Have Digital Photos Killed Off Printed Photos?

This evening, the missus and I attended a 50th birthday party and I noticed that a lot of people had digital cameras of some description (be it mobile phone cameras or “point and shoot” cameras). Despite that, there was a photo album making its way around the room for people to look through and add their best wishes for the birthday girl.

This got me thinking about the proliferation of digital photography and how that has affected printed photography. Especially with the social media boom in recent years, who really prints photos anymore?

The last time I printed a photo, it was for a relative who didn’t have a computer and the only method to send a photo was via snail mail. All of the photos (apart from a select few) are kept digitally at home and on our various devices.

At any rate, I thought it was a nice touch to have the printed photo album at the party. Certainly, a digital imitation wouldn’t of had the same effect or interactivity as people wrote in their messages. Nonetheless, digital distribution wins hands down in this digital age of instant communication but I think printed content (particularly photos) will still have a place in our lives.

When was the last time you printed a photo?

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