When I was a little girl, one of my most favourite things to do at my Grandparent’s house was to sneak into the living room and find all the old photo albums and look through all their memories. My Grandparents met in the 40s and had a long life, full of memories, together. I loved diving into the past and seeing what they thought was worth remembering. It would keep me entertained for hours! That’s why this is the next part of my organisation challenge!
Taking photos comes a lot easier to us now than it ever did. Entry level cameras are at reasonable prices, and even the more expensive ones are more affordable than ever! Now that it’s not about being able to afford film and being super picky about when we take photos and how we store them once they’ve been developed, we now have the challenge that with so many photos to choose from: what do we do with all those files? I’m guilty of putting them on the computer and hardly ever looking at them until something triggers my memory and I go searching for them again. (Only me?)
But I’ve realised that hard drives sometimes break and external hard drives are known to wipe themselves (isn’t that the worst thing ever?!?!) and one day it might not be possible for people to access the files in the way we do today, and the thought that future generations can’t giggle at 90s fashion nightmares and all my stupid teen hairdos, makes me sad. I feel like the only way to get our photos seen by people and shared with those we don’t yet know, is to choose the ones we love the most and put them in a photo book or photo album or get them framed and hang them on the wall.
It’s about stopping for a minute to cherish those moments that we captured and decide which ones are worth making the book! The photo books can be a bit pricey, but I think it’s an investment worth making. You could do one for your travels, or one for your family photos each year, or your wedding photos or even a collection of books for each year of your child’s life. Something they can inherit once they’re past the eye-rolling years of their teens.
I made two last year, one from my six months living abroad (from 2008) and one that’s a collection of my favourite photos I’ve taken whilst travelling (shown above). It’s something that I want to do more of. To sit down and choose the ones that have the best stories attached. That bring the biggest smile to my face. That are a moment worth sharing on more than just an online site (that may also disappear one day). If I learnt anything from making those books it would be to choose the better quality paper, put less photos per page, and check how dark your photos might print.
Next on my list of photo books to make are the photos from my big trip this year. So much happened on that trip both captured on camera and not, that I think it deserves a photo book or two for the times in the future when I’ll need reminding that dreams can come true if you work at them.
I think these also make wonderful gifts for grandparents and friends and are a lovely gesture.
There are lots of companies that offer these services these days. I’ve used Blurb and loved the quality, but there’s also Artifact Uprising if you’re in the US, which I’ve heard good things about.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you make photo books? I’d love to hear.
Love a photo book! I make one every year, and give it to the husband each xmas. It’s such a great reminder of all our adventures, and it’s a tradition that the whole family looks forward to now.
I still have all my old photo albums from back before digital cameras. Yes, they are often treasure troves of embarrassment but they are also a reminder of where I’ve come from and all the wonderful people I’ve met along the way. And I especially love looking at the albums from my first few overseas trips – viewing them on a laptop just isn’t the same as holding them in your hands!
You make awesome photo books! I think it was you who put me on to Blurb, a while back.
And you’re so right, viewing them on the laptop just isn’t the same! :)
I’ve loved this idea since I first heard of it. Yet to do it though. I have a HUGE pile of old family photos that were dumped at my house a few years ago & I really need to organise them. One day…it’s a big task.
It is a big task! I think instead of thinking of doing it all one day, maybe just do one event or occasion at a time. It can be overwhelming if we look at it all at once. It can be better to just do 30 minutes here and there and see where we are 6 months from now. :)