You may want to grab some tissues for this one...

I feel like the majority of people nowadays are totally content with just having pictures on their phones or their social media. I'm certainly guilty of keeping more photos on my phone than on my wall or in albums. It's easy! All of our memories right there in our pockets. I mean...no one is pulling out a photo album in the middle of the grocery store to show off pictures of their kids to someone they haven't seen in a while. I'm definitely not saying print ALL of your photos. I just want to talk about why I feel you should print the important ones!

Take my personal gallery wall in my home for example. Right now, it's mostly pictures of my dogs. That will obviously change a little once baby boy is here. But, for the longest time...Gary and I were just dog parents. My biggest print on my gallery wall right now is a 16x24 canvas print of our Bella. For those of you that don't know her, she was our world. We unexpectedly lost her in May of 2021 to what we believe was some type of heart failure. She was a week past her 8th birthday. Bella was our first dog together and she did EVERYTHING with us. I did a crazy amount of training with her and we passed her Canine Good Citizenship, Canine Good Citizenship Advanced, Therapy Dog Certification and more along with getting her involved in some other dog sports like nose work. Mostly though, she was our companion and our once and lifetime dog. There will never be another Bella. This photography business is in fact named after her and our now four year old Labrador, Reese. Needless to say, Bella was and still is extremely important to us.

Some people might say, "oh I couldn't have a big print of my dog or family member who passed on my wall." For me...it's different. Right after she passed, I couldn't look at her photos or videos without breaking down. Losing her was unlike any other loss I've ever experience in my life. After a while though, I missed seeing her face. I put her up on our gallery wall so I never forget any of the little details of her face. Her ears were iconic. One ear up, one ear down. Everyone knew her by her ears. No she wasn't born that way. We actually had a little mishap with a bumble bee. Her pink nose. Her amber colored eyes. Even now almost two years later I catch myself just looking up at that print of her and staring. Just getting lost in remembering how soft her fur was and how she would push her head into you so you'd rub her ears. Doesn't it still break my heart to look at her pictures? Absolutely. But like I said...I never want to forget anything about her. Having her picture up on our wall is a daily reminder for me of our perfect girl.

This doesn't go for just dogs of course. We're just dog people. Someone else might catch themselves reminiscing as they stare at a print of a grandparent who passed. A mom might want to remember just how pudgy her little babies cheeks were as they're running out the door for school. A new bride might stop to really appreciate the way her husband looked at her on the best day of their lives.

Wall art and prints aren't just for decoration. They do serve a purpose. Yeah, you can pull your pictures up on your phone but sometimes when you pour a cup of coffee in the morning and walk into the living room to see that framed print of someone you love more than anything...it just feels different. You get lost in memories and overwhelmed with feelings of love and happiness even for just a moment. You might be reminded of what's most important to you. Especially on a bad day when you're just over everything. You can just stop and see your family, your kids, your dog and all of those negative feelings disappear.

Print your photos people. The ones that mean the most. The ones that bring an instant smile to your face. One day you'll stop and feel grateful that you did.