So, we moved into our West Bend, Wisconsin home last year with big dreams of creating this gorgeous open-concept living room and kitchen. What actually happened was months of me pushing furniture around like a crazy person—moving the couch here, the coffee table there, wondering if maybe the TV would look better on that wall instead.
After what felt like a million rearrangements (okay, maybe just fifty), we finally nailed the perfect layout. FINALLY! Except... now our "perfect" space looked like a fancy hotel room with completely bare walls. Go figure. Now onto the next project of hanging pictures.
That's when it hit me: in the two years since our daughter was born, how many photos had I actually printed? The answer was pretty eye-opening, and not in a good way. My Google Photos is basically a digital black hole filled with thousands of adorable pictures of our little lady, and yet they're all just sitting there on my phone, unloved and unseen. Talk about depressing.
So last night I was laying in bed and trying to fall asleep while simultaneously having a mild existential crisis about my photo situation. And that's when I remembered this podcast I'd heard. The hosts were talking about how looking at actual physical photos can boost memory and brain function (who knew?), and they interviewed this mom, Vanessa Quigley. She and her husband had created this website called ChatBooks because they were probably having the same "help, I'm drowning in phone photos" moment that I was having.
And here's the genius part: you just upload your photos to their site, and it automatically arranges them into actual photo books. No artistic skills required, no spending hours stressing over layouts, no selling an arm & leg to afford it. It's fricken amazing. Cheap and easy...right up my alley!
So here's the deal, I haven't actually ordered one yet (I'm still perfecting my selections because, you know, only the best blurry toddler shots will make the cut), but I'm planning to pull the trigger within the week. I'll definitely report back because here's the thing—our kids aren't going to scroll through our phones someday to reminisce about their childhood. They're going to want tangible photos or photo books to bring them back to their childhood and help them relive those moments! So all that to say, I will keep you updated once I receive my book and let you know my thoughts and if you've ever used a service like this before, what were your thoughts?
And speaking of solutions—this whole experience is exactly why at MelMarie Photography, every full-length session comes with a print credit. Because I don't want your beautiful family memories to die at the hands of technology. I want them to live on in your living room, kitchen, bedrooms—wherever they can bring you joy every single day. So if you booked a full-length session, be sure to use that print credit and get those photos off your phone/computer!!!
STAY TUNED FOR MY REVIEW OF CHATBOOKS!
