What is your system for family photos? Do you use your computer or scrapbook them? Do you let them fly everywhere or file them?

What are ways to keep family photos?

I'll go later, hopefully you all will have great ideas!

Dancer

Oh groan. We have three large heavy suitcases filled with albulms of family photos, which I just dug out of my mother's cellar.

I plan to grab a fist full of pictures and slaughter only those out every night while watching the news. The ones I keep, I will scan the next day and preserve on the computer. I plan to get my mother a digital frame, and load those pictures on it, so she will still be able to enjoy the photos.

This task will take at least 50 years. I know how it will end...after a few months, I will probably dump the rest of the photos in the garbage. It's just too too much.

I wonder,...has anyone died from assorting photos?

Yikes. I have albums, shoe boxes, other assorted boxes, and some still in the original envelope from processing. I have a few, not many, on the computer. I'm planning on scanning them all into the computer - one day when I am retired! Ha ha, as if I'll ever be able to retire!!

I put them in a calendar using collages, and give as Christmas gifts. As far as hosting them, I have them on the computer but in more than one place. One virus and yipes!

I started a new album when my first son was born and as we took photos I was quick to mount them in the albums. I finally ended up years later with over 20 albums of all the familys.

When each son got married I allowed them with their wives to go through the albums taking the photos they each wanted. I am now down to an album or two total with some photos missing in each of them too. But better the kids have them then they just sit here gathering dust.

Well before digital cameras, I was much more organized since it was just the hard copy photos...which are in photo albums..I must have 1 large box of just albums.

A few yrs. ago, I removed some photos from the self-adhesive backed albums. You know why? The glue will permeate and destroy the preservation of the photo itself. it's a well-known fact among librarians and archivists.

So in addition to the boxed stuff (primarily trip photos, not worth dismantling), I have envelopes of photos. Plus more photo albums with slip-in plastic sleeves that have more valuable photos of family. Plus some packages of photos I still haven't put into albums. I have a few enlargements (scenery from bike trips), that could be framed but haven't done it. Enlargements have been around for past decade.

I do have a very valuable album which I've set aside 2-4 album pages per family member. There are photos for the family members that tracks their physical changes over the decades. It takes awhile to develop such an album but worth it...by giving photographic highlights per person's lifespan.

Plus the digitial photos, about 40% of mine on my computer and remaining 60% on his computer. Plus a couple of DVDs and CDs with burned photos. We have approx. 5,000 personal digital photos. he has an additional 5-10,000 digital photos that are more on cycling stuff that he uses for volunteer work and for his business. It really is a serious library of stuff..since it's part of his "research" whenever we travel by bike, he checks out the cycling route facilities.

If this isn't a reflection of technological generational problems in organizing, then I don't know how else to name this mess.

Being librarian, doesn't mean I transfer my skill set into the personal sphere.

This post makes me anxious. I have a closet full of photos in albums and photo boxes. About ten years ago, they were very orderly. Now everyone picks through and moves them aobut and they are way out of order.

Since using my digital camera, I'm totally confused. I've developed mnay of them, but still have some stored on my camera. Urg - it's a mess.

Then, our attic is filled with chests of my MIL's photos. God only knows what we'll do with them. And my FIl's photos are about to hit our home soon too. Egads.

I can't imagine scanning them and pitching them. There's something about holding those old things in your hands that I just love.

Help, I'm drowning in unorganized photos and can't catch a breath.

I just recently purchased a scanner type thing from HSN I believe. I'll be getting it next week I think. It does not use the computer and only scans up to a 4 x 6 picture. However, it scans it right to a memory disk. So all those old smaller pictures we can put on disk and have them complete. You know the kind of memory chip for cameras. I'll let you all know how it does.

I've got tons of pictures also that need put on memory chips. I can't find the negatives to most of them and they are old black and whites also.

I've got them in boxes and albums and am working on special scarpbooks for some of the pictures to showcase them.

Before you just dump pictures, go through them and ask your historical societies if they'd like some of them. You'd be amazed the type of information they collect. Especially if the pictures can be used as historical information. I've got pictures from one of my Aunts and I don't know a soul in them, but I believe they are from when the men came home from WWII. She didn't want them, but they are from an important time. Also remember that the pictures might be used for the type of clothing, activities, events, looks of the town, etc as historical information.

Good thing about thinking of one's local archive/museum.

Perhaps some of us are forgetting how old we are? I realize now my baby photos are 50 yrs. old. Jeez. Therefore our parents' kid photos are getting ancient.

Haven't been able to locate some old valuable photos, but I have some particularily with my mother in some traditional Chinese dresses that no other kid in the family was photographed with mama, except for myself as a babe in her arms.

Well, okay then. I'm about in the same situation as everyone else!

At least I have company.

LOL,
Dancer