From Photo Print To Photo Mug - How The Idea Of Displaying Photos Is Changing

If, like me, you're a keen photographer and spend hours in the darkroom printing your negatives or you sit at the computer trying to sort through all your photos you'll know doubt have looked at different ways to display your images. Traditionally the obvious route is to get a picture framed and display it. This can be in a gallery or in the home and can sometimes be lucrative if you get it right.

However most photographers, like myself, are also always looking for new ways to display their work. Experimentation and adventure are key to everything a successful photographer does with a camera and this can also apply to how the finished images are displayed. I'm always looking for more interesting formats to display my work.

There are now many different ways to display an image. Areas that were once maybe closed to your average photographer due to cost or practicality are now the norm. Things like photo mugs printed t shirts, coffee mugs, puzzles and badges are now not exclusively produced by large companies as freebies or promotional material but are now just as accessible and achievable to someone walking down any city centre high street.

Advances in technology have meant that the machinery that enables an image to be printed onto a non conventional material is cheaper and therefore more affordable to the high street retailer and general public. This means that services like the making of photo mugs, t shirts and posters have now become widely available and are not exclusively the preserve of big companies or wealthy artists. Anyone can walk into a modern photo shop today and ask for there image to be transferred to a photo mug, mouse mat or calendar. It's that easy.

The ease with which these things are now able to be done has led to an increased interest from artists and crafts people in printing and its possibilities. People have latched onto the idea that their images can be turned into objects and artworks and more and more galleries are seeing work submitted and displayed that uses the printing process as its basis.

These unusual techniques can also have a positive knock on effect. They can bring in extra cash and create renewed interest in your own photography while at the same time bringing in some extra cash. If you look through your images you may surprise yourself and discover an image that lends itself to a photo mug or calendar.

I have used the services of these new high street stores that offer things like posters, notebooks and clothing with my own images on them to great effect. I have found it to be a rewarding and educational process and it's also fun. Seeing an image printed outside of the traditional medium of the framed photo can be rewarding in itself but then realising it may be good enough to market is extra special.

Family photos and landscape images lend themselves, very successfully, to this approach. It's surprising how many people would like to see their loved ones or favourite places on a souvenir or memento. The popularity together with cost effectiveness of producing this type of merchandise makes it a great way to turn a hobby or interest into something more.

Breaking into this new way of displaying images can lead to a whole new career. Galleries are always looking for new ways to display work and if someone can come up with an interesting and aesthetically pleasing way of combining images and objects then there is a strong chance it will sell.

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