Are you doing anything fun with your photos?

Back to school is here and with it comes many mixed emotions. After a very enjoyable summer I am excited for the new school year to begin, as it always brings a resurgence of energy, but I am also a little anxious of the change it entails.

‘Have fun with your photos, they tell our stories’

Earlier this year, I was looking back through some old photos and came across this photo of my daughter and her friend. They both got a good kick out of seeing it, so I suggested that they have a little fun and recreate the photo. In the original photo they were about 2 years old. They met at daycare, located in our local high school and became good friends. Off to different elementary schools they went, and did not meet again until they were back at the same school, but this time as high school students. In June of this year, just before the graduated, they recreated the photo!

Photographs help us tell the stories of our lives, they transport us back in time for a few moments, so it’s important to share and enjoy them. Take some time and plan to get those photos of: the first day of school, halloween costumes, friends from the school or sports, holiday celebrations and silly faces.

‘Use your photos to make a special gift.’

This fall will be very different for our family, as our daughter is off to university. We are so proud of her and excited for this new chapter of her life to begin, but I am also feeling sad and a little nostalgic about wanting my little girl back.

As a parting gift for my daughter, I created a photo book. A collection of photos of her, her accomplishments, places that we have been and the fun that we have had along the way! Hopefully it will help her when she is feeling a little homesick.  I printed a second copy to help me, as we transition into this new stage of our lives.

‘Keep your photos organized, accessible and secure.’

It’s fun to reminisce over family photos, but the downside of digital is that we don’t print our photos any more. Take some time each month to keep your photos organized, accessible, and secure. If you do that it will take very little time to find your photos for that special gift.

About the Author:

Trish Keogh founder of Pictures in Place, a Photo Organizing Company. Please contact info@picturesinplace.ca to discuss your project.

September is International Save Your Photos Month. Do you have what it takes to save your photos?

Did you know that in 2015 over one trillion photos were taken? By 2017 approximately 80% of photos will be taken on a mobile phone.

How many photos are on your phone? Hundreds? Thousands? Do you go through them occasionally, periodically or not at all? As your photo library grows the task of maintaining it can become daunting. Plus there is the risk of loss due to theft or damaged devices. It’s not all doom and gloom though! Adopting good habits to edit, backup and tag regularly ensures that you can find, share and enjoy pictures easily. So how do you do that?

Let us share the ABC’S of Digital Photo Organizing.

A is for Album:
These are the best shots - the album worthy pictures. They are the photos that you like enough to print, display in a frame, add to a photobook and share with family and friends. You would be heartbroken if you lost them.

B is for Backup:
These are the shots that support the best. They may not be perfect but they still represent a moment in time, a trip, an event or a special person in your life.

C is for Can:
In this case C stands for garbage can. These are the duplicates, similar or fuzzy shots, places or people that don’t hold special memories - really bad photos. Don’t worry about letting go of these; you have the “A’s and the B’s” so you can get rid of the “C’s”. Plus they are taking up memory on your device.

S is for Story:
We take pictures to share our stories with family and friends. Any photo that makes you smile, laugh, cry, holds a special memory is an “S” worthy photo and should be kept.

S also stands for Save.

Now you have done your ABC’S and your library is a manageable size but remember to protect it by having it in more than one place. It is recommended that you have a 3-3-2 back up system - 3 copies of your library, on 3 different devices and in 2 separate locations.

We take photos to capture life’s moments; remember to share as them as well. There’s no time like September to practice the ABC’S of Photo Organizing!

About the Author:

Trish Keogh founder of Pictures in Place, a Photo Organizing Company. Please contact info@picturesinplace.ca to discuss your project.