Do you take hundreds of photos, but you’re left wondering what to do with photos on your phone? The following steps will guide you through a process to make photo archiving easier–not only for storage, but for enjoying your memories in the future.
Despite infinite cyber storage options, unless you actually go through your photos, your favourite ones are destined to get lost in the millions of images we make throughout our lifetimes. The first step to enjoying your memories is to streamline your storage, so you can really see the ones that mean the most to you.
DELETE.
A million selfies? Multiple micro adjustments of your latte? Blurry pets? Extra burst photos? You definitely do not need those. They take up space, and drown out the good ones. Going through and deleting the junk also gives you a chance to think about the ones that are truly meaningful, the ones that are keepers. Whether it’s at the end of the day, after you get home from vacation, or once a month… get rid of the ones you don’t like. And if you find you take a lot of photos you wish were better, read this to learn how to take better photos with your smartphone.
BACK IT UP.
Remember DVDs? USBs? No? Then we know we can’t trust technology to save your memories forever. Are they all hiding on your computer? Computers crash. Floating in cyberspace? Long-term cloud storage is not 100% certain. Nor is your social media platform(s). (Hello, MySpace users!) Nothing is certain, really, but as you’re deciding what to do with photos on your phone, you can create multiple back ups on different platforms (Google Photos, Amazon Photos, iCloud) so if one is breached, you still have the others. Another idea is to buy two hard drives, and put your back ups on each of those.
PRINT. PRINT. PRINT.
No matter how many platforms and clouds and devices you’ve got your photos stored on, they’re all literally lost unless you take a few moments on a regular basis to do something old fashioned… print them. If you don’t know what to do with photos on your phone, you can print regular albums and monthly booklets directly from your phone or straight from social media. Or, keep a favourites folder on your desktop and drop the best ones in there. Upload them to an online printer once a month, and get a sweet package of your memories in the mail.
Prints are the only technology that truly lasts. Sure, they take up actual space on your walls and your shelves. But unless it’s printed, will you ever actually go back to 2016 to find that photo of your kids leaping through the meadow after a kite their grandpa made? Maybe. But if you had printed it, you wouldn’t have to go find the hard drive or the computer or the DVD booklet it’s hiding on. The print would be right there on the shelf. I have tonnes of DVDs I can’t even access because they’re corrupt. Laptops don’t even have disc drives anymore!
The same thing goes for when you hire a professional photographer. We’re conditioned to think that we need the digital files. But those files are often subject to the same fate as the ones on your phone… lost in technology limbo, or cartwheeling in cyber space. Take the time to go through the photos your photographer makes for you, and print them. You’ll get far more enjoyment out of your investment than promising yourself that you’ll get to it… one day.
Ask your photographer for suggestions. We’re more than happy to guide you through the prints and products we’ve lovingly vetted for you. I have never made a photo for someone, imagining its fate on someone’s computer. But I have made millions of photos for my clients, envisioning them with photo albums on their laps, with prints on their walls, and with boxes full of dog-eared moments.
Photos are meant to be enjoyed over and over again. Printing the fleeting seconds that speak to your life is the safest and most accessible way to preserve your photos. Contact me to book a photography session you’ll be excited to print!