Organizing Family Photos - Getting Started

Most people will admit to the need and desire to get their family photos under better control. Many will also admit to being overwhelmed by the thought of such a project.

This sense of need for better photo organization is often based on a desire to more broadly share our photo images with friends and extended family. If only we had our photos better organized, we could produce those impressive photo books, collage posters, and image based holiday and greeting cards we have seen our friends make. Still many are paralyzed at the thought of organizing, scanning, and labeling all those images that have been accumulated in boxes and on our hard drives.

Complicating the task, and another cause for procrastination, are the challenges of learning about ways to combine family photo collections that include prints, digital files, and in many cases slides and perhaps video film.

The key to making progress is to simply get started. This process is a bit like going to the dentist. It is not likely to hurt as much as you fear, and just think about how good you will feel when you have the project behind you.

Three key organizing tips to keep in mind.

1.) Eliminate Images that Hold Little Value - It is likely that much of what you have collected over time has lost much of it's importance. We tend to keep all the photos taken at a particular event even though some are clearly better than others. Remember that the memory of the event is normally more important than any one particular image. With the passage of time, perhaps one good photo of your first car is plenty. Likewise, unless you married your prom date, with the passage of time, the prom photo has clearly become less important.

If you start your organizing project by eliminating images that are truly bad and/or have little present value to your collection, it becomes a much easier task to properly cherish, organize, and share the best and most highly valued images that remain. If you head into the project with the intent of applying the 80/20 rule, you will likely find that 20% of the images hold 80% of the interest/value or that perhaps only 20% of the images actually deserve to be organized and shared.

2.) There is Considerable Help Available - Driven largely by the evolution of digital technology, it has recently become much easier to creatively organize and share family photo images. A good first step is to consolidate print and digital collections . Once family photo images are in digital file format, it becomes quite easy to accomplish many family photo sharing projects at home or online. Family photo history books, custom greeting and holiday cards, photo collages and posters, and spectacular family photo wall groupings are only a few clicks away with the help of sophisticated online services.

In order to create your consolidated digital family photo collection, it is possible to have your prints scanned professionally at a reasonable cost. Simply place prints of varied sizes into a provided envelop or box and send them off to be scanned and returned. Visit ScanDigital and/or ScanCafe to preview and try their services.

3.) Any Step is a Good Step - Take a moment to think about how you might feel if your photo collection is lost in a disaster or simply becomes a burden to whoever may ultimately tidy up your estate.

You do not need to complete the entire project all at once. It may be best to simply grab one of several boxes of family photo prints or one deteriorating album and organize these images. Perhaps send out one of several potential batches of prints to be scanned in order to take a positive step and to see how the service works. If you do not have the time to start a large project, make it a series of smaller projects.
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For more tips and suggestions, read Tips for Sorting and Culling Photos and Documents at LocalArchiver.com