Labeling Your Photographs

A really important step in organizing photographs is labeling them and the categories you put them in. This is important whether you are organizing digital or traditional photographs.

Why is labeling so important? It allows you to remember what is going on the photograph years later, lets you find photographs quickly and easily, and helps other identify the photograph.

When labeling individual photographs you should include the following information: who is in the photograph, date the photograph was taken (at least the year), and where the photograph was taken (e.g. Christmas at Grandma Cooper’s house).

The best place to do this on traditional photographs is on the back of the photo with a special pencil made for writing on photographs. You can find these at any craft store. Using a regular pen or pencil can bleed through or leave marks on the photo, ruining it.

For digital photographs, you can include labeling information in the file name. This way the information will transfer if you move or copy the photo.

It is also important to label the categories you sort your photos into. Doing this will eliminate putting a photo in the wrong category and help you find photographs you are looking for.

Be specific with your labels. This makes it easier for you to find and identify photos and for others to do so as well! So happy labeling!

Thank you Eegen16 with APPO for this great information!

Happy Photo Labeling! Bridges 

Check out my Photo Organizing website here!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

 

Kids, Photos, and a Labor of Love

As most of you may know, I have added photo organizing to my repertoire of services that I offer my clients.  This stems from the fact that I am a firm believer in photos, telling the stories of our lives and the lives of our kids through our photos.  I use to own a Scrapbook Store (The Scrapbook Barn) in Carrollton, TX so this is a big part of my life.  Here is a great blog on photos and the meaning of them to kids…

Michelle Nahom wrote this blog for Life…Your Way, and is a mom of 3, avid photographer, and loves to tell the stories that go with her photos in memory albums for her family. She is the owner of Creative Photo Solutions, LLC, a business focused on helping people organize their photos and tell their own stories, and is a member of the APPO (Association of Personal Photo Organizers).

Read more…

Happy Photo Organizing!  Bridges

Organizing your Memorbilia…

Memorabilia Cases for Kids

One of the most common questions Life…Your Way readers ask when we talk about decluttering and organizing is how to organize photos and memorabilia. Life…Your Way will be talking about all things photo-related with a special series from the Association of Personal Photo Organizers! This particular article was written by Mike Smithers.

“As the mother of two, I am inundated with potential “memorabilia”. My children are always bringing home certificates, ribbons, notes and school work, not to mention the “art masterpieces”.

Keeping a collection of treasured items is a valuable way to: preserve memories, record information from your past, show your loved ones their importance in your life and showcase your life and interests for the future generations.

 

Read More…

Happy Memorabilia Organizing!  Bridges

P.S. Check out this link for kid’s memorabilia cases

Camera, Kids & Conversation

Here is another great blog from Life…Your Way in conjunction with APPO (Association of Professional Photo Organizers).  It is written by Phillip Griffith and if you have kids you will certainly relate!

“I have two boys who alternately love and hate being photographed.  However, they always want to look at the resulting photos, albums, and books.

One of the reasons that I am so passionate about recording the moments of our lives is to ensure that my boys know who they are and who we are as a family. The photos and stories of our everyday lives help instill in our children the values and people who are important, which helps them understand who they are.

Dr. Kenneth Condrell, a child psychologist, family therapist, and author, states in Full of Love by Nancy O’Dell:

“In my experience, when parents spend fun and loving time with their children, the children feel valued, desired and special.  These feelings pump up a child’s self-esteem.  And sharing family photos of special times together is one of the best ways I know to do that.”

Read More…

Happy Photo Organizing!  Bridges

Capturing Your Kids With Pictures

Here is another article from Life…Your Way blog on photo organizing.  This hits home with me since I have two kids of my own and I have been creating scrapbooks for them since they were born.  My youngest one, in particular, loves to sit down and flip through the pages of a scrapbook and ask questions about that time in his life.  A tradition that I have started (since there is so much blood, sweat and tears put into each and every album) during the holiday season is to set the scrapbook out from the year on the coffee table.  I pick a particular evening before Christmas and we go through the album as a family.  It is a great year in review and brings up a lot of memories.

Take what you can from this article with the time that you have and do your best…

We all take photos of our kids, and show them off to friends and family. However, when was the last time you stopped to consider what photos your child wants or needs to see?

Pictures tell your kid’s stories.

Our boys have lifebooks that we pull out and enjoy as a family two or three times a year. These books have the stories and photos of their adoptions. The books offer an opportunity for discussion, normalize adoption language, and reinforce our family values.

Even now that our boys are getting older and don’t always want to snuggle in our laps, it still gives us time to be a family and remember those special things that make our family unique.

Read more…

Happy Photo Organizing!  Bridges

How to organize your photos!

Need help organizing your photos?

Digital photography is great and very popular nowadays, but what in the world do you do with all of your year’s worth of accumulated unorganized printed photos still sitting in boxes and/or scattered around your home screaming for your attention? Sooner or later, they’re going to need a little TLC or, quite frankly, what’s the point keeping them? Following are some useful tips to help you get your photos organized and ready to enjoy whenever the urge strikes you to revisit some good times.

Make time and set up a work station. Just like with any organizing project you need to make time to do it. Set aside three hours on a Saturday afternoon to get yourself started. Set up a table you can work on and make sure it can be left out for a while, because this project is going to take some time, depending on the amount of photos you have.

Gather photos and supplies.  Gather all of your photos into one place. Go on a photo hunt inside your home. Look in your closets, cabinets, bookshelves, basement, under your bed, and anywhere else you think you may have photos stashed. Bring them all to the table for sorting. While you’re at it, find some large envelopes (8 ½” x 11″), letter size envelopes, post-its, a pen for labeling the envelopes, an acid-free photo safe pencil (found at art supply or scrapbook stores)rubber bands, and a trash can.

Sort and categorize. Take all of your photos out of their original envelopes and sort through them a few at a time. Any negatives you’d like to keep can stay in their original envelopes temporarily, however, be sure to label them (letter-size envelopes will also work just fine). Look at each photo and decide what category to put it in. Photos can be categorized by year, event or by special occasion (i.e. Halloween, Trip to the Grand Canyon, Birthdays, etc.). You might consider categorizing by year and then within each year creating subcategories for each event in chronological order. If you have children, you also may want to have a category for each child. How you categorize is unique to each individual. Think about how you would refer back to them if looking for particular photos. Where would you look? Temporarily store your photos in large labeled envelopes during the sort process. Use rubber bands to contain small piles of photos before putting them in the appropriate envelopes. Use small post-its for further labeling.

Label and Discard.  As you sort, make sure to label each photo on the back (using a photo-safe pencil). If labeling is too time-consuming, consider writing at least the date. Also, feel free to let go of any duplicates, unwanted photos, over or under exposed photos, and blurry or bad shots and toss them in the trash. Unfortunately, due to the chemicals used in developing the photos, they can’t be put in the recycle bin. Another option is to use them as craft projects or pass duplicates on to others who might enjoy them. The more you weed out, the less labeling, categorizing, and storing you’ll need to do with them later.

Storage Systems.   It’s very important to store photos safely in order to preserve them for many more years to come. Photos can be stored in a variety of ways such as, scrapbooks, traditional photo albums, wall mounted or desktop frames, and archival photo storage boxes. Whatever you decide to use, make sure your system is acid-free and is stored in a cool, dry, and well ventilated area. Also, be realistic about your time. If you choose to put your photos in scrapbooks, make sure it’s something you really have time for. Using traditional photo albums or photo storage boxes certainly takes less time. Whatever you choose, make sure your photos are organized within the system and the system is easily accessible so you can find what you’re looking for at a moment’s notice.

Negatives.  Keep only the negatives that are really special to you such as, weddings or the birth of a child. Use archival, acid-free 3-ring binders for storing your negatives. Place negatives in 3-hole protective sleeves inside the binders and make sure to label them. Another option is to store negatives in acid-free storage boxes designed for storing negatives.

Go Digital.  For those of you who would rather not have printed photos taking up space in your home anymore, consider scanning them all onto discs. You can do it yourself or there are many companies out there, who will gladly help you with this daunting task. However, be prepared to spend some money, but the cost is well worth it!

Thank you Amy Brueske with Always Organizing for these great tips!

Happy Organizing!  Bridges

Photo Box Storage

For those of you that are avid photo takers you need a system for storing and organizing your photos on a consistent basis (and the key here is consistent basis).  A system that is out there that I like are the photo boxes with archival quality envelopes.  There are kits available commercially that include the photo box, envelopes, CD or negative sleeves, duplicate number stickers and an indexing card included.  All of these elements are essential in your organization.  Here is what you need to do:

1)  Place a set of prints into the envelope.  Make sure to toss the envelope that came with them w hen you had them developed.

2)  On the front of the envelope, journal any pertinent facts and points that you want to remember about the event.

3)  Record the same information on photo box index.  By filling this information out each time you add a set of prints, you will create a master list of what is in the box.  This is a great reference!

4)  If you have CD’s or negatives, slip them into  their protective sleeve

5)  Place one of the number stickers on the photo envelope and the duplicate to that sticker on the CD or negative sleeve.  If you ever decide to make any additional re-prints you will be able to find them in an instant.

6)  File the envelopes in the photo box and the CD’s or negatives in a separate location as a backup.  You can think about a fire-safe box, a safe deposit box or even a friend’s house.  You can never be too safe when it comes to all of your memories.

Happy Organizing!  Bridges