family history Archives - Save Your Photos

Feb 07 2018

Save Your Photos: Create Family Archives

Online family archives provide a living timeline of your family history and make it easy for you to collaborate and share with family members.

The way we share photos and tell our story has changed significantly in the last 20 years thanks to technology, the internet, and social media.

We can use social platforms like Facebook or Instagram to share photos and stories. We can dig into the past through sites like Ancestry.com and we can store, organize and share large collections of images through sites like Flickr.

This type of social sharing has its downside too. Privacy, security and the preservation of your online photos is a growing concern as we hurl towards a digital future. So what’s the answer?

Create a Private Family Archive

Fortunately, some solutions offer a private, secure place to archive your images, videos, audios, and documents. Online family archives provide a living timeline of your family story and make it easy for you to collaborate and share with family members. When family members contribute photos and details, you begin to build a family archive that is rich in historical information.

Tips for Successful Family Archives

Be selective

A family archive is a carefully constructed online album, not a dumping ground for all your photos. Choose pictures and videos that best tell the story and leave the rest in your digital photo hub.

Be descriptive

Imagine future generations viewing your archive. Is there enough information in the photo descriptions? Have you mentioned full names (and maiden names) to help piece together your family tree? Have you told important family stories?

Involve others

You can’t remember everything! Engage as many family members as you can to help add family history to your narrative.

Make good choices

The internet is filled with free and paid for services so do your homework. An online archive can become a family heirloom that succeeds you so choose wisely. Here are a few things to look for:

Is the archive easy to setup and manage? Is it user-friendly and does the provider offer tutorials or training?
Do you maintain ownership over your image? Read the fine print!
Do you have complete control over your image privacy settings and are they easy to understand?
Does the provider protect your privacy regarding your personal info? FREE services mine your data for advertising purposes and share your information with third party services.
Does the provider keep your image metadata intact and in its original size? Some services compress your image and strip your metadata upon upload.
Does your provider have any space limitations? Some services have a cap on how much space you have.
Does your provider make it easy for you to retrieve or download your photos if you choose to discontinue the service? Some services charge you a fee or have download restrictions.
Does the service offer keywording, ratings and a folder or album organizing feature and how is this information captured in the metadata? Some providers have very limited organizing options and don’t embed metadata in the image file upon download.
Does your online provider have backup redundancies in place and high-level security?
Does your provider offer a succession plan for your photos? If you pass away, will your family be able to access your account?

Telling your story is about so much more than posting photos and seeing how many likes you get. It’s more than a folder structure, neatly organized. Your complete family story shares your values, your beliefs, your contributions in the world around you and your hopes and dreams. It connects the past to the present and inspires future generations.

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.

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..

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

Sep 22 2017

Calling All Photo Organizers: What Type of Genealogist Are You?

Every one of us who is organizing and saving our photos is, in some sense, a genealogist. Which type are you? This post is sponsored by Vivid-Pix™, a proud sponsor of 2017 Save Your Photos Month.

Genealogists make a career capturing a story so that future generations can learn about us. Even though there may be photos that we don’t want to be remembered, those are the ones with the best stories to be told! Unfortunately, not every family has a genealogist, but every family wants to share their memories with generations to come.

Each One of Us Is A Genealogist

I never thought of myself as a genealogist, but in the world of old family photos, memorabilia, connecting with our past, and ensuring treasured memories are shared with future generations, we have all become “genealogists.” We all have a different perspective on how we will fulfill this responsibility. As we used to print everything, these prints and documents (news clippings, etc) are fading.

We need to scan and revive our history so that it will remain available in the digital world – and not fade to oblivion.

But, I’m not a professional, just your everyday member of a family, so the idea of tackling this task seems overwhelming and costly.

Awesome or Awful?

Completing this task doesn’t have to be awful – it can actually be a lot of fun. I’ve had a great time learning about my past and reliving the moments with loved ones. AND, easy-to-use technology is making it, well, easy to accomplish the scanning, restoring, and sharing of your precious memories and legacy.

A picture says a thousand words and video speaks at 30 frames per second. Enjoy these videos on how 4 types of “genealogists” are solving their journeys – and having fun!

The Family Historian

Every life is a story worth telling and remembering. It isn’t just history – it’s family.

Calling All Photo Organizers: What Type of Genealogist Are You? | SaveYourPhotos.org — Photo Credit: Vivid-Pix

The Creative

Explore and be creative with your craft or hobby.

The Memory Keeper

Be Prepared – Not Sorry. Disasters large and small happen anytime.

The Connector

Collect Memories. Connect Lives.

Enjoy!

Rick Voight is a lifelong snapshooter, who has been in the imaging business for a few decades. “Rick, Randy, and a few excellent people” created Vivid-Pix™ to make it easy for customers to get and share better photos. Vivid-Pix patented and proprietary software’s follow the slogan created a century ago – “you press the button, we do the rest”.

At HP, Rick helped create the Retail Publishing Solutions division – connecting home, store and online – delivering photos and gifts in minutes, in an hour, and in a few days. At Kodak, he enjoyed working with just about every class-of-trade, developed relations and promotions with local, regional, national, and international sporting teams, theme parks, and organizations; creating new technologies and revenues.

Rick is a volunteer and board member working with multiple non-profit organizations.