It is possible for us to keep in contact with old acquaintances, find activities in our local communities, or even arrange big occasions (like weddings!) with the assistance of social media, which offers a lot of fun features and has clear benefits.
And of course, uploading pictures to social media websites like Facebook and Instagram as well as other sites is a well-liked method of preserving memories by putting them in a location where they can be quickly located and viewed.
But is relying on social media as your primary method of photograph storage come with any potential drawbacks?
In the following paragraphs, we’ll take a more in-depth look at the reasons why so many individuals have abandoned traditional methods of photo storage in favor of using social media, as well as the reasons why doing so isn’t really the smartest choice all the time.
In addition to this, we will discuss several techniques that you can use as an alternative in order to ensure that the magical memories you create at your wedding will genuinely endure a lifetime.
Reasons Why Some People Avoid Physical Photo Storage
The massive photo albums that took up a lot of space on bookshelves in homes are mainly a thing of the past, but why is that? The first reason should be pretty obvious already: the more memories you place into a photo album, the more space it takes up in your home. If you have a lot of space in your home, you should consider getting rid of some of your photo albums.
When compared to the process of uploading your photographs on the internet, the creation of a physical picture album can also give the impression of being a great deal of labor, especially when the two are contrasted.
You may select many photographs at once, upload them, edit them, and post them on prominent social media networks like Facebook and Instagram, all with just a few clicks or touches of your mouse or finger. This convenience is sufficient for the majority of people to completely abandon the use of laminated photographs and books with leather bindings.
In conclusion, taking actual photographs can be a little bit of a hassle because it requires using a real camera (as opposed to the one that is built into your phone), paying to have the images developed, and then making a separate journey to pick them up after they have been processed. In addition to that, there is the question of the expense.
If you print your photographs at home, you may be able to avoid having to pay someone else to develop them; however, in order to do so, you will need a high-quality printer, which, unless you already own one, can be quite pricey. If you print your photographs at home, you may be able to avoid having to pay someone else to develop them. In the meanwhile, there is no cost associated with uploading images to Instagram.
To summarize, many individuals have uploaded their photographs to various social media platforms for the following reasons:
-it helps preserve space in the actual environment.
-it’s less work intensive
-it’s more affordable.
That seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? So… I guess so. In addition, social media has its fair share of drawbacks, some of which create compelling reasons to look for other photo storage methods. This is especially true in situations in which the photos in question are particularly personal or meaningful, such as engagement or wedding photos, because they are more likely to be deleted or lost if they are stored on social media.
Downside Of Social Media Storage
We’ll get to the meat of the matter right away. The only downside to saving your photographs only on social media platforms is that you are placing a significant amount of faith in the businesses who run those sites to maintain the security of your cherished memories while also ensuring that they may be accessed when necessary.
The issue of safety is the primary consideration behind my recommendation that you should not do it. The information about the photo that you post to a site like Instagram is saved on the servers that are maintained by the company. There is a chance that your data, which consists of your cherished photographs, could be lost if something were to occur to the servers that store your information, such as a cyberattack or an accident.
But hold on, there’s more to it! You are also making the assumption that the platform you are using will not voluntarily change the content that you have posted or your ability to access it. At this time, Instagram and other similar companies provide users with free access and permit them to keep the rights to anything they have uploaded to their own platforms. It should come as no surprise that the terms and conditions of Instagram include this gem:
We do not make any claims of ownership over your work; nevertheless, you do grant us permission to use it.
This means that your images might be used in advertisements for the platform or other promotional materials without your specific consent, and you wouldn’t even be entitled to royalties if they were used in this way.
Oh well, at least there won’t be any charge for it, right? That is, under the presumption that they will never alter their terms and conditions, as many businesses often do. Therefore, the fact that the service can currently be used without cost does not guarantee that this will always be the case.
When you consider everything that has happened, you realize that there are actually quite a number compelling reasons why you should not post photographs of your wedding (or any other priceless events) online:
-If you do not have backups, the content that you submit runs the risk of being lost in the event of an incident.
-When you post images to social media platforms, you might be giving those platforms permission to use them.
-It’s possible that in the future your access to certain photographs will be restricted.
How To Safely Preserve Your Memories
Now that we’ve discussed the advantages and disadvantages of using social media platforms to store photos, you should probably think about some other options. At the very least, you will probably want a backup option for keeping your images so that you are not completely trusting everything to the business that controls the social media platform that you have selected. Here are a few concepts to consider:
1. Canvas or Posters
Making physical prints of your photos also gives you tons of cool design choices. No need to make everything fit in a photobook—why not make your best memories literally larger than life by putting them on a canvas or poster?
Again, it should be easy to find a print shop in your local area that offers large-scale printing. Many print shops even offer 24-hour shipping, saving you from having to go and pick up your posters by yourself.
2. Photo Books
When you make physical prints of your images, you also have a ton of fascinating design options to choose from. It is not necessary to try to cram everything into a photobook; instead, why not make your most treasured memories actually larger than life by printing them on a poster or canvas?
Again, it should not be difficult for you to locate a print business in your local area that specializes in printing on a huge scale. You may save the hassle of going to the print shop and picking up your posters on your own because many print shops now provide 24-hour shipping.
3. Photo Prints
It’s true that sometimes the tried-and-true methods are the most effective. When you print out physical copies of your images, you create an object that you can maintain regardless of what happens to your internet data, and the process of printing photos is actually a lot simpler than it used to be.
You won’t need to bring your images to a developer anymore, unless you insist on shooting with film. These days, practically any print shop will have the technology to print your digital photos in high resolution, either on good quality paper or cardstock. That means you don’t necessarily need to blow the money on a home printer, either. Don’t worry, fellow millennials and gen-zers, we see you.
In The End
It is ultimately up to you to decide whether or not you will store your photographs online; either option can be supported by a number of compelling reasons. If you decide to use social media instead of one of the other choices, however, we strongly advise you to take use of one of those tools in order to generate physical copies in addition to anything you post online.
