Oh, AdoramaPix, where have you been my whole life? My walls have never been happier. Ever since I was little, I have loved photography and have taken way too many pictures. But the problem has always been getting those pictures printed. Back when film was my medium, I would save up money to get rolls of film developed at the drug store and whatever teenager that was on duty would process them, which was mostly awful. Then, once everything went digital, I would order prints either from kiosks or online, but either way, the quality was always subpar.
Other labs, pay attention. This is how you do it.
Because nothing is more infuriating than when you order a picture multiple times and it comes out different each time – and each with its own major flaw. Maybe it’s my film degree talking, but it just feels like no one can print a good picture these days and every time I order pictures I end up disappointed.
Over the years I’ve had prints come back with color shifts in every color of the rainbow, huge thumbprints smeared on photographs, chemicals spilled on finished prints, negatives ruined during printing, and I’ve had prints I paid tons of money for that faded within months of printing because they weren’t processed correctly. Don't adjust your monitor, these prints are just that bad. See all that fading, color shifting, and overall bad printing on these digital and negative prints?But, up until now I didn’t have many options to get the pictures I take up on my walls without paying an artisan to do it, which just isn't an option on our budget. Getting a canvas this big? Out of the question, until now. Enter AdoramaPix, which is my new go-to site for taking all those moments I have captured and making them into artwork we can enjoy every day. From photo prints in numerous different paper finishes, to metal prints, acrylic pieces, canvases, mounted prints, and more to fit any space, they truly have something for everyone to help blend in with your décor or to make your art pop. In some areas of the home I prefer my art understated and traditional, like my gallery walls in my dining room and living room. Other times, I like statement pieces like my canvas wall I’m assembling and my acrylic print display. One look at the AdoramaPix site and I was like a kid in a candy store with so many options I couldn’t wait to try out. I simply could not narrow down my list of must-haves and I ended up ordering an assortment of pictures in various mediums just to see it all in person. The easiest to start with was the canvases, since I already knew exactly what images I wanted printed. Our new family picture was a no-brainer because we don’t have any family pictures up yet of the new baby, so that was the first step in my AdoramaPix process. Next up was a canvas of my baby girl that I wanted my artistic sister to help me paint up to make gorgeous. I ordered both in the biggest sizes I could justify, and then I moved on to the more unique mediums – acrylic and metal prints. I got one acrylic print of the three kids and then a metal print from the same sitting in black and white. I honestly didn’t even know exactly where I was going to hang the metal and acrylic prints as I ordered them, I just knew I needed them. It's hard to really capture the depth and quality of the metal print in a picture, but hopefully you can see a little bit of what makes the AdoramaPix metal prints awesome. The next part was the hardest because it involved going through thousands of pictures in my “favorites” folder until I found the perfect pictures to print. But, although it was hard to narrow down pictures, I still had fun choosing different photo finishes and doing my best to order a variety of sizes and picture orientations since I would be fitting these pictures into existing frames in my picture gallery. After I hit “submit” on my order, I was giddy with anticipation. I don’t even remember the last time I felt this way about a mail delivery. I was literally watching my mailbox and following tracking numbers because I was so impatient to receive my new art. Thank goodness the first packages arrived quickly, as my heart wouldn’t have been able to stand a long delay. I know this because the last package was delivered incorrectly by our substitute mailman and it was all I could do not to go crazy. Thankfully, it arrived in one piece after the delay, and I eventually forgave the mailman who was learning a new route. Once I had all my order, I was so happy that I began to tear apart all of our existing frames to replace pictures, selected favorite images to give to family and friends, I took down outdated wall art to replace with the canvases and acrylic, and I even started to design my “command center” wall {more on that soon!} using some of my new treasures. For weeks we lived amongst frames with images haphazardly taped to the front so I could decide where I wanted each picture, stacks of faded and misprinted pictures I was removing from frames, and stacks of AdoramaPix prints organized by who I needed to send them to. Here are some things I learned as I updated pictures and wall art with my new AdoramaPix prints and art pieces:
1) It matters who prints your pictures. Some companies are focused primarily on volume and quality control is completely out the window, but not AdoramaPix. In fact, each image they print is reviewed by an experienced technician who actually signs off on the order and their name is right there on the order form in case you have an issue. Like I said, all of my prints turned out beautifully, but I love that if they hadn’t, AdoramaPix would have been able to track it back to a specific employee and that employee could be retrained.
2) It matters what your pictures are printed on. Most photo processors offer two options for picture prints: matte and glossy. While I’m definitely a bigger fan of matte, there are some instances where matte prints just don’t look quite right and with the other guys, glossy is the only other option. With AdoramaPix, you can get prints in 25 different sizes and choose between various paper types, {Luster, Matte, Silk, Glossy, and Metallic}. While it would be hard to choose a favorite of the bunch because they all have their own applications in which they are the obvious choice, the Silk prints of my portraits are my favorites I got printed in this last batch.3) There’s a different between simple canvases and heirloom canvases. With AdoramaPix, your image is printed on high quality, heavyweight canvas and stretched onto sturdy wood frames, and then it is coated to protect the surface from scratches and light. And, unlike other mass produced canvases, with AdoramaPix you can choose from multiple sizes and can even choose custom sizes like I did. They even come with all the hanging hardware attached so they are ready to go up as soon as they arrive. 4) Quality doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. What good is having beautiful wall art if you can’t afford a place to hang them after the pictures are all printed? With AdoramaPix, I was literally shocked at how much I was able to order for LESS than what I normally pay, but with higher quality service and products. It just doesn’t make any sense, but it makes me ridiculously happy knowing that I can basically print whatever I want, whenever I want without having to save up money just to get a few pictures.
5) AdoramaPix is better than having a photographic lab, by far. Instead of mixing chemicals, devoting a whole room of my house to the cause, and spending time in the dark while my kiddos get into goodness knows what, I can now print my pictures with a few clicks of a mouse and they are delivered to my door in a matter of days. All of this means that I actually will keep my pictures updated and 3rd baby hopefully won’t have 3rd baby syndrome since she made it into frames months earlier than the other kids did comparatively.
Go ahead, look around your house right now and try and remember the last time you updated pictures and refreshed your walls. Look critically and see how much fading and bad printing you see in the pictures that are up. Admit it, after that tour you want to order from AdoramaPix right now, don’t you? Check it out and see how affordable it is to not only get new prints but also upgrade to canvas, metal prints, and acrylic.
You can start your order at AdoramaPix.com, and if you shop right now you will find that prints are on sale {8×10 is only $.98! That's less than a dollar!} AND there is free shipping with $39+ orders. Awesome, right?
How would you like to win a $50 in credit to AdoramaPix so you can order anything you like? Enter below!
A big thank you to AdoramaPix for offering us a credit to get our walls upgraded. We enjoyed every second and are already planning another order in the next week for Christmas gifts {shhhh!}. As always, all opinions are 100% ours.
I would probably do a canvas print of my grandsons.
I would get a metal print – those look amazing!!
I would use the picture of my kids in their wedding attire at my sister in laws wedding! It’s my favorite picture!
A few years ago I got a canvas print of my grandpa taken in the 40’s. He looked like Clark Gable. I would love to have another one for myself.
a canvas print of my son
I would love to make a canvas print of a photo from my brother’s wedding!!!
I would love a picture printed of my 4 kids
I would do a photo collage of Italy pictures.
I would create a canvas of my children.
I would love to have some vacation pictures printed up on canvases for our house!
I would get canvas prints of our recent family photos. We have some bare walls in our home.
I’d love a collage of all 3 of my children.
I would love a canvas print of my niece.
I would get a canvas print of my kids on vacation.
I’d like to get a canvas print of a friend who recently moved away.
I would have made some 8x10s.
I’ve been wanting to have a Metal Print made!
1. The pictures on the post are stunningly beautiful!
2. I would choose a framed print. 🙂
I would love to have a couple of large photo prints done of our recent vacation.
I would get a photo book.
I would get a metal print of one of my sons and the huge fish he caught on our recent family camping trip.
I would get a canvas print of my 12 month old!
My boyfriend has a great photo of him and his buddy with a marlin they caught off Maui. I’d love to get a large print of it for the living room, it may help him on days when he really misses living on the islands.
I would love to get acrylic prints done so I can mount them on the wall.
I love the metal prints! And it would be of my son and daughter of course!
I would make a canvas print of my grand children.
The metal prints are nice.
I would like to get canvases of our wedding photos.
I have several things I’ve been meaning to get, just haven’t had the time or money. We recently had a baby (4 weeks tomorrow!) so I’d love to have some new family photos in the living room. We already have a metal print from our wedding hanging, would be lovely to have a matching one with the whole family. I’d also love a new photo book with maternity & newborn photos for both my girls.
I would make a mug with my dogs’ pictures.
I would love to have the desktop calendar.
I would make a photo book.
A pic of my two girls.
I would get a canvas print of my brand new grand daughter!