The ultimate transition to digital family photo collections is inevitable. Most original images being captured today are digital, many inherited print collections are being scanned and converted to digital as acquired, and digital files and new image services are opening a wide range of exciting preservation and sharing possibilities. Even if a family’s primary goal is simply to better organize a collection of older paper prints, an understanding of digital concepts and possibilities is useful to develop a sense of what can be done. With this understanding, families can more confidently use digital technology to improve photo collection organization, preservation, and sharing at a separate pace chosen by each family.
Family photo prints, slides, and many older photo albums are simply prone to fading and deterioration. Converting these images to digital files can be a useful way of preserving the images well beyond the expected useful life of originals. This is particularly true for color photographs, which became mainstream about fifty years ago, and in many cases color photos begin to show noticeable deterioration after approximately forty to fifty years. Even when properly stored, original images will deteriorate over time and perhaps be lost to future generations, if not preserved by duplication in a digital format.
The above is an excerpt from Family Photo Organization, a book I plan to publish this fall.
Visit LocalArchiver.com now, or wait until Family Photo Organization is published, to learn more about organizing, preserving, and sharing family photos.
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