This is a guest contribution by Pepper Mintz of Get It Done Photo Solutions
How I am Capturing Our Digital Memories
We are the very model of the modern, digital family (to take from the Gilbert & Sullivan patter song). Husband and I are from the tail-end of the boomer generation, our daughters are millenials. Daughter #1 lives in Australia and Daughter #2 lives in the same city as we do. Thus far, it’s the four of us.
It’s a joy to share stories, discussions, observations and experiences with our daughters. Much of that sharing happens digitally – on social media, via Skype or Facetime, texts and photo sharing sites. We have a secret group on Facebook – just the 4 of us. On it we share personal updates we don’t want to make public, articles to read that one or all 4 of us will find relevant, references to discussions we’ve had.
Social media is all about sharing. I enjoy social media because I like to connect, I like to hear about other’s experiences and stay in touch with friends all over the world. I enjoy quirky humour and quotes beautifully displayed.
Recently, it occurred to me – those things that we are sharing, all that digital memorabilia, describe our today – our 2016. How do I capture that sharing to make it part of our story? When creating family scrapbooks, I included pieces of memorabilia – tickets, brochures, artwork – that would add depth to the stories told by the photos. I did the same when I transitioned to photobooks – paper items are scanned and made part of the story of a trip or celebration.
The solution had to be simple and easy to do – see something, collect it, capture it. Here’s what I do:
- Collect It. This is my digital pile of stuff. It’s not as pretty as letters tied up with a pretty ribbon but it makes it easy on a day-to-day basis. I use a note-taking, organizing app – I have a notebook called Family Albums and a note for 2016. In that note, I capture the things I want to remember – events, thoughts, screenshots, whatever. Because I usually have my phone or tablet nearby, this keeps it simple. (the app I use is Evernote)
- Create It. Just as memorabilia got glued into albums, the digital memorabilia goes in our yearly photobooks, which I make using scrapbooking software. I prefer a desktop program as opposed to an online design option because, while it gives me the ease of using simple, get it done templates, it has flexibility to alter the page designs and most importantly, all the work and draft pages are kept in my possession on my own computer. (The software I use is Artisan)
- I title the pages “Our Chatter” and put in the dates. Using a grid pattern of 3 columns, I plop in the photos, screenshots, quotes and stories. I can place editorial or explanatory comments on top of Facebook posts. It is often a hodge-podge collection and I like that it reflects us, what we are doing and what we are sharing.
I got inspiration for this idea from around the web – the paper-based Bullet Journal, the Smash Journal, page layouts using screenshots and the Project Life inspired ideas.
Our theme here is to Save Your Photos and I believe our photos need stories to help us save our memories, our experiences, our life. This is Us Today.
Pepper Mintz is the owner of Get It Done Photo Solutions.
Her interest in organization began early with her decision to become a Logistics Officer with the Canadian Air Force. She is a Certified Photo Organizer and member of the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO). She has extensive experience in the organization and curation of both printed and digital photo collections. She collaborates with clients to expertly design high quality, premium photobooks and albums that reflect the style and choices of the client.
“At Get It Done Photo Solutions, we believe in the power and importance of the photographs. Our stories tell the story of us.”
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