Aug 17 2016

Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Organize Their Printed Photo Collections

Bonnie Shay of Mariposa Creative Solutions shares her Top 10 List of reasons people don’t organize their printed photo collections. Which one (or more) sounds like You?

1. They are overwhelmed with the quantity of photos they have.

2. They are embarrassed because they never did anything with the photos while their kids were young.

3. They expect it to be a bittersweet process seeing people in the photos who have passed away or who they used to be married to, etc.

4. They don’t know who many of the people are in the old photos so they give up.

5. They think they will get to it someday when life gets back to “normal.”

6. They don’t have the time.

7. Their photos are scattered all over the house, so they don’t even know the true extent of their collection.

8. All of their photos are well organized in albums, so they think they are all set, but they aren’t as shareable with multiple children and they aren’t backed up (which is what scanning photos provides).

9. They can’t decide whether to organize them chronologically or by subject matter.

10. They don’t know a Photo Organizer like me that can help them.

Did 1 or more of the reasons pertain to you? Please take a moment to comment and share with us which ones…

Click here to read Bonnie’s Top 10 Reasons why people don’t organize their digital photo collections!

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.

When I was a little girl, my idea of a fun activity was to organize my family’s kitchen pantry, cabinets and drawers. I discovered many years later that it wasn’t every girls’ idea of a good time. Who knew? But it planted the seed of an idea that underlies Mariposa Creative Solutions: that each of us loves and excels at different things and if we recognize that and do what we do best, we can make a difference in other people’s lives.

My clients often say that at the beginning of our work together they feel like some or all of their home is chaotic. The great filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola said, “Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos.” And so it goes whether you have built a family, a career, friendships or a beautiful garden, a certain amount of “chaos” has been part of the process while you’ve been living life.

And if you’re reading this, my guess is you’re not like me — one whose passion it is to make order. The important thing for you is to stop feeling bad about that. It’s about recognizing what you’re good at, what you enjoy, and how to relieve that which weighs on you.

Aug 10 2016

How to Backup Photos While Traveling

This is a guest contribution from Chantal Imbach of Simply In Order

Do you know anybody who doesn’t take photos while traveling? Well, certainly not me! Modern technology enables us to take photos very easily and we often not only use a digital camera but also our phone or other devices to take photos.

However, these things can easily get lost, stolen, or damaged and you might lose all of those precious photos you took (possibly even those taken before your trip if you haven’t got a backup system in place). So, what can you do to keep your photos safe and backed up during your trip?

Below are some options for various needs and budgets. Just go through the list and find which method suits you most. You may even vary between methods from one trip to another depending on where you go.

Photo organizers recommend that you save three copies of a photo. This might not always be realistic while traveling but keep it in mind. Also, downloading your photos to a backup place and then deleting the photos on your camera is not a backup – it’s just a relocation of your photos!

Technology changes all the time so please do your own research with regards to the equipment you need.

Backup from a Phone

To the cloud (automatically or manually)

If you’ve got internet access it is a great way to backup your photos. Especially because we recommend that you not only have three copies of a photo but also in two different locations.

I recommend checking out two of APPO’s partners – either Forever or Mylio.

Dropbox has worked well for me in the past. There are of course lots of other services such as iCloud, Google+, OneDrive, etc.

A word of caution: read the small print of all providers before you make a choice. As an example: there are some who will charge you if you want to download your photos from their cloud service or with some of them you won’t get back the original resolution or you might have to download them one by one.

To a portable hard drive with WiFi

Together with the right app (depending on your phone) you can upload your photos wirelessly to a portable hard drive. An example is Seagate Wireless Plus.

To a portable hard drive without WiFi

This is a bit trickier because you will need a computer via which you can copy your photos to (see below how to do this). Don’t shy away from the idea of using a portable hard drive. I use Seagate all the time and they’re really light and small; perfect to carry around.

To a computer

If you take a laptop on your trip you simply need to connect your phone to your computer and copy your photos. To be even safer you could then copy the images to an external hard drive or USB to backup your computer – et voilà: you’ve got your three copies.

You may also use a computer in a hotel business centre or in an internet café if you travel without your own.

To a USB flash drive for smartphones and tablets

There are various USB flash drives which you can connect directly to your phone and download your photos to. They come in various sizes and are pretty easy to carry around. This is definitely a favourite of mine.

Examples are the PictureKeeper, SanDisk iXpand, or SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive.

As an option you can also buy adapters to connect your phone with a regular USB flash drive.

To a tablet

The fastest way if you don’t have internet access is probably to use Airdrop, which creates a peer-to-peer network. SHAREit works similarly.

To an SD card

Some Android phones actually include a mini SD card. Make sure in the settings that this is where the photos are stored. If you want to transfer photos from the SD card please see below for options.

iPhones cannot export or copy photos from the phone directly to an SD card. It is only possible via a computer.

Backup from a Camera Memory Card

Remove the memory card from your camera (or your Android phone) and use a card reader to import the photos to a computer, your phone, a tablet, or another mobile device. Make sure you have the correct reader/s and adapters with you.

If a computer and a portable hard drive is too much to carry along, a memory card backup system like Nexto DI or Hyperdrive might be the ideal solution. They are like a hard drive with slots for the memory cards and come with a display as well.

Backup from a Camera via USB Connection

Connect the camera to a computer via the USB cable and copy your photos. While you’re at it, you could make another copy to an external hard drive or to the cloud if you have internet access.

Wireless Backup from a Camera Memory Card

Invest in an Eye-Fi memory card which can transfer photos wirelessly to your device or computer. Keep in mind that the camera will have to be powered on while photos are transferred which requires battery power.

Once you have copied the photos from your camera to a computer or other device, you can use the above-mentioned tips to back these up.

Before You Travel

Work out a backup plan that suits your needs.
Make sure you have all the necessary equipment formatted correctly (especially portable hard disks).
Don’t forget at least one international power adapter.
Think about how you want to transport these things so they stay organized and safe. I like zip lock bags (protects against humidity and dirt at the same time). Also try to keep the camera away from the backup.
Make sure all your cameras always have the correct date/time setting (of the time zone you’re in when taking the photo). It will make your life a lot easier because you will automatically have the correct chronological order (especially if you use several cameras and devices).
Once your trip has started, keep in mind to set aside some time to backup your photos regularly.
Enjoy your holiday!

After Your Trip

Remember, these backups are meant to happen while you’re traveling. If one of the copies you made is now already in your photo hub (e.g. if you used Forever or Mylio) it will save you the time to download everything again. If they are not in your usual hub yet, you’ll have to download your photos as soon as possible and use your usual photo management workflow.

2013_04_08_Chantal – Version 3 — Chantal Imbach

Living in a beautiful but also very fire prone area outside Melbourne (Australia) has triggered Chantal Imbach’s passion for keeping photo collections safe and organized so they can be passed on to future generations in a meaningful way.

Starting out as a home declutterer and organizer, she has now specialized in digital photo organizing and shares more of her tips in her blog at Simply In Order.

Aug 01 2016

Top 10 Reasons People Don’t Organize Their Photo Collections

This is a guest contribution by Bonnie Shay of Mariposa Creative Solutions

1. They are overwhelmed with the quantity of printed photos they have.

2. They are embarrassed because they never did anything with the photos while their kids were young.

3. They expect it to be a bittersweet process seeing people who have passed away or who they used to be married to, etc.

4. They think they will get to it someday when life gets back to “normal.”

5. They don’t have the time.

6. They don’t have the computer skills to deal with digital photos.

7. They can’t remember what cloud/online sites they have their photos stored on or what their login ids and passwords are.

8. Their digital photos are scattered over all multiple computers, phones, tablets, hard drives and more.

9. They can’t choose what app or photo management software program to use.

10. They don’t know a Photo Organizer like me that can help them.

Come back next week to see Bonnie’s Top 10 Reasons why people don’t organize their [specifically] printed photo collections!

Jul 30 2016

Remember the Fire Drills from Your School Days?

This is a guest contribution by Debra Benbow of Big River Photo Solutions

Raise your hand if you’ve ever done a Photo Fire Drill. I don’t think most of us have even given it any thought, and I’m talking about myself, too. It has always been one of those “I need to do that sometime” tasks. Well, last summer I was put on the spot, and “sometime” was here!

We live in Central Washington State, and if you keep up with the news, you know we’ve had our share of wild fires…big wild fires that level entire forests, wildlands, and towns. It was June 2015, early in the season, and as I was driving home, I noticed smoke on one of the hills surrounding the Wenatchee Valley. I figured the fire fighters were on it, and it would be out in no time. Then the winds kicked up, and it started spreading very quickly. Evacuations were happening by the minute, and when it looked like we might be in the path of it, I decided it was time to gather all things photo related as well as important documents. Well, it was certainly an eye-opener! You see, I had been a Creative Memories Consultant since 1990, and you know what that means! Yep, I had dozens of 4-inch thick scrapbooks, boxes of loose photos and memorabilia, photos on walls, negatives, slides, and family video tapes. Then there were computers, EHD’s, and CD’s. I think you get the picture (no pun intended). It took me over an hour to gather everything into one place! I called my husband at work and told him he really needed to come home, just in case. He would be so proud of my efficiency! Everything was packed and ready to go into the truck. I guess you can imagine how devastated I was when he announced, “You really need to do something about all those pictures.” My defensive reaction was, “WHAT!!!! This is over forty-five years of our family’s memories! We are not leaving one thing behind!”

Once the danger had passed and I came to my senses, I realized that he was right. Not only did it take me over an hour to gather everything, but later I discovered I had even missed some very important things. It would have been a struggle to fit it all in our one small truck and one car. And, oh yeah, we needed room for the drivers and the cat! I know a couple of people who lost their homes in that same fire, and they literally had less than fifteen minutes notice to get out. Had I been in that situation, we would have lost it all.

I have made the commitment to scan all those albums, other loose photos, memorabilia, and important documents so I can back them up to my Forever account. It’s a huge job, and I’m still working diligently on it, but I’m making progress. I’m grateful that my experience last summer was only a fire drill and not the real thing.

The Five P’s of Immediate Evacuation

People and Pets — And other livestock too
Papers – Important documents and financial records
Prescriptions – Pills and eyeglasses
Pictures – Irreplaceable memories
Personal Computer – Information on hard drives and disks

For more information on disaster preparedness: http://www.justincasearizona.com/be-informed/natural-disasters/wildfires.asp

Debra Benbow is the owner of Big River Photo Solutions, LLC of Wenatchee, WA.

Her passion for photos began as a young child when she would spend hours looking through her family’s boxes of photos.

As a Creative Memories Consultant for over 25 years, she enjoyed helping people tell their stories and protect their photos. She started Big River Photo Solutions in 2013 and is a Certified Photo Organizer and member of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO). Debra specializes in scanning and photo organization.

She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband of forty-five years, is a Master Gardener, photographer, and mom to three grown children, and has five adorable grandchildren.

Jul 26 2016

Get Started on Saving Your Photos

This is a guest contribution by Meaghan Kahlo of Ephemera Photo Organizing

The goal of the Save Your Photos effort is to simply get you started on saving your photos. Just taking a step in the right direction towards saving your photos from accidental loss.

One of the biggest steps that can be taken is also one of the simplest and can result in the most beneficial change for your photos.

It’s all a matter of finding where you have been stashing your photos and moving them into your living spaces. One step, one goal, find your family photos and papers and move them to a safer location.

The attic, the basement, the garage, the storage unit. These spaces are for camping gear and gardening equipment not for our valuable family archives that are made up of vulnerable media including photographs, papers, slides, negative, film and audio reels, memorabilia, and albums.

Poor storage conditions can have detrimental effects on irreplaceable family memories. Years of temperature and humidity fluctuations will have an impact on the quality and condition of your memory collections potentially causing myriad issues. Dirt and dust may collect in deteriorating storage boxes. Pests may be attracted to paper and glue. Acetate film layers can begin to degrade and break down. Paperclips, staples and film containers can rust. Tape yellows, turns to dust, and becomes difficult to remove.

The main living spaces of our homes are generally the most consistently stable since we keep it that way for our comfort. Family photo and archive collections will benefit and last much longer living with you. Plan to take action and carve out a safe space in your living room, hall closet or guest bedroom to relocate your family photos and important history.

Meaghan Kahlo, owner of Ephemera Photo Organizing in 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 for loved ones today and for generations to come tomorrow.