What to Do With Aging Photo Albums

When was the last time you looked through a photo album? No, not on a screen. A physical book - where the pages crinkle when you flip them. Where the edges are yellowing and the colors don’t look quite as vibrant. Or, perhaps they are in black and white. Whether it’s your parent’s photo albums or yours (I’m looking at you Gen Xers), the pictures (and you) are not getting any younger. It’s time to address this reality and put a picture preservation plan into place. Oh, I know…daunting. But these photos preserve the memories woven into our family’s fabric. They allow us to reconnect with loved ones, past and present. And they need to be passed onto future generations.

This is a big task. Don’t be hard on yourself. Take baby steps, because every action you take to better restore, preserve and/or organize these photos goes a long way in increasing their longevity. Here are three ways to preserve those precious memories:

1. DIGITIZE PHOTOS
   Digitizing your photos means using a scanning device that creates a digital .jpg or .png file that are then stored on a device such as a computer, USB, or external hard drive or cloud service. Creating a digital file allows the photo to not only live on but also allows them to be shared with family. That way nobody is asking who has the photos - everyone has a copy.
   Pros: This lengthens the life of photos indefinitely. (Until the next generation that has manage aging technology!) It also makes them shareable with others, much more accessible than a buried photo album, more organized, and you also have the ability to create slideshows and online albums. Many quality vendors offer this service; Shutterfly, Mixbook, and Artifact Uprising to name just a few. Best part, you still have the prints as backup.
   Cons: If you have a large amount of photos, this will be a time consuming project. You will need a large amount of storage space on a computer or external hard drive or a cloud service like Dropbox or Google Photos or Amazon Photos. If you would like the photos touched-up and revitalized once they are digital, then that requires special software. And most importantly, you will need to purchase a scanner if doing this yourself or you will be paying a professional to do this project, which could get pricey. Here is a great article about the different types of external hard drives.
   How To: First establish if you (and recruited family members!) will be doing this project yourselves. That means a home scanner purchase. If you’re really on a tight budget, there are scanning apps, like Google Photo Scan, which you can use your phone. That will take up some storage on your phone, so you’ll want to move them onto a PC or hard drive fairly quickly. Not the same output quality, but it gets the job done. A reasonable scanner for under $100 is this Epson. When you buy one, make sure it has the capabilities you need; capacity for different sized photos, slides, film negatives and maybe some simple fixing options. It’s a slow process - but you can be doing this in the background of something else you are doing. Or set a goal to do 10-20 pictures a day.

2. ORGANIZE & RESTORE
   Print photographs serve as a tangible connection to precious generations. Try to restore what you can and then prep them for the best preservation as possible.
   Pros: This is a great opportunity to organize the photos, to better preserve their narrative and significance. This method saves money from buying equipment. There are many helpful products that will preserve the photos.
   Cons: Must be handled with care - like white glove care. It will be difficult removing and handling some of the photos, adding the possibility of further damage. There are professionals for this specific expertise, but can be very costly. Maybe just limit to a few photos that are most precious.
   How To: Purchase some white gloves. Seriously. Like these. You do not want fingerprints on these photos, and you WILL touch them. There are photo preservation kits if you want to try salvaging photos. But if you just want to keep them safer from harm from here on, first, put them in a cool, dry place away from sunlight. Next, consider photo storage boxes and sleeves that are acid-free and use only PVC free plastics. There are also UV resistant frames if you have photos in frames near the sunlight. While you are going through all this effort, make sure you organize them for easy retrieval and for future generations to understand the significance. A full digitalization service package is offered by Kodak.

3. RECORD THE STORIES WITH THE PHOTOS
   Not just preserving the photos, but also the stories behind them. VERY important for carrying on family history for future generations. This can be done written (book) or recited (film).
   Pros: This is the best of both worlds - having the visuals along with the stories behind them; who is in the picture and what is the context around it. For books, you may still need to scan printed photographs if you are printing a book. This may also be true for film if you want to incorporate them as a full photo. But you can also pan the photos with a camera while the stories are being told, to save time and money. This is a project that takes a lot of prep work up front, but it’s a one and done - once the book is written, the family history is sealed. Or once filming day is over, all the stories and photos are locked into history.
   Cons: Finding the time to write or record plus researching the background to the stories and asking the best questions. Having the proper equipment for quality recording - lighting, audio and camera. You may still have to scan some photos. Hiring a professional writer or videographer can add to any budget, ranging from $700-$2500.
   How To: If you’d like to have the stories in writing, you can use practically any journal or tablet. If you want high quality paper for a biography-type project - here are some great nuggets to consider when choosing the best paper. Storyworth, is a great option for outsourcing this, they provide the prompts and they bind the book. But no room for photos. No Story Lost is a similar option, where you can incorporate photos, but in a very limited quantity. For video, Family Legacy Video, as an example, where people are interviewed about their life stories and the photos are shown directly in the film with their words in the background. This not only captures the visuals, but the words and emotions behind them.