You just invested in a professional photoshoot to capture your precious little one’s first weeks, and you purchased some digital files from your portrait session. Now what?  I know how tempting it might be to upload your digital files to one of the volume photo printing or local drugstore websites. The convenience, speed, and low cost are appealing. However, printing your newborn portraits at a drugstore rather than purchasing prints from a professional print lab can mean the difference
between a piece of art that you will treasure for years to come, and a faded piece of paper that doesn’t do your baby’s sweet face justice.
Here are some reasons why professional printing makes all the difference, especially for your newborn portraits:

True-to-Life Skin Tones Matter

Professional newborn photographers are trained to use lighting techniques that best highlight the delicate texture and softness of newborn skin, and simultaneously reduce the appearance of redness and uneven tones.  Photographers additionally spend hours editing your baby’s portraits to reduce temporary skin imperfections (hello, baby acne and blotchiness!), while keeping skin tones natural and beautiful.

Color accuracy and consistency can be problematic at quick-service consumer photo labs   Skin can often appear too red/orange or, conversely, green or gray; similarly, it can appear overly saturated or washed out.  White backgrounds may come out with a strange blue or gray tint. That creamy newborn skin tone you loved in your proofing gallery is now gone.
Professional print labs, by contrast, use color calibration to expertly match the exact tones your photographer worked hard to create, so that your baby looks just like he or she did in your arms.

Proper Cropping & Composition Preservation

Professional photographers carefully compose each shot – tiny fingers, lashes, little curled-up toes – every detail matters.  Consumer print labs often auto-crop or stretch images to fit standard print sizes without considering the original image composition. This can result in cut-off heads, awkward framing, or distorted proportions.
Professional labs respect your photographers original vision and ensure that your images are printed exactly as intended.

Quality Prints That Last a Lifetime

When you order a professional print you’re not just getting a simple photo.  You’re preserving a moment in time that you’ll want to look back on
when your baby is turning one… or heading off to kindergarten or college. (Trust me, it happens FAST!!)

Professional print labs use premium archival-grade paper and inks, meaning that your prints will last for decades without fading.  Prints from drugstores and other consumer labs, on the other hand, are typically printed on thin, glossy paper that can feel flimsy and overly shiny.  These prints can start to warp, discolor, fade, or even peel in just a few short months or years.
When it comes to your baby’s first portraits, you deserve an art piece that you can proudly display on your wall and pass down to your children and grandchildren… not something that will end up curled up in a drawer.

Professional Print Labs Care About Your Memories

At a professional photography print lab, every image is treated with care. There are real humans checking your order for quality, ensuring that it meets high
standards.
By contrast, retail printers tend to prioritize speed and quantity over quality.  Although the convenience and low cost might make a retail printer a reasonable option for everyday snapshots, you might not want your baby’s first portraits to be rushed through a high-volume machine with zero oversight.

As a full-service Potomac fine art photographer, I offer many archival and fine art print options (as well as other heirloom products) from professional labs that utilize museum- quality materials and are dedicated to quality and craftmanship.  (Stay tuned for an additional blog post showcasing the curated collection of gorgeous products that I offer my clients!)  Contact me any time for more information!