Mary Moseley, Author at Save Your Photos

Sep 23 2015

Are you a photo hoarder?

This is a guest contribution from Nancy Nally of Scrapbook Update.

Thanks to an entire industry of organization books, TV shows, and experts, we know that we need to clean out our linen closets, our pantries, and our wardrobes. We know all about the dangers of being a hoarder.

But have you looked at your photo stash lately? Are you a hoarder…of photos?

Those of us who were raised in the era of film photography are programmed to treat every picture memory as precious, because of the expense of film. In the days of film, I might come home from a week long vacation with as many as 10 rolls of film – around 350 pictures.

Today, with the advent of digital photography, it doesn’t cost anything to click the shutter of our camera. We can click away in search of the perfect shot, or record every moment of a special event. Now, I can easily take as many as 300-500 photos in a single day during an event like a trade show.

And then smart phones entered the mix and we started taking photos everywhere we go, to send as texts, or to refresh our memories.

The result is that many of us are accumulating massive photos libraries. And while we think of snapping the shutter on a digital photo as free, the reality is that as those photos accumulate, they turn into a burdensome volume of digital data that costs money to store, maintain, and back-up.

Besides the financial cost and maintenance burden, a cluttered photo library can also make your photos unusable. It becomes impossible to find the good images in all of the junk, just like a cluttered closet is easy to lose your favorite sweater in.

So what’s the solution? Purge early and purge often. Use photo management software – such as Adobe’s Lightroom – to organize your photos. When you initially import your photos, do an immediate purge of the horrible ones or the ones that don’t belong in your photo archives (like the one you texted to your husband from the grocery store to see if that was the right coffee to buy).

Then, as you work through that group of photos, make sure you delete the not so great ones and only keep the best. Do you really need all six of the versions of the group photo you snapped at that family gathering trying to make sure you got one decent one? No. So pick the best one or two and ditch the rest.

It’s important to save your photos. But that doesn’t mean you have to save them all. Purging your digital photos will make them easier to protect and use. Start deleting today!

Nancy Nally is the owner of Nally Studios LLC., and the Publisher & Editor of Scrapbook Update and Craft Critique.

Nancy has been an avid scrapbooker for over fifteen years, and has worked and taught in scrapbook stores in Michigan and Florida. She founded Scrapbook Update in 2004, and became owner/editor of Craft Critique in 2012.

Nancy undertakes freelance work for a variety of scrapbook industry companies. She is currently the Cricut Creativity Center manager at 2015 Scrapbook Expo shows for Provo Craft, as well as the social media manager for Buttons Galore & More.

Sep 12 2015

Where are your memories now?

This is a guest contribution for Karen Fitting at Photos Kept Alive.

That’s often the first question I ask people and the answer I hear the most is “all over the place”. It’s so true. As a Gen X-er, I have my memories in so many different formats:

Slides
Video tapes / Camcorder tapes
Photos albums / scrapbooks
Mobile Device / Computer
Framed photos

Whew! This is so overwhelming! No wonder we’re in denial about figuring out how to preserve and save these memories for future generations.

Here’s how I’m managing my memories today.

I’ve collected all the family videos, photo albums and slides and am currently having them professionally scanned. I’ve done all the slides and videos and am doing one photo album a month. The company I selected provides both a DVD as well as secure, private online storage giving me added protection. They also have an app so I can view and share with my family/friends while on the go.
Once a month I collect all my digital images into one place. That means taking the images off of all the cameras (digital SLR and mobile) and saving to a folder on my computer. I also organize and manage the Meta Data so when I go back to find something it’s easy to retrieve.
Framed photos can be the hardest to preserve. If it’s a one of a kind, I’ll photograph with my phone but also have it professionally scanned. If I no longer want it framed, depending on its size, I’ll put it into a photo album.

Of course, everything is backed up in more than one location and thanks to modern technology, I can re-live many of these memories on-the-go.

So, where are your memories now?

Karen Fitting

Karen calls herself a digi-scrapbooker but has been enjoying hybrid projects combining digital and traditional styles. At Photos Kept Alive she shares her crafty projects as well as helps her customers with “all things photos” – including video transfer, scanning, scrapbooking and events. What she loves most is listening to the stories that go with the pictures. Karen lives in Northern California.

Aug 31 2015

Six Tips for Photo Cloud Storage

This is a guest contribution from Debbie O’Neal at www.scrapmequickdesigns.com.

Many of us are happily the memory keepers for our families. The person responsible for making sure our families can look back on past events and remininsce. Of course, that includes all kinds of memoriabilia but I bet it is mostly the photos of all the special events and moments in the lives of our loved ones over the years that we want to preserve the most, right?

Just think of all those birthday parties, graduations, school events, holidays and just every day moments you have captured with your camera. I know over the years I have thousands of photos preserved and I bet you do too. We have even scanned our older non-digital photos to preserve them as well. And still taking more photos with our digital devices every day.

But have you ever considered what would happen to your photos if you experienced a major disaster in your home? Water and fire can do a lot of damage to not only your physical photos but also to your computer hard drives or back up storage devices where you have your digital photos stored. Your emergency plan might include grabbing those as you run out of your home to safety during a disaster but you may not have time to do so. Or even be home when the disaster occurs.

I am not trying to scare you but I live in an area where we have experienced flash flooding…no warning…just your house flooding in moments. The only thing you can think of is getting to higher ground and making sure your family is safe. No real time to grab the computer or boxes of photos. I have helped several friends try to save printed photos from flood damage…believe me that is no fun and not always a successful process. And others lost their computers or external back up hard drives to water or smoke damage with no chance of data recovery.

From these experiences I had a wake up call about how I store my precious family photos. I did a lot of research and came to the conclusion that offsite cloud storage was a great idea. But what kind and how would I implement it?

Should I use a a Cloud File Storage Service that stores and syncs up only certain folders on my computer or mobile device…like just my photo folder ? Service providers like Google Drive, Drop Box and SugarSync are various choices I considered but there are many others as well. Between all of these, SugarSync was repeatedly recommended as the best Cloud File Storage Sync Service because it allows you to save your files where it makes the most sense, instead of a specific folder. Stores encrypted files and supports a wide range of mobile devices. Note: Encrypted just means they are protected from being seen by anyone but you.

Or would it be better to use a Cloud Storage Back Up Service that backs up my entire computer system including my photos so I could do a full system restore if needed ? Service providers such as Rackspace, MozyHome and Carbonite are choices I considered. Based on my research, MozyHome has the best file sync options of the back up file storage service providers. It gives you the ability to have 3 computers backed up for the same price plus has the option of encrypting your own files with your own key on your computer to increase the security level of your data. It also supports a wide range of mobile devices and access to your data. Plus they had the highest rating for customer satisfaction and support.

What to consider ? As I considered these two solutions, I weighed which solution best fit our family’s needs:

number of computers with photos and other data needing to be synced
types of data we actually should be backing up besides just our photos
specific features of each service and amount of data allowed, limitations, etc
mobile device support availability
ease of restoring if the need actually arises
household budget considerations

What was my solution? Using a CLOUD FILE STORAGE BACK UP SERVICE best fit our needs.

Why did I select that option ?
Any time our physical computers crash or we have a disaster and potentially loose that computer, we wanted to able to retrieve not only our photos but all of our data. Now I can easily download the latest version of all my data and photos and computer systems that the Cloud Storage Back Up Service has stored for me and be completely up and running again in no time. It fit our budget and covered all three of our computers for the same price. No data loss…and more importantly NO PHOTOS LOST OR DESTROYED!
We selected MozyHome and have been very pleased with their service for the past year. In fact, we have already tested this solution. Unfortunately my husband had his computer crash and die and we needed to purchase a new computer. We were able to restore all his data AND PHOTOS by doing an easy download process from MozyHome service. It was truly amazing and painless to do.

Six Tips for Photo Cloud Storage

If you decide Cloud Storage is a good fit for you as well, consider these four tips when preserving your photos and setting up your cloud storage solution

TAKE ACTION TODAY: Start identifying where you photos live now…in boxes, mobile devices, computer? Set aside some time, even weekly, and list the aid of other family members to help consolidate your photos.
SCAN YOUR NON-DIGITAL PHOTOS: You can do this yourself or use one of the many services available. This will preserve the quality of the photo over time and also give you flexibilty accessing them in the future.
SAVE PHOTO STORAGE SPACE: Delete photos that are duplicates or bad photos you would never use. In fact, in this digital age, get in the habit of deleting them as you take them or before you upload to your computer or cloud solution. This will save you money in storage fees as well as make it easier to sort and store them for your family to access photos later.
STORE ALL YOUR PHOTOS IN ONE PLACE: Pick one location on your computer where you put all your photos in a folder when you download them from your camera or mobile devices. Sort them in sub folders by year, then month or theme (birthday, trips, everyday,etc.). Make sure your Camera and Mobile Devices all download to this same location.
COMMIT TO A SCHEDULE OF DOWNLOADING YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOS: It won’t help save your photos if you don’t ever bother to get them in the right place to preserve. Whether you set a schedule daily, weekly, monthly just make sure you do it consistently.
CLOUD SOLUTION SERVICE SET UP: Make sure the cloud solution you select is pointed at backing up not only the primary photo folder but all the subsequent sub folders within that folder.

So which Cloud Storage Solution might bring your family more peace of mind that your precious photos will not be lost if disaster should strike ?

Debbie is a fun loving maker and memory keeper who has taught the importance of both over the years through classes and speaking engagements. She currently is a Cricut Product Expert where she inspires die cut creativity along with memory keeping in her Lets Learn Cricut Explore Facebook Group and hosting Design Space Diva Days Online Crop Events. You can learn more about her creative work and classes on her website at www.scrapmequickdesigns.com

Aug 18 2015

How To Rescue Photos from Magnetic Albums

This is a guest contribution from Meaghan Kahlo of Ephemera Photo Organizing.

Your parents almost certainly have some. Maybe you have a few. They seemed like such a good idea at the time! So affordable! How could we have known the problems they would cause?

Acidic, cardboard pages. Covered in yellowing, sticky adhesive. Encapsulated in plastic sheeting. Spiral bound or three-ring binders. The magnetic photo albums so ubiquitous in the 1970s.

Personal photo organizers, archivists and conservators all agree that these inexpensive albums are among worst places to store your precious family photos. Your photos desperately need to be rescued from these cheap and harmful albums that have been their home for the past several decades.

What kind of damage have these albums been causing to your photos over the years? The cardboard pages are highly acidic and seep peroxide, yellowing both black and white and color prints. The tacky glue that seemed like such a convenience is also highly acidic and will slowly deteriorate the prints. Additionally, the glue breaks down, hardens and fuses the photo to the page making it difficult to remove. The cheap plastic overlay to the pages exacerbates the deterioration of the photos by off-gassing and sealing harmful chemicals in close to the photo print itself. Deterioration of prints in this type of album is hastened further if the albums are stored in unstable environments like the attic or basement where temperature and humidity fluctuations can wreck even more havoc on fragile images.

Personal photo organizers, archivists and conservators have developed certain techniques to help release photos from pages of the destructive1970s magnetic albums. These techniques are employed with the intention to prevent further damage to the photos themselves.

Waxed dental floss has been an effective tool for releasing photos from the pages. Slide the dental floss under a corner of the photo and gently saw through the glue as you pull the floss behind the photo. Take care not to tear the photo paper or bend the photo and crack the emulsion surface. Sometimes a small hair dryer on low or warm will be helpful to soften the glue just enough to slide the floss through. Take care not to overheat the page or the photo causing additional damage.

A product called Un-Du is available, generally utilized to remove labels and stickers. Place a small drop of Un-Du on a rounded, dull crafting spatula and slide the tool through the glue to help release a photo. Take care to use the smallest effective amount of Un-Du with each photo.Some pages will likely release the photos easier than others. Others could be a bit of a struggle. If the photo or photos are stuck hard to the page or to each other, scanning the entire page may be the simplest approach.

Finally, take care to preserve any notes or inscriptions from the album that go along with the photos before discarding the old pages. Sometimes this style of album just had a paper sheet at the beginning of the album where dates, places and names for each album page could be listed.

Take some time today and you can rescue your precious photos from a terrible fate of languishing in the harmful magnetic albums of the past.

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.

Meaghan Kahlo, owner of Ephemera Photo Organizing of Seattle, WA, began her professional life with graduate work in museum studies focused on collections management. Her enthusiasm for photography and historical preservation combined with a passion to organize and create order are the driving forces behind her business. Meaghan helps clients transform the ephemeral nature of digital and printed images into meaningful photo solutions.

Aug 11 2015

The Perils of Poor Photo Organization

This is a guest contribution from Heather Dubarry at No Excuse Scrapbooking.

I have way too many photos in my digital photo library. Over 35,000 at last count. And I’m not a professional photographer at all. That’s simply thirteen years of owning a digital camera (give or take a digital catastrophe or two) and loving to take photos of friends, family, and flowers.

When I first started this digital photography journey, I let the included organizing software from the camera manufacturer dictate how and where my photos were stored. Then our computer started acting up, and we needed to reformat the computer and re-install all our programs. I let my husband copy all our photos to disc, and didn’t double-check everything before he started the reformatting process. Which led to us losing all the photos of our cats as tiny kittens, and the last six months of photos of our oldest kid, from his second birthday, through Christmas. (This is why you will never see the amazing train cake I did for his birthday. It was the best looking train cake I’ve seen.)

After that, I vowed to never let my husband be in charge of the photos again. He’s more than okay with that, both because I now have a ridiculous amount of photos, and because he was as upset as I was about losing the pictures during reformatting.

To help with organization, I tried out a few free programs, Picasa being the main one, but most of the programs out there were not robust enough, or involved duplicating photos into their program, I knew even then that that was a quick way to run out of room on my computer. When I discovered Adobe Organizer, which came with Photoshop Elements 3, I was hooked.

However, I still wasn’t particularly organized. I let the program dictate how and where photos were stored, and it wasn’t until late in the game that I tried to impose some order on the photos, initially trying to use Organizer to move photos into yearly and quarterly folders, which resulted in lots of broken links, and just general disorganization.

As my photo library increased, I moved it onto an external hard drive since the computer I was using didn’t have enough room for all the photos. When I did that, I did set it up with the yearly and quarterly folder system, but there were still random photos all over my computer.

It was a mess.

And then we decided to get a new computer, a Mac, so we could cover both operating systems at home. (I’m a firm believer in variety. There are benefits to both Mac and PC systems. Why limit yourself to one or the other if you don’t have to?)

Enter a new Mac, a new giant screen, and a new organizing program, iPhoto.

There are lots of wonderful things about iPhoto: its auto-importing and photo deletion options, its face recognition software, its gorgeous interface and simple editing tools. But, and this is a big but, iPhoto makes it very hard to find an original photo, the master photo, as it’s called in Apple speak.

The way Apple imports photos is very organized, but very hidden as well, making backing up only photos a bit more difficult. Their backup software for the full computer is awesome, but if you want to save just parts of what’s on your hard drive, it’s so much harder to set that up. It can be done, but it’s annoying.

In my experience, if something is annoying, it’s much less likely to get done. That’s probably your experience as well.

Regardless, I went back to the easy way of letting my program dictate how photos were stored, rather than keeping them in simple yearly and quarterly folders. I still hadn’t learned my lesson.

That brings us up to February, when my beloved Mac started acting up. It became impossible to do any video editing of any kind, with the computer freezing up whenever iMovie was opened.

When I brought the computer into the Apple Store, they discovered the program was corrupted, and a full reformat was recommended because of the type of corruption. Luckily I had fully backed up my computer, so we went ahead with the reformat.

And then the inexplicable occurred. Somehow the back-up version was larger than the entire hard drive. After a bit of thinking, that’s probably a result of having all my pre-Mac photos still on an external hard drive, but at the time, it was beyond puzzling.

It was freak-out inducing actually.

A few deep breaths later, and I got down to work, restoring files, placing them in logical locations, and getting yet another external hard drive, so one could hold video and the other could hold pictures.

Rather than going back to iPhoto, which had begun to have issues of its own, and deciding not to wait for the new Photos program that Apple had coming, I decided to go back to Adobe, and use Lightroom as my organizing software.

Photos are getting moved from three and four level deep master folders, to simple yearly and quarterly folders. I’ll be setting up the facial recognition software to run overnight. And my computer will be backed up both on a portable hard drive here, and off site as well. This process is going to take a long time, but when it’s done, I’ll be able to find a photo both through my organization software, and through the standard file and folder pathways.

And everything will be under my control. Rather than letting computer programs dictate how my photos are stored, I’ll be in charge.

Finally.

What’s the moral of my story? Do as I say, and not as I do. Find an organizational program that you like, and that will grow with you, as your photo library grows, and your photo needs change. Stick with it. Don’t switch programs just because. Have a good reason to switch and understand it’s going to take time to complete a switch.

Back up your photos (and the rest of your computer) faithfully. Regularly. You never know when your computer is going to act up. It could behave wonderfully for years. It could crash tomorrow.

Take control of your photos. Don’t let the programs you have dictate how you save your memories. Make them work for you.

If you want to see details of my photo organizing process, especially as it works in regards to scrapbooking, come visit me on my blog this week. It would be awesome to see you there!

Heather Dubarry

A seasoned paper-crafter, rubber-stamper, and card-maker, Heather Dubarry has been scrapbooking since two small boys entered her life, and took over everything. After hearing one too many excuses about why people didn’t scrapbook (because frankly, everybody should, and most people do, but don’t realize it) Heather launched No Excuse Scrapbooking. Filled with inspiration, encouragement, and often silliness, she helps scrapbookers combat the “I can’t’s” that stop them from becoming the memory keepers they want to be. She’s also published an introductory book on scrapbooking, The Beginner’s Guide to Scrapbooking, that takes the mystery out of the page creation process.