compact flash or micro SD or Memory Sticks) have, can and will fail at some point. The only REAL way to achieve longevity of your images is via printed photographs.
So you have your beautiful photos in hand and ready to go. Perhaps you have just received a full set of printed images from your favorite professional photographer and you wonder… “NOW WHAT?” Perhaps you have a boxful (or several boxfuls) of snap shots, personal images that tell the story of your family’s life. What are the steps that one should take to preserve the investment of memories? What can you do so they can be passed down to future generations? Here are some guidelines to help you with this task.

What you should do:

  • Photographs should be protected from extended exposure to intense light sources, particularly direct sunlight. Sunlight causes damage to the chemical composition of photographs, resulting in color shifts and fading. Sunlight (and its’ accompanying heat) may cause warping of your artwork. If you choose to display a wall portrait in an area hit by sunlight, you should invest in museum-quality glass with UV protection. This type of glass minimizes the potential for fading and color shifting. However you should probably evaluate placing photos or other precious momentos in sunlight because it is so damaging.
  • If you choose to frame your photographs under glass, always use either a mat or spacers so that the photograph does not come into direct contact with the glass. If a print is in contact with glass, over time moisture will cause the print to become permanently stuck to the glass. A reputable professional framer will do this for you however if you buy an off the rack frame try to have a mat with it to avoid the image touching the glass surface.
  • Most damage to photographs results from poor handling. When handling your prints, be sure your hands are clean and dry. Always handle photographs by their edges. Never touch the image surface because the oil in your skin can damage the print. Better yet, use white acid free gloves to handle your images.
  • Always use albums with acid-free paper or use photo sleeves made of polyester, tri-acetate or polyethylene. Look for albums that have a neutral acidity, are labeled “acid free” or designate an acidity level of 6.0 or higher.
  • When identifying your photographs, use a soft-lead pencil to write on the back, near the bottom of the photograph. Please do not label your photographs with a pen; the ink will bleed through onto the image.

Some don’ts:

  • Don’t use albums that are not designated “acid and lignin free”. Most photo albums are actually harmful to your photos and while they may keep them organized they will be prone to fading and yellowing due to the acidity of the paper and/or adhesive unless the album was manufactured for archival use. Lignin is in all paper products but archival papers have lignin removed. Lignin is an important compound that happens to be the second most common biocompound on earth BUT that makes it bad for archiving. When liginin breaks down it turns paper brown. If you have ever seen an old newspaper, turned brown by age – that’s the lignin breaking down.
  • Never use self-adhesive or magnetic albums. Conservators have tested the “magnetic” quality of these albums and have found that the adhesive contains very high levels of acid. The acid from the adhesive was literally eating away at the backside of the photos tested. Even worse, the plastic cover that covered the magnetic page to keep these photos “safe” was actually sealing in the acidic fumes causing deterioration on the front as well as the back.
  • Never use adhesive tape, glue, metal paper clips, thumb tacks, or rubber bands on photographs-all can cause damage.
  • Never use pens that are not labeled acid free. Better yet always use a soft lead pencil to avoid damage. Even pens that are labeled “acid-free” can contain minute amounts of harmful acids and this will take a toll on your photos that labeled with that ink.
  • Do not include momentos such as postcards, ticket stubs, etc with your photographs. Those items are often manufactured/printed with acid containing ink which can cause photos to fade away.

stay tuned for another post about where to print your photos

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A favorite image from the Ennis Family Session (blog post to come soon)