Photos are a snapshot of moments. Moments of time that we can never get back, but they make up the tapestry of our lives. Photos can transport us back to pivotal moments in our lives, family adventures, and seeing people who have passed on from this life. When we look at a photo, our memories become so vivid and tangible that the sights, smells, sounds and emotions of that moment come flooding back to us.
In today’s digital age, taking photos and capturing moments is easier than ever before! Sometimes, perhaps, a little too easy because it seems like people take pictures of just about everything these days. If you haven’t noticed, all this picture taking can make photo organization and storage very difficult.
We talk a lot about leaving a legacy here on our blog, and today we are going to provide some tips that will help you leave a photo legacy. Those special treasures that will help your loved ones remember all those memorable times you shared over the years.
How to Organize your Digital Photos
Take a Walk Down Memory Lane
The first thing you will probably want to do, is to go through all your digital photos. You can organize them by month and year into folders on your computer – this is especially good for all those miscellaneous photos that don’t really go with a specific “event”. Organizing by event is helpful too. If you have photos from your Family Reunion in 2016, it will be much easier to search for them on your computer if the folder carries that name.
Who, What Where and Why
Another thing you can do is label pictures. My family and I went through my Grandfather’s house and there were a ton of photos. Some had names beautifully noted in my grandmother’s handwriting on the back, and some also included a brief description of the event or moment being captured. However, many photos had nothing written and none of us knew who the people in the pictures were. Or, if we did, we wondered what the story behind the photo was. Making a quick note of these things will help future generations appreciate the photos more because they’ll know a little of the story behind them.
This is initial process is time-consuming but you will be so thankful you took the time to do it. Also, if you keep on top on labeling and filing, in a way that makes sense to you, then it will only take a little time instead of several hours.
Have a Back-Up
It is very important that you have your photos in other places and there are a variety of ways to do this. We recommend having several just in case! Here are some ways to store your photos so you’ll have access from several sources.
- USB Drives
- CDs and DVDs
- Cloud Storage (Shutterfly, Dropbox, Flicker, iCloud, etc.)
- Share them on Social Media
Give the Gift of Treasured Memories
Another way of preserving memories and photos is to share them! Create a digital photo book, make a slideshow or Slideshare documenting momentous occasions, create photo gifts like — mugs, calendars, blankets, mouse pads, canvas wall hangings, etc. The list is endless really, and people LOVE getting photos as gifts.
So, we have talked a lot about digital photos, but how can you preserve and organize photos that are printed? Check out the post Need to Organize your photos? Get Started Here. via Life and Storage, to get some tips on doing that!
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