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Why Digital Images Will Never Be as Satisfying as Wall Art | Northern VA Family Photographer | Ever After Portraits
Lately, we’ve been thinking about digital versus print portraits. Is there a difference when it comes to value of investment? Our clients hail from all across Northern Virginia, including Broad Run, VA, and they tend to be fairly tech savvy, and they love their families dearly. They often ask us what to do when it comes to their professional family photos. We know the answer, of course, but a recent record-breaking transaction really validated it for us.
The most expensive work of art ever sold was a Paul Gauguin painting of two Tahitian girls. It sold for almost $300 million in early 2015, and was reportedly bought by the country of Qatar. The sale of such a masterpiece had us wondering: Would they display the painting in public, in private, or (gasp) not at all? Surely such a masterpiece would be displayed for the enjoyment of others? And, then it hit us: digital versus print photos. Why invest in family photography to (gasp again) not display it?!
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Family Photography as Wall Art and Its Benefits | Northern VA Family Photographer | Ever After Portraits
Clearly wall art is important if you want your home to feel more lived in, more beautiful, and more reflective of your family. But is family photography as wall art necessarily important? The answer is: Yes, it is! As a family photographer across Northern Virginia, including Broad Run, VA, we are always drawn to any studies or articles on the benefits or effects of photography. (If you find any good ones, please feel free to send them to us!)
Family Photography as Wall Art
Last year we referenced a 1975 study done on children’s self-esteem and the positive impact of displaying family portraits. A more recent article, however, in the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper discusses the psychological benefits to children when families display family photos.
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2.5-Acre Portrait Park, Perfect for Family Portraits! | Northern VA Family Photographer
Warm weather is coming! We’re so happy for that! It’s time for outdoor family portraits! When you imagine an outdoor setting for your family photos somewhere in the Broad Run, VA or Northern Virginia area, what do you see? Do you envision an idyllic forest of lush trees, a flowing creek, two ponds, and a green meadow? Do you imagine a wooden bridge, perhaps? How about a barn? Can you imagine gathering your family for a portrait in such a setting? We can because outdoor photos are so frequently requested by our clients!
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Tip #1 – How to Understand and Work With Your Photographer Friends | Understand the Process | Northern VA Family Photographer
#1. Understanding the Process
Often people don’t think of it this way, but hiring a photographer is like hiring a mechanic to fix your car or a contractor to build your home. Really, it is also the same as commissioning any artist. You hire them for their skills, talent, and reputation. You trust them to deliver their best work. You also trust them to be transparent and charge you a fair rate. Photography works in the exact same way whether it’s here in the Broad Run, VA area or across the country.
You wouldn’t hire a contractor and expect them to build your home, renovate your kitchen, or add a room for free or at a steep discount, would you? Would you take your car to a friend who’s a mechanic and ask them to fix it for free and throw in the parts as well?
When you pay for photography
Why are family portraits so important? | Northern VA Family Photographer
When was the last time you gathered your family for professional family photos? We encourage you to not wait for your next professional family photos! And, we don’t say this to be self-serving. As family photographers here in the Northern VA area (near Broad Run, VA and Ashburn, VA), we truly understand why family portraits are so important.
Time is as fleeting as water flowing through our fingers. You can’t really stop it. Pictures, however, can help you capture time as well as memories.
Our children grow all too quickly. Our parents age before we realize it. We can’t turn back time, but we can capture our families in portraits. One day, all too soon, those family portraits will help you reminisce.
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Why Choose a Wall Art Collection? | Northern VA Family Photographer
When clients first reach out to us as a photography studio in Dulles, VA, they usually ask about doing a family portrait they can display in their homes. Inevitably, however, when they see their family in our photos following their photo session, they fall in love with multiple portraits. Their loved ones’ faces gathered together in the photo, each face with its own story, can make it difficult to choose just one portrait! This is why most of our families opt for our most popular product: a Wall Art Collection.
A large beautifully composed family portrait is stunning. It symbolizes your family’s love for each other. As part of your interior design, a strategically displayed portrait can be the focal point of any room – drawing you straight to it. You can’t go wrong with such a portrait.
Wall Art Collections
On the other hand, a collection of family portraits can be a poignant and powerful statement about your family and your interactions. A wall art collection can demonstrate the joy, personalities, and emotions of your family.
Sometimes families decide to choose a collection with a large center portrait, the one portrait they’re particularly touched by, and then choose several images to surround it, creating a true wall art collection. The effect can be as dramatic as a story. The smaller portraits act like the chapters of a story, while the enlargement is the centerpiece of the story helping to set the theme!
Framing and Frameless Options
In recent years, wall art collections have become increasingly trendy and popular as a design concept. We offer Wall Art Collections in a variety of finishes to suit any style or decor. We have two lines of framing: Masterpiece and Standard Framing. Both frame lines are of exceptionally fine quality, with expert craftsmanship guaranteed to last for years. The look and effect of your portraits will be enhanced by the quality and beauty of the frames we offer. We also offer frameless options for a different style and look: Gallery Wrap, Bamboo, Steel and Ice. Your products will be beautiful with whichever of our products you select.
If you’d like to learn more about our products, or discuss our Wall Art Collections, reach out to us today. If you are looking for the leading photography studio in the Dulles, VA area, Ever After Portraits will be happy to work with you!
Family Photographer, Photography Studio
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy and Joriana Belcher, a mother-daughter photography team located in Dulles, VA, Northern Virginia. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
Family Portraits, The Durette Family | Northern VA Family Photographer
As a local family photographer in Sterling, VA, and serving the Northern Virginia area including Broad Run, VA, we love meeting and photographing local families. When Tracey first approached Ever After, she knew that her family would want candid, natural portraits with a more relaxed feel. After learning about us in a local promotion, Tracey decided now was the time to have some new family photos taken. It had been 10 years since the Durettes had last had professional photos of their children. We can only imagine how much their children, now 20, 16, and 14, had changed since then! read more…
Why should I decorate my home with Family Portraits? | Northern VA Family Photographer
The choices we make in life usually reflect how we live, think, and even behave. How we decorate our homes is no different. Our choices of furniture, wall colors, and accessories all speak to who we are. So when our clients from around the Ashburn Village, VA area ask us if they can (or should) use their portraits to decorate their homes, our answer is always a resounding YES! We say that because our choices also reflect the love we experience in our lives. Family photography is particularly important; not just taking pictures of your family, but doing professional portraits and then displaying them in your home for all visitors to see. When you hang family portraits in your home for everyone to see it is a direct reflection of what you value and prioritize in your life: your family.
Importance of Family Photography for Your Children
Most psychologists agree that photography, especially family photography, can play a significant positive role in the dynamics of a family. In an interview with The Baltimore Sun newspaper some years ago, psychologist David Krauss said he believed that family photography was critical. He was referring to both taking and displaying your children’s portraits, and he found the idea of a family portrait gallery very appealing. “What it says to a child is, ‘I’m important in this family.’”
Kraus went on to say that family portraits can show a child that they are a meaningful part of their family and, equally important, that he or she is meaningfully connected to others. It is a profound message to offer children about their role and connection within their family unit. It is a way to further demonstrate to them how deeply they are loved.
The Reasons for Family Photography
Since its invention in 1839, photography has always been a powerful medium. It is a visual storyteller that lives beyond our lifespan to our stories beyond us.
The reasons behind why you choose to have professional pictures taken are the very same reasons why you should decorate your home with those same portraits. Does this sound familiar? It should because we often repeat it!
If you are savvy enough to leverage the power of family photography, then there is no possible reason not to display those portraits. You chose family photography by a professional because you love your family and you want to capture them in print to enjoy in the years to come. Those are the very same reasons for decorating your home with your beautiful and precious portraits!
Family Photography Evokes Emotions
If you reflect on the last time you visited someone’s home, what caught your eye? Did you see any family portraits and did you feel drawn to them, moving in closer to better look at the images? Those baby pictures of a youngster now in college or with a family of their own, a beautifully-captured family portrait, or a lovely sepia portrait taken long ago of grandparents now gone, all evoke emotions that no other material item ever could.
Those portraits connect you to past, present, and the future in ways not many objects ever could.
We have a friend who told us once of visiting the very stunning (and very large) vacation home of some acquaintances. What she remembers most from the house, though, was the powder room! The homeowner had grouped family photos from throughout the years – all in black and white – and displayed them in a line circling around the room just above the wainscoting. Although an unusual place to hang family photos, it worked perfectly. It was like a timeline of the family’s life as the children grew up, and it demonstrated their family bonds throughout the years. Even though there were some stunning design features in the powder room, the photos were what stood out and what our friend remembered most.
Decorate with Family Portraits
When you think about decorating your home or even your office, you should always make it a point to decorate it with your family portraits. As professional pictures, they are high-quality, high-impact images which will last for decades, even generations. (All our portraits are printed on archival-quality paper rated to last more than 100 years.)
Fine art family photography is not ordinary photography, and it sure doesn’t look like most snapshots people do today with digital cameras or smartphones! Fine art family photography, taken by a reputable and experienced professional, can take the place of pride in your home or office, gracing your walls just as art would. It can be as visually stunning and aesthetically beautiful as any piece of art. It can be more sentimentally valuable, eventually becoming a family heirloom to be handed down to the next generation.
Keep in mind that snapshots are interchangeable and considered temporary. Without proper archival framing and materials, printed pictures won’t last for generations like professional portraits will. It likely won’t be possible to enlarge and display in your home in the same way you would professionally shot family portraits.
To ensure you will have portraits that will be around for future generations, be certain to choose a family photographer who offers high quality printed products! Years from now, your family will be grateful to have beautiful family photography to treasure!
If you live near us in the Ashburn Village, VA area — or anywhere in the Northern Virginia area — we would be happy to talk to you about how to decorate your home using family photography. We have special design software we use to show you exactly how your portraits will look on the walls of your home!
How Family Portraits Make Your Family Feel Cherished!
Family Photographer, Family Photography
Ever After Portraits is comprised of Mindy and Joriana Belcher, a mother-daughter family photography team located in Northern Virginia, including the Ashburn Village, VA area. We specialize in timeless and emotive fine art family portraits.
Family means everything and capturing those precious moments to preserve forever will mean family heirlooms for you to share for years to come.
Best,
Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!
View Our Portfolio | professional photographer
Should I want archival material for my family pictures? | Northern VA Family Photographer
We have been professional photographers in the Ashburn Village, VA area for years. And if there’s one thing we learned years ago, it’s the importance of archival materials. Family pictures are likely the most precious things you own. Properly storing and displaying them using archival materials can ensure you’ll have them to enjoy for years to come and be able to hand them down to the next generation.
Framing and Materials
If you are taking the time, and investing the money, in photography studio portraits, you should protect your pictures. This is why we urge our clients to professionally frame their pictures. It’s not just investing in wall art; it’s investing in memories.
Proper museum-quality framing will use acid-free or pH neutral mats, if mats are used. Any frame, and any of its materials, you order from our photography studio will be archival.
The American Museum of Photography offers some guidelines on protecting your photographs. Keep your photographs from:
• Direct sunlight, insects or rodents, adhesives, sulfur compounds (given off by wood or rubber), and high humidity.
• The museum also warns against improper framing which could allow for deterioration.
The museum recommends the use of archival materials. read more…
Why is Customer Service Important? | Northern VA Family Photographer
As a small business owner, we give constant thought to customer service – what it is and why it’s important to us. We know that if folks across the Northern Virginia area (including Ashburn Village, VA and Sterling, VA) only wanted family pictures, they could do that practically anywhere. What brings you to us, and has you returning, is the quality and personalized experience we offer you. Simply stated, a happy client is a return client. We strive to make all our clients happy, and excellent customer services plays a large part in that.
So why is customer service important to us?
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