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Things are changing fast in the photography world right
now, but many families still have plenty of photo prints which need organizing.
For those that do have this need, there are three fundamental principles to
understand about putting together a good photo album.
First, it takes lots and lots of time to get the
photos labeled and in a semblance of order, and even more time to get them in
the appropriate photograph albums. Attempting this
sort of a project in one sitting is just not possible. Instead, take this
massive project (which you have probably been putting off for some time) and divide it
into several 30-minute steps. After all, you have to label the photos,
organize them, decide which albums will get which photos, purchase your
supplies, and then get the pictures in the photo albums. (And when this is
done, you just might want to try your hand at scrap booking with some of the best
photos. But that is a topic for another time and place.) If you are like many
people, you might have your photos located in some drawer, or maybe several
boxes. No matter the location of your stash, start by getting the
photos labeled. Of course, this is best done as soon as the
pictures are
taken, but if you have lots of them waiting for attention, it might be best to
pull out a few at a time and leave them near your phone. This is a great
"multi-tasking" project when you are having a casual phone
conversation. Second,
each photo needs three pieces of information: The people in the
photo, the location of the photo (and the occasion, if appropriate), and
the date. It is best to systemize how you list people and use
consistent abbreviations. For instance, you might choose to list names left to right,
back to front. On each photo simple abbreviations can be used to clarify
who is in the picture: (back, l to r) ...... (front, l
to r) .... These are usually sufficient directions for anyone looking at the
photo later and trying to figure out who is who.
Third, once your
photos are labeled, decide how many different albums you are going to set up.
Will you have one for you and your spouse for those pre-marital years?
Then, will you have a photo album of your family depicting your marriage, the
arrival of the children, and family activities? Will there be an album for each of your children?
Will you create a separate photo album of your trips? Will you make up a
photo album of your grandchildren? Will there be an album for each wedding
in your house or just one large one for all the marriages? Will you have
separate "permanent" photo albums which will have a copy of all
the photos you have ever taken and which will stay at your home for all to
enjoy? Once you have decided upon the number and kind of photo albums, begin sorting
through the photos. Label expandable file folders (which have sealed
sides) with individual's names, family name, or topic, one folder for each photo
album you will have. Photos which are of a single person will more likely
go in that person's personal photo album. Photos of family groups
will most likely go in the family photo album. Pictures of
relatives might even go in an extended family photo album (if you ever
get to that project). At this point, don't worry about putting the
photos in the folders chronologically. That will come later.
How do you deal with duplicate photos? After you have put the first
copy of each photo in its appropriate folder, put the duplicates in folders
which you have labeled "My Brothers and Sisters", "My
Parents", "My Grandparents ", "My Cousins ", and
"My Friends" (from the perspective of your children). Then as
you set up the individual photo albums, you can retrieve photos from these
folders for filling out the photo albums. Label sections in each
individual photo album with "My Brothers and Sisters", "My
Parents", "My Grandparents ", "My Cousins ", and
"My Friends" and put the duplicate photos of these various people
here. Not everyone's photo album will have the same pictures, but if you
divide carefully almost everyone's photo album will have a representation of
these different important people. So now you have taken the original photos, labeled them, sorted them into
different folders, and are ready for the last and most important steps:
getting the photos arranged and into the photo albums. There are many and
varied photo album supplies. Remember, however, that this photo album is
likely to last a long time. Make sure that all products used to compile it
are archival in nature. I have ruined more than one photo putting it in a
easy-to-mount pre-glued photo album. With the time the glue seeped through
the photo and ruined it. In other cases, I have worked with my parent's
photo albums and the inexpensive paper of the pages is literally falling apart
because of age. Purchase with wisdom and care! This part of the project takes the most time and space. Take each folder
and sort through the photos, stacking them by year. When that is
done, take each "yearly" stack and lay the pictures out by
month. Restack these photos and go to the next year's, lay them out in
order, and restack them. Labeling each stack with a simple "2002,
2003, 2004" etc. helps keep oriented as you stack the years together.
When this is done, you are ready to put the photos in the photo album. If
possible, make arrangements to have an extra space here or there. It
always seems another photo or two is found after the album is completed. As you can see, photo albums are a long, howbeit important project. If you
have done nothing but collect photo prints, start now to make some sense of the
mess. Keep working through your collection of photos, labeling, sorting,
and mounting. Eventually you will have a nice collection of photo
albums to share with family and friends. And, you will have one more item
in your life somewhat under control! Find more helpful ideas in the "House
of Order" Handbook.
Also see: Files,
Journals, and Paperwork.
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