Andi Willis, Author at Save Your Photos

Jan 17 2018

Save Your Photos: Celebrate and Share

The importance of family stories….“Families who refine and retell a unifying narrative about their positive moments and resilience during difficult times, produce children who consistently show more self-confidence.” ~ Bruce Feiler

Family stories build self-esteem!

The New York Times published an excellent article in 2013 by Bruce Feiler called, “The Stories that Bind Us.” He reports that families who refine and retell a unifying narrative about their positive moments and resilience during difficult times, produce children who consistently show more self-confidence. Knowing the answers to questions such as; Do you know where your parents grew up? Do you know the story of your birth? Do you know of an illness or something difficult your family has experienced? was the best predictor of a child’s mental health and happiness.

The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.

We believe this is true for children AND adults!

Your family photos and videos hold the key to your family narrative and serve a profound purpose. With your newly organized memory collection, you have the ability now to curate your family stories into photo books, wall displays, video montages, online photo albums and so much more.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll review different ways you can display and share your photo and video memories. It’s time to celebrate and share your story with the people you love..

We also invite you to visit our sister blog The Photo Organizers for more tips and in-depth knowledge from some of the top photo organizing industry professionals. To find a photo organizer near you, visit the Association of Personal Photo Organizers.

Don’t forget to grab your copy of Photo Organizing Made Easy: Going from Overwhelmed to Overjoyed from APPO founder Cathi Nelson.

Jan 10 2018

Save Your Photos: Convert Your Home Movies

Time is wreaking havoc on the audio and video quality of your home movies. It’s time to convert them if you haven’t already done so.

Let’s talk about your home movie collection. Remember that clunky VCR camera that helped you capture your baby’s first steps? Do you have memories of watching grandpa’s home movies with the family projector? When was the last time you were able to enjoy these memorable glimpses into the past?

Your Memories Are Fading

It’s time to do something about the rest of your memory collection trapped on film or magnetic tapes. These treasures are particularly delicate and need your attention soon. Magnetic tapes (VCR) have a shorter lifespan than film (grandpa’s home movies) and begin to deteriorate after ten years. But film has its problems too. If you smell vinegar, or your film has white or green chalky particles, then you need to act fast and work with a professional conversion service.

What to look for in a Home Movie Conversion service

Investigate how the work is done and who is doing it. Transfer services are abundant, and many of them use primitive equipment with minimally trained staff or film handlers. Many of these services use a modified projector with a video camera in it which tapes the image. They often don’t have the tools to improve the picture and can damage the film, and sometimes your film is sent out of the country.

Look for transfer services that use a sprocket less, capstan system designed specifically for scanning. This is the same type of equipment used by the Film and TV industry. This kind of equipment has tools that offer color correction, dirt and scratch concealment, high resolution and more. You’ll pay more for high-end conversion, but it’s worth it.

Ask your provider about the quality of their output. What is the highest resolution they can provide? Your goal is to have a high-resolution original as your master copy that will remain in your hub. You will edit and use derivatives to transfer to DVD or stream online (YouTube or Vimeo). If your provider only offers transfer to DVD or streaming to an online account, find another vendor. These files are highly compressed.

Once your home movies are converted, rename the files and store in your digital photo hub in their corresponding folder.

Don’t Forget Your Digital Photo Hub

Now let’s circle back to when we encouraged you to choose a digital photo hub that has a large capacity and stored locally on your computer or external hard drive. Your entire memory collection, which now contains high res images and high res videos, needs a ton of space! As your collection grows, so does your space requirement. Your locally stored hub should be easy to duplicate (copy to an external drive) and backup (manually or automatically) and is readily available at all times (doesn’t depend on an internet connection).

It’s time to move on to the fun part! Let’s start sharing and enjoying your precious memories.

Jan 03 2018

Save Your Photos: Scan Your Pictures

Scanning your printed photos and slides extends the lifetime of your pictures, creates a backup, and increases your ability to share and enjoy your memories.

Now that your analog collection is organized (or at least in progress), it’s time to get some or all of these treasures scanned.

Why Scan Your Pictures?

Scanning extends the lifetime of your photo.

Your printed photos are decaying and deteriorating even under optimum storage conditions. When you make a digital copy, you have the ability to enhance the image, restore it to its original color and fix damaged any damage. Digital photos can be migrated into new forms as technology changes, extending the life of your image beyond the original print.

Scanning creates a backup of your printed images.

Right now, you have one copy of those prints with no backup unless you were particular about saving and cataloging your negatives. Your digital copy will be stored in your digital photo hub with the rest of your digital images, and will get backed up during your normal workflow.

Scanning increases your ability to share and enjoy your photos.

Families with printed photos face similar dilemmas. How will I divide my printed photos between my kids? Who gets what? What if they have storage space issues? I created scrapbook albums, and everyone in my family wants one! When you have digital copies of your photos (and your albums), your problems are solved. In their digital form, your printed photos can be shared via social media and online photo archives or put into slideshows and photos books.

How To Scan Your Pictures

Begin by reviewing your printed photos and slides and determine the quantity now that you have purged during the organizing process. Consider how you want to use these digital images so you can determine the minimum DPI that you need your images scanned. We recommend a minimum of 600 DPI depending on the original size of your image, and what you intend to use it for. For example, a 2×3 photo that you want to display on your wall as a canvas print may need scanning at a much higher DPI. If you are scanning slides, your DPI will be considerably higher and will be determined based on the end goal for your digitized copy. Work with your scanning service provider to help determine your needs.

Will you scan at home or use a service?

Local and online scanning services are an excellent choice for time-starved individuals and can be an affordable solution if you don’t have a quality scanner at home. Look for service providers that offer image enhancement and white glove service. Some big box stores ship your photos out of the country for processing. Do your homework!

If you scan your pictures at home, take extra care when handling your photos. Wipe your printed photos with a clean cloth and keep the scanner glass clean and dust free. Scanners will pick up dust, scratches, and smudges and magnify them in your image.

Do you have thousands of photos to scan? Consider buying a high-speed scanner or better yet, rent one. A high-quality, high-speed scanner can process your scans at an average of 50 prints per minute depending on the scanner. That’s roughly 2,000 – 3,000 photos per hour. Choosing a high-speed scanner for large jobs saves you time and money. Google ‘rent a scanner’ to find a scanner that suits your needs and budget.

Dec 13 2017

Save Your Photos: Store Printed Photos Safely

Your printed photos and memorabilia should be stored in archival containers and located in rooms with average temperatures and low humidity. Avoid basements and attics.

We’re almost ready to talk about scanning your photo collection. But before we do, you need to determine a permanent home for your photos after they’ve been digitized. It is important that your store printed photos safely.

Pass The PAT Test

Printed photos (and memorabilia) should be stored in containers designed for archiving. To be considered ‘archival,’ products must meet rigorous standards developed the Image Permanence Institute, by passing the Photographic Activity Test (PAT). The PAT test is the international standard for photographic archival storage, and you can learn more about it at the Image Permanence Institute.

Keep It Clean

Before you place your scanned prints and memorabilia into their storage containers, wipe the surface of each photo with a clean, lint-free cloth to remove any residue or dust that may be on the picture. And of course, wear your gloves!

Perfect Storage Conditions

Your photo boxes and containers should be stored at room temperature with 40% humidity levels, and away from light.

Stay away from basements and attics and keep them off the ground, preferably on top shelves or the 2nd floor of your home. When floods occur, home’s fill from the basement up. Even though your collection has been digitized, and backed up with the rest of your digital images, you should strive to secure your originals to best of your ability.

Dec 06 2017

Save Your Photos: Be a Detective

Documents, report cards, certificates, awards, trophies, newspaper articles, invitations, letters and other similar items contain dates and information that may contribute to your family timeline and unlock some of your photo mysteries. So be a detective.

Not sure what to do with your growing collection of memorabilia and other keepsakes? These treasures play a significant role in your memory collection, and we encourage you to organize (and purge) these items as well.

Review for dates and details

Do any of these articles correspond with a photo in your digital or printed collection? Make a note (sticky note) with the image name that this memorabilia corresponds with so you can add this to the file name when scanning or digitizing.

Purge

Once you start reviewing your memorabilia, toss out anything that has lost its meaning or level of importance. Kids artwork is a challenge for most parents, and these beautiful treasures can clutter a collection very quickly.

Get into the habit of taking a photo of your child displaying their artwork as it comes into the house. Showcase their art for a period then scan and toss with the reassurance that you have digitized and cataloged accordingly. If you have a budding Picasso, then keep and store the very best pieces.

Digitize and backup

Divide your memorabilia into two categories for digitizing. Documents, report cards certificates, etc. can be scanned but bulky items will need to be photographed. Once you have a digital file, rename your files and add metadata using the same procedure as your photos, then store in your digital photo hub.

Organize and store

Store documents flat, in archive envelopes or boxes designed specifically for document storage. Label envelopes and boxes with as much detail as possible in case your envelopes or boxes become separated from your photo collection. Or add a few duplicate images that correspond with your memorabilia (not your original prints), so you keep your timeline and photos connected.

Store protected media in a safe place away from light, humidity, and extreme temperatures.