Have you ever thought about that? I bet you've never asked yourself how you treat your pictures.
Have you ever thought about why you take a picture in the first place? Go look at the last 5 pictures on your phone or camera. WHY did you take them? What would happen if you lost them? What would happen if you lost all the pictures on your phone?
Why We Take Pictures
Why We Take Pictures
I thought about this the other day as I was writing a blog post. This is what came into my head: "We take pictures because we want to remember. And then we treat them like we want to forget." Isn't that the truth?
And isn't it sad? Think about it. We take pictures BECAUSE we want to remember an event, a moment, a person, a sunrise. And then what do we do with the picture? Usually, nothing.
And isn't it sad? Think about it. We take pictures BECAUSE we want to remember an event, a moment, a person, a sunrise. And then what do we do with the picture? Usually, nothing.
It often stays on the phone or camera, or maybe if it's lucky you back it up on a computer or hard drive. Usually, photos just live somewhere as a jpeg file, and they're never really seen or looked at again. Why would we do that? Why would we treat something we created to remember as if we actually didn't care about it and preferred to forget it?
I read a {great blog post} recently where the blogger asserted that pictures in today's society are seen as frivolous and even vain.
I read a {great blog post} recently where the blogger asserted that pictures in today's society are seen as frivolous and even vain.
But I love the conclusion she came to: If the moment or the event makes you happy right now, why WOULDN'T you capture it so it can make you happy again later? The ability to look back on a moment, or see a person again, is {good for the heart and the soul}.
One of the main purposes of this blog is to help our actions toward our pictures be more in line with their real value. My hashtag #dontletyourbabiesgrowuptobejpegs is a real goal here at LifeTales Books!
How to Make Your Photos into Something More than Files
How to Make Your Photos into Something More than Files
There's something more. Your pictures can be something more! Rather than files to scroll through, back up, and possibly lose, your pictures can be seen and preserved in a high-quality way that will allow you to add meaning to the photos by writing details. Let me give you an example.
This is a really special photo. And you have no idea why. You don't know who is in this photo, where it was taken, why it was taken, or what makes this photo special. This is how someone else (maybe your kids, grandkids, spouse, friend) will look at your photos. Over time, you may even look at your own photos the way you're looking at my photo here.
If you're not careful, your photos will be as useless and meaningless to someone else as this one of mine is to you.
But at least this is a photo. Most of our "photos" today aren't even photos--they're just files.
This is a really special photo. And you have no idea why. You don't know who is in this photo, where it was taken, why it was taken, or what makes this photo special. This is how someone else (maybe your kids, grandkids, spouse, friend) will look at your photos. Over time, you may even look at your own photos the way you're looking at my photo here.
If you're not careful, your photos will be as useless and meaningless to someone else as this one of mine is to you.
But at least this is a photo. Most of our "photos" today aren't even photos--they're just files.
They need to be brought out of file form and into a tactile form that can be held and seen, even if the computer has crashed or the cell phone has been stolen. (There are some astonishing statistics of the likelihood of these {at this link}.)
Two Photo-Memory Book Options (easy peasy vs. creative digital scrapbooking)
Two Photo-Memory Book Options (easy peasy vs. creative digital scrapbooking)
This blog has a lot of great resources for doing just that. And everything recommended by Life Tales Books is the best print quality available--in inks, papers, and bindings.
This is the one I always recommend to people who have so many photos that they don't even know what to do with them or where to start. This video gives a fantastic solution, but it also goes over some strategies for getting a handle on many, many photos.
You'll be so glad you did.
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Thanks for sharing these helpful tips!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nancy. I'm so glad they were helpful! :)
ReplyDeleteOhh, I admit I'm even more old-school than this! - our house is filled with framed prints and enlargements! #heartandsoullinkup
ReplyDeleteThis is great! You've made me realize I need to figure out a streamlined system for our family to record our history and I really appreciate all of the great ideas! #heartandsoullinkup
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad! :) Yes, it can be so complicated these days with thousands of photos, so streamlining and finding a solution that works for you is so important! Thanks for stopping by and commenting, too. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for these suggestions and tips. I know that I leave too many pics on my phone and would prefer to put them in an album. Sometimes there doesn't seem enough time. I suppose that's the difference between pre-digital cameras where everything was on film and phones/digital cameras now. You had to print the photos out.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I know I personally used to take maybe two rolls of 36 pictures a year back in the film days, more if I was traveling. Now I can easily take 200 on one trip. Back then, you had to print them to even see them. Now we see them once and let them take up room in our phone storage. Finding time is a trick, for sure, but so worth it. (It's why I have a collection of articles and suggestions at the "don't have time?" tab--it's a common problem.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and for commenting. :)
I have been trying to get more of my photos in scrapbooks so I'll have something tangible in the way of photos to pass along. Because there are so many branches now, married children and grandchildren, I have started putting each family group in separate albums so they will get the ones more important to them.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you do that, Donna! It's such a great idea to divide them up separately that way so everyone gets what matters most to them. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteI love to take photos and turn them into gifts for friends and family members!
ReplyDeleteI think that's one of the best ways to use photos, Joanne. I love it! Thanks for sharing.
DeleteJennifer, I loved your suggestions and insightful tips. The line that resonated with me the most was: “If the moment or the event makes you happy right now, why WOULDN’T you capture it so it can make you happy again later?” It’s a beautiful reminder to cherish the present and create lasting memories. 📸✨Thank you for sharing with us at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #25.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Stephanie! Yes, capturing moments so we can be happy again is what photos are all about, I think. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I like how you said that we're cherishing the present when we create lasting memories. Beautiful.
DeleteYou are so right here Jen. It dawned on me as I was reading about photos today are really files, like on our phones.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month dear friend.
Exactly! We call them "photos," but they're really just files, and when they're files, they require a device (sometimes an expensive one!) and a charged battery to look at! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts, Paula. Glad you stopped by.
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