Organize Photos in 7 Easy Steps
Provided by Scott® Common Sense Community
Photos are the best way to capture and preserve our favorite family memories. But if you still have boxes of loose pictures, a digital memory card full of images and a bunch of half-full albums, it’s time to get organized. Here are some easy, simple tips to help:
More than a Year's Worth? You're not alone! First, round up all your photos from wherever they may be hiding — junk drawer, paperwork piles, bedside table, car, handbag. Then label the envelopes with an approximate date. Consult your old calendars to remember when these events occurred.
Banish the Bad and the Blurry. Three good photos of an event are better than a dozen mediocre ones. Quickly shuffle through the prints and discard the bad ones: unfocused, under-lit or unflattering. Something distracting in the background, or "sprouting" out of the subject's head? If you're a scrapbooker, that's a perfect candidate for cropping.
Uses for Duplicates. If you have double prints or virtual duplicates, give them away to friends and family. Or, using an inexpensive album, give a young child her own photos — no worries when they get bent, torn and sticky! Create charming refrigerator magnets by cutting out fun images, laminating them at a local store.
Who IS This?! It's hard to believe you won't remember some of these events and people in a decade, but it happens! Add quick IDs to the back of photos with a photo pen or pencil. Mark along the edge, not in the middle. Have a visit with an older relative to help fill in some of the blanks on family photos you’ve "inherited."
Arrange in Albums. When buying photo albums, look for the words "archival" and "acid free" — you want your memories to last! Decide how you want to organize your photos: chronological is logical, but you may prefer to group photos by family members or events. A separate, small album that holds 20 to 40 photos is ideal for briefcases and handbags, or to toss in a suitcase when you travel. Update it frequently to reflect what's been keeping your family busy lately.
Positive Solutions for Negatives. File your negatives in separate envelopes in a photo storage box, and mark each envelope with the general subjects and the album in which the photos appear. No more squinting at negatives trying to decipher the image!
Doing Digitals. If you've gone digital, download images from your camera and order prints regularly. Quickly click through your files and delete those that aren't wonderful. Rename them and add the date as well. Organize them into files the same way you'd arrange albums. Burn hundreds of photos onto a disk — these make great gifts and take up virtually no room in a safe deposit box should anything happen to your computer.
