Hong Kong Family Photo Albums
When I started out photographing families in Hong Kong twenty years ago, the business model was to fiercely guard your original files and sell products. Never give out a digital file or a film negative. (Yes, I’m that old!) Many photographers still rely on this business model, and in fact there are literally a huge number of photographers aiming for USD10,000 per session. Yes, you read that correctly, check out this group for how to do it! I completely respect all photographers going that route. If you are good at sales, as well as taking family photos, this is a great option. I’m in awe of <some of> them. But I also think it’s an opportunity for family photographers like me who are trying to give a great product without the five-figure (USD) pricetag.
Samples of album covers I was doing as surprise ‘thank you’s’ pre-2020. 6”x6”, they were small, cheap and fun. Everyone loved them. But now…
Since Day One I went a different way with my photography business. I just started handing out hi-res files to families in Hong Kong at a time when NOBODY did that. I reckon, what do I need them for? Why shouldn’t future generations have the files in the same condition they were in when taken? A photo album or print might get lost or damaged. I took the photos, handed over the files, got paid, and that was it. I realize I left a lot of business on the table, but that was my choice obviously.
“There's something profoundly satisfying about the ritual of pulling a record from its sleeve. And similarly, there's something magical about the weight of a book in your hands, the smell of fresh ink, the deliberate pace of turning actual pages.”
Then, around 2017 I started making little freebie ‘thank you’ albums for all my customers. (Samples above.) I just did it because I wanted to see my photos in print. I got a blast out of designing the albums. Sometimes they came together in a few minutes, some took hours. I didn’t care, finally my shots were ending up in fun little albums. But since I was doing them as surprises I just made super-cheap 6”x6” 20-page books. I would have been embarrassed to charge for something that small. But still, I wanted to provide storytelling family photography Hong Kong, and the classic way to do this is with a photo album. I also loved being able to highlight the incredible range Hong Kong family photography locations.
“Because let's be honest: social media has warped our view of photography. We've trained ourselves to consume images at the speed of light, scrolling through hundreds of photographs in the time it used to take to properly examine one.”
Recently a friend sent me this article, which really resonated with me. It’s true, having a bunch of photos on a hard drive, or in the cloud is great but as the painter Marcel Duchamp once said:
“That Art Isn't Truly Art Until Someone Responds To It”
And you can’t respond to it if you can’t see it. So this year I am going all-in on the printed album. Not little 6”x6” things, but full-sized 14”x10” coffee-table books. That is 28” inches across when open, which is huge! Below is a sample of that size, made using photos from one family over 12 years. (Six sessions only!) This is the kind of thing that dominates a coffee table! They are so fun to make and display, I know they will be a hit.
And in 50 Years it Will Still be Around, Maybe Even Much Longer
Below are some samples of the little albums I was giving away years ago, against the album I am including free with some sessions now. Major upgrade to my packages for professional family portraits in Hong Kong.
Families in Hong Kong are often ridiculously busy. So busy apparently that they tell me every year for years that they “don’t have an hour this year”. There are kids who have grown up in Hong Kong and graduated without I think that is mostly about priorities, as there are 8000+ hrs in a year, you can definitely find time. Just pick a morning or an afternoon and make a lasting story-book about your life in the World’s Most Beautiful City. Maybe the kids miss a piano lesson, but in one hundred years your family still might have the photo album you made so long ago. Not to sound too cheesy, but it immortalizes your family's story, with a timeless heirloom.
This is the ultimate “Memories of Hong Kong” Photo Shoot
During my writing of my book on kids photography for parents in 2021, I got some scans from family albums from my own family. We have albums going back almost 150 years, which just seems incredible to type. My hope is that a few Hong Kong families will have albums I photographed still in one piece in 2175. Kids in Hong Kong today will be the Great Great Grandparents of those kids in 150 years. I take the long view with family photos, I think it’s safe to say. Below are a few samples from Taylor Family Photo Albums from 125+ years ago. (Quebec and the Ottawa Valley.) Also just some old family photos. The secret is, they were printed, it becomes a family heirloom, not a bunch of files.
“This frantic consumption has created a peculiar problem: photographers are producing more images, but they're being seen less. Your carefully composed street photography gets the same fleeting glance as someone's blurry photo of their breakfast. It's the ultimate levelling down, where everything becomes equally disposable.”
Someday I want my photos to be as old the images above! Take the opportunity to document your Hong Kong family life, your story, in this vibrant city. Create a tangible reminder for future generations of your family.
