12 Tips for Printing Your Engagement and Wedding Photos

One of the greatest joys you’ll ever have in hiring a professional engagement / wedding photographer is the moment that you receive your beautiful images back and they’re large and printed.

It’s one thing to see a digital gallery from the day — but to physically hold images of once-in-a-lifetime events from the moment he proposed, or the day you two tied the knot — are altogether different.

You might go to Walmart or Ikea, casually browsing through the color print section to decorate your home, but even if you like the pictures, more times than not you'll have little connection to those images.

When you go through the process of planning with a photographer, carefully picking out your outfits and location, discussing a shot list and actually showing up for the shoot, you're much more physically invested into the process. Therefore, you’re a little more attached to the photos, when all is said and done. When you get to the point of scrolling through your digital gallery, you remember with excitement every moment that you see on the screen, from exclaiming out loud to your significant other, “you remember that?!”

It's one thing too some through bulk prints in a Walgreens, but it's an altogether different experience to go through the engagement shoot and wedding process with your chosen photographer,  and closely work with them to print your favorite images.

These days, prints aren't as common as they were 20 or 30 years ago, are an amazing way to stand out from what everyone else is doing. In an age of Instagram, digital galleries (which I absolutely love!), an overall cookie cutter weddings, personalizing your day through large is a fantastic investment into you and your new family.

But often times, people aren't quite sure what are the best ways to print your photos, or how they can do so efficiently and cost-effectively. I print my photos all the time, for years now, have been getting experience in that department.

Let me offer you these 12 tips to help you in printing your photos:

1. Print for tomorrow, and today.

As you start the printing process, take time to consider what people down the line in your family when they see your printed photos. Try to begin thinking about the meaning of your images as heirloom pieces — that one day your children, or grandchildren willl see and ask questions about. Yes, you’re printing for your happiness today, but if you keep in mind it’s also about what will come after you have these images, that’ll shape some of the decisions that you make with your investments in these pictures now.

Give your future generations some real art to be proud of.

2. Try to think about texture with your physical print s.

After all, in going from a digital medium to a physical one, the element of touch is introduced. Just like clothing Fabrics, paper a variety of textures, depending on the level of gloss or embossment, that will have a direct impact on the final print. In general, you going to want to use the highest quality paper you can, as your basic 8.5 x 11-inch office paper simply won't print your photos as well as a nice “Lustre” grade quality paper.

3. Consider how/where you’ll hang the image.

To help you in making the best decision possible with you're printing, it’d be very fruitful for you to consider where specifically in your home these pictures will go.

For example, are you planning to hang them over the fireplace? In your bedroom on the wall opposite from your large bay window? What is your intent?

Getting specific about what you're trying to do will help you decide the right photos for each location, and the appropriate size, texture / material, color/black & white decision, and framing decision.

4. Canvas is an excellent way to add dimensions to your images.

Unlike your more standard flat white paper print, canvases add a real texture to images, and are “gallery-wrapped” on the outside of the photo, much like a matting process, but slightly different. Non-canvas, framed prints are “matted” to the frame, giving a margin/white space to the framed print.

Canvas Gallery wraps, however, don't include a frame, and instead the edges of the photo around the picture, cutting off some of the photo.

Some images are tailor-made for this type of wrapping, and nothing is lost in the process, even though the images have some of the image cropped, or cut.

5. Every image doesn't need to be printed.

Now, here on my blog, you might expect that I recommend that every bride needs to print out all of her wedding photos large, in color, with gaudy frames.

In fact, however, I'm recommending the opposite.

I believe strongly in being highly selective with albums and prints, and while I do think you should absolutely print something from your wedding, I’d advise you to opt for the best two or three images, and really invest in the materials you use, the size, and color.

Get the biggest and nicest two to three images that you can afford!

6. Remember that you still need to frame that baby.

It’s very important to keep in mind when shopping for physical prints of your photos that it's a two-step process:

1- Deciding which photos you liked to print, how big and the texture, followed by

2- Finding and purchasing and appropriate frame for your images, which often are just as much of an investment as the print itself.

Now, you have the option to cheap out, and save money on low-quality frames from places like Walmart, but the argument stands that if you're investing into the print, you might want to invest into equally-nice materials for the end result.

Remember - this also goes for gifting printed photos to other people.
It's easy to remember a frame for yourself, but if you're getting prints for your uncles, aunts, or cousins, you really want to remember to frame that photo you give to them. Sometimes, people will accept a gift knowing that they still need to put money towards it, but sometimes the most thoughtful gift is one where all of the elements are considered. Gift the frame too.

7. For most bang for your buck, think a few smaller prints.

A lot of people think that if they're going to print their photos they have to save up for a super-expensive large wall print. These prints can get pricey, with a 4x6-ft basic Lustre print starting over $100. But have you considered wall full of small 4x6-in black & white prints? These can be equally beautiful, even though sometimes the cost for a small print is pennies on the dollar.

8. Cluster small photos for a collage or pseudo-album effect.

To go along with number 7 above, when you opt for a small photo, put it alongside other like photos, and you will create a very purposeful, artistic and considerate dynamic. Sometimes you may have 2-3 photos in a ‘series’ that look like they were taken one after the other. If you turn them all black and white, perhaps arranging three in a row, you might have an interesting visual display of your photographs.

9. To get a sense of how your print will look, size, or even how the materials feel, schedule a meeting with your photographer.

This is one of the many benefits to hiring a professional photographer. Where many other people are in the dark about how the end product will look, you don't have to be. Personally, I really enjoy any chance to sit down with my clients and show them sample prints that I've made for other clients, my family, and myself. I’ve printed dozens of photos in a variety of materials and sizes, many of them on my walls and on this blog. If ever a client has questions about metal prints look, for instance, I'm always happy to meet for coffee or invite them to my studio, where they can have a look at samples themselves.

I wish that more photographers invested into their own prints for their studio, like I do.

10. remember, the holidays get super busy for printers.

As October and November roll around, you're going to want to get your orders in much then you think you will. Around the first week of December, many printers worldwide have strict cut-off dates, and rush shipping fees that can easily number into the $100+ mark.

Moral of the story: get your print orders in much earlier than you think.

11. when choosing a medium: Go metal.

The most exciting types of print that I love to do these days are metal prints. Phenomenal way to showcase any hyper detailed, super-colorful images maybe in your engagement or wedding gallery. If you have bright blue skies, old green foliage, saturated wedding colors that throughout the day in the pictures, these are the types of images you’ll definitely want to print on metal material, as it is tailor-made to retain photo-realistic detail, and it's breathtaking to look at.

Metal costs more then your basic glossy paper, but for those jaw-dropping, stunning images, absolutely want to invest.

Remember, you'll have these images for the rest of your life!

12. Think Beyond the Wall.

Yes, for decades and decades people have been hanging their photos on the wall. However, it's 2021, and there are a vast number of ways that you can enjoy your engagement photos: you can hang them, but you can also stand them, you could print them onto laminated coffee mugs, and slip them into see-through plastic holders, you can put them onto keychains, and much more.

Just remember that there are a lot of options out there for you!

So there you have it! 12 helpful tips that should assist you in deciding when and how you should print your photos.

Let me know in the comments section below if you think of anything that I might have missed. thanks for reading.