Last year, I took a lovely trip with my sister to one of her favorite places on earth. Because it's a beach, it's automatically one of my favorite places, too, even though I'd never been there before.
One day, we were on a small ferry to an island where one of the ferry employees offered to take our picture. We said, "Sure!" as we laughed a little about our very, very windblown hair.
She took the picture and then told us a very short story that has become one of my favorite stories about pictures.
The Story: This Isn't About You
She told us that her daughter recently wanted to take a photo of her, but she declined because she didn't think she look very good that day.
Her daughter said, “This isn’t about you. It’s about when you’re dead so that I have pictures of you to look at."
We laughed, mostly at the bluntness of the statement, but I really appreciated the reason behind the argument.
Eventually, photos and videos and maybe even some audio recordings will be all we have left of someone special.
When we had this photo taken on the ferry, neither of us were trying to be a part of a beauty contest or have something airbrushed to make us look ten years younger. (Why do we do that?! Age is something to be proud of because we've earned it!)
We were just enjoying time together as sisters in a beautiful place where we had a completely delightful time. Together. And, hello, there were wild horses on that island behind us!!
Just Do It
Just do it. Be in the pictures. Don't worry about if your hair is everywhere or you have wrinkles or gray hair ("sparkles") or if your eyelids are heavier than they used to be. Guess what. This is what I looked like at 52. And this is something great that I did when I was 52. So I should have some pictures of it!
It's about the moment, not about some ridiculous ideal that nobody can really live up to.
I know it can be hard to get over ourselves in this world so focused on appearances, but to the people you matter the most to, they don't see anything but YOU. The person they love.
The Two-Part Challenge
This is hard for most of us, I know. This two-part challenge is for me too (although I've nailed part 2!)
PART 1: Look beyond appearances to the MOMENT and what's MEANINGFUL in a photo! Look at the memories. Begin to see something you'll cherish 5 or 25 years from now. See something that those who love you will cherish even beyond that.
Then, get started preserving and sharing them in pages. It doesn't have to be hard or complicated. There are two different options at that link to fit your time and interest, and both of them are printed in highest quality bindings, papers, and inks to last generations.
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Listen. I'm not special. Yes, I love preserving my memories in pages, so I'm rarely more than a month or two "behind." But all it takes is finding something you love and a plan you can stick to.
Because after that, it's just fun. It's not hard. Not even a little.
We are going to focus today on digital memory-keeping--creating digitally with a printed result (and a digital copy, too). The non-negotiables below still apply to traditional paper scrapbooking and to simply sliding your photos in photo albums purchased at a craft store or a big-box store, so make sure you can check all those boxes even if you're not interested in digital memory-keeping.
The Non-Negotiables
No matter the memory-keeping system you choose, there are some non-negotiables that you should not budge on:
quality:Look for acid-free, lignin-free pages printed with high-quality inks and best-in-the-industry bindings. Do not use any company that uses glue in their bindings because over time the glue will crack, causing pages to fall out. The best binding would be either stitching (a library binding) or a PUR binding which is a chemical bonding process, not glue.
a place to write:Photos without stories are the 21st century equivalent of an old shoebox in the attic--if you don't know who is in the photo and why it was taken, it actually loses its value!
guarantees:Don't accept anything less than a 100% satisfaction guaranteeand a privacy guarantee. These days, it's very easy to find online sites that will print your books, store your digital photos, etc., but it's shocking how many of them have fine print that allows them to shut down their site without notice, sell your information, and even sell your photos. Make sure you have a guarantee on all those things. I wrote about privacy guarantees and common fine print here, if you'd like to learn more. And, really, a 100% satisfaction guarantee for something you're paying for only makes sense. You want your book to be amazing.
These non-negotiables do eliminate a fair amount of options, it's true. And that's for good reason. You really and truly don't want something that is going to fall apart. You really and truly don't want your photos to be data-mined and sold. You want a photo-memory book you can give as a gift and can pass on to the next generation.
The Magic Solution: a hack
We will definitely get you to a solution here, but I first want to tell you the biggest secret in finding a memory-keeping system that works for you.
There's not a "latest and greatest" you should be looking for. There's not some magic solution.
There's just a hack.
And the hack is this: The right memory-keeping system, the best memory-keeping system, is your favorite one. It's the one you will do and love.
That's the honest truth. Make sure your chosen system meets the non-negotiables listed above, and if it does, you're in the right place.
If you're still looking for the right thing for you, we'll talk next about how to choose the right memory-keeping system FOR YOU. Something you'll do and love.
How to Choose the Right Memory-Keeping System for YOU
There are a few good questions to ask yourself in order to help you choose the right system FOR YOU. Is your goal to spend time or save time? Would a creative option or a pre-designed option be your choice?
NOTE: I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.
Two Recommendations
In 19+ years as a memory-keeping consultant, the best options I've seen for preserving photos and memories in printed pages that will last for years and years to come are:
OPTION A: Create & Print
I've seen so many people use this simple method with beautiful results.
And more than the "beautiful" part... They have RESULTS! For anyone stuck (not moving forward) with memory-keeping, this might be the most important thing of all. Something doable can make all the difference.
Create & Print templates are professionally-designed and free to use. Choose the size, number of pages up to 99 (the price of the book is for 21 pages, then you can add pages at a per-page price), and the cover type (hardbound or softbound). There's just one design for the cover, but you can choose each page of the book individually based on your needs (a page with 3 photos, a page with 4 photos plus text, etc.). And there are hundreds of templates available for you to choose from, in many themes from vacation to wedding to everyday memories.
Another big win with Create & Print is that it uses very intuitive software that really only takes about 4 minutes to learn. You can see exactly how easy it is to use Create & Print here (or at this playlist)
With Create & Print, you can even make a book right from your phone.
Some people love designing their own pages for full creativity and flexibility when making digital photo-memory books. That's Option B, but I always suggest that if you're stuck or behind on your memory-keeping, you can get books done rather quickly using Create & Print, and you may like getting last year's photos into a book with Create & Print and then move on to this year's using Artisan, an amazing and fun digital scrapbooking software program I'll tell you about next.
I've seen this in action, by the way. If time is of the essence or if you've been sitting on a photo-memory book goal for too long, Create & Print may just be your best friend.
I have a friend who waited on putting together her daughter's wedding book for about 4 years because her go-to memory-keeping company was going through some changes and had some problems. I suggested Create & Print and she put the entire book together--and ordered it for printing--in 4 days.
OPTION B: Artisan digital scrapbooking software
I have used Create & Print several times for projects I needed done quickly, which is fantastic, but I absolutely love Artisan for full creativity, flexibility, and freedom of design. Artisan is definitely my go-to. With Artisan, I use fonts from my own computer (and 1001 Free Fonts is my favorite tool for always adding new, fun fonts), and I love creating!
Artisan is a program you purchase and install on your computer (like you do with Word or any other computer program). There's a free 30-day trial, too. Then, you can purchase digital art to use with Artisan so, again, you're getting exactly what you want.
While some people like--or some circumstances necessitate--quick and easy photo-memory book completion, if you enjoy the creative process like I do (it's, quite honestly, needed Me Time), you may love Artisan as much as I do.
Because there's SO MUCH you can do with Artisan, and it does take a little time to learn the program--just like with any computer program--I have created a whole Artisan Quick Tips with Jennifer series of tutorial videos that show you one thing at a time, such as how to add a drop shadow, how to create a wrap-around cover, how to crop photos, etc. You can see them all at that link, and this video will show you how to make a basic page:
What Now?
Get books in your hands! Choose the system that works best for you, and just get started. Don't wait. All the benefits of memory-keeping that I listed above are waiting for you!
Remember, too, that books make great gifts--for yourself, for your family, for grandparents, for kids. Emailing pictures really isn't the same thing. Something you can hold in your hands is precious.
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It's pretty amazing that we now have the capability to digitize an old scrapbook! Isn't it? Something that used to be a one-of-a-kind object can be duplicated.
This can come in handy for several reasons. Maybe you want to have multiple copies to share. Maybe you want downsize and take some of the bulk out of old scrapbooks. Maybe your scrapbooks are so old they're on magnetized pages from the 60s or 70s (which are acidic and eating away at your photos as we speak) and need to be rescued.
Whatever the reason, if you have an old photo album or traditional scrapbook that you would like to digitize, you definitely want to do it with care.
NOTE: When I say "digital book," I really mean a book with a digital version that you print. I know some people stick with digital-only versions, but photo experts maintain that a printed, hard-copy version is still one of the best ways to preserve photos and memories. A digital, shareable backup is smart, too.
In my experience, Forever is the best place to do it. That's because their digitizing services are rated highest in both quality and customer satisfaction, and because the quality of their print products is the best in the industry (including nearly indestructible spine bindings).
NOTE: I am a Forever affiliate (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post, from which I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.
So, if you've been looking for a high-quality way to convert your traditional scrapbooks or old photo albums to digital books, you've come to the right place!
There are two parts to converting a traditional scrapbook to digital books, so let's get right to it.
FIRST, DIGITIZE
Digitizing your scrapbook pages means having them scanned. You can certainly do this on your own if you like. Be sure you use a high-quality flatbed scanner, saving your images at a minimum of 300dpi resolution as JPG (or JPEG) files. Be sure the glass on the scanner is free from lint, smudges, etc., for the best scan, and make sure your pages aren't dusty. Be sure to set aside some scanning time on your calendar, too.
If you'd like to save time AND let the pros dust your pages (and remove them from the book, if needed) and use their top-quality equipment and skills, I definitely recommend Forever Digitization because I've used and loved them multiple times. They actually have the highest rating on Trustpilot (an independent platform for business reviews), too. Plus, security is an enormous deal:
For more details beyond that quick, 3-minute introduction, I made this video for you.
By the way, if your book is already a digital PDF, you don't need this digitizing step to print your old book, but you do need to convert the PDF file to individual JPG files (one per page). This is an easy, free resource for converting PDFs to JPGs. When you convert, select the best quality (300dpi or above).
SECOND, UPLOAD AND PRINT
Now you're ready to upload the scans (or the JPGs you converted from the PDF) and put each page into a book page. You can do this easily with Forever using AutoPrint, an auto-fill method of creating the book. The pages get placed automatically for you, and then you can adjust as you like before submitting it for professional printing.
Note: All of the designs you'll see in Forever's Create & Print platform are free to use. The ones labeled "AutoBook" or "Make it fast" are the AutoPrint templates that make it easy to convert your traditional scrapbooks to digital books. The other templates you'll see just don't auto-fill, but if you'd rather place pages one at a time yourself, you'll just need to find a template with "full bleed" pages, meaning there's no border around it, so that your whole scrapbook page can fill the whole book page. I can help you find those non-AutoPrint full-bleed page templates if you like--just reach out.
I was so happy when the home office at Forever made this 13-minute tutorial video, "Traditional Albums to Digital Books," walking us right through these steps!
The software programs you're seeing here are free and available to you right from your Forever account (which is free, too). Get started here.
And, yes, you can make brand new digital books at Forever, too!
THAT'S IT!
Follow the DIGITIZE and UPLOAD & PRINT steps, and you've got an old, traditional scrapbook saved digitally. With Forever, you can share it digitally, too, with a simple link, and you can print it (and re-print it) to share with as many people as you'd like, too.
I'd love to see your end result--share photos with Photo & Story Treasures Fans, our Facebook group. Join at that link and then show us photos or even a video of your new digital book so we can celebrate together.
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We often think of pictures as nothing more than fun, but did you know that the preserving of photos and stories and memories (or "memory-keeping") can have a powerful effect on families and individuals?
This beautiful, touching video from The Church of Jesus Christ who sponsors RootsTech highlights real experiences of people discovering how important their stories are to their loved ones. It is SO WORTH the 7 minute watch!
The truth is: You matter. Your story--your life, your impact--is worth remembering.
What Makes Your Story Important
Not too long ago, I was invited to write a short guest post about what your story (your story, your family's story) means to others and the power it has! Photos and stories have been shown in studies to increase self-esteem, increase happiness, increase relaxation, and decrease stress.
In fact, if you'd like to know just how good for you preserving your photos, stories, and memories is, check out this impressive list of benefits.
Easily Preserving Your Story and Photos
Preserving your stories, photos, and memories doesn't have to be hard. In fact, it's better when it's easy because you're more likely to do it, and you're more likely to do it soon while memories are fresh.
So I've made two tutorial videos that will help. Tell your own legacy story this way
or preserve your everyday stories and memories this way.
The legacy story tutorial is longer than the yearbook tutorial because it was part of a class I taught, so you'll learn about the importance of legacy and get some resources and helpful ideas for where to start when preserving your legacy story. The yearbook tutorial shows you the basics and then you're ready to go.
Both use free, web-based software that is very intuitive and easy to use, and both will be professionally printed using the highest quality inks, papers, and bindings in the industry. You want your preserved memories to last for years and years to come! This link can also help you get started.
NOTE: I am a Forever affiliate (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find several affiliate links in this post, from which I earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.
Your story is worth remembering. So, don't wait! You will benefit from the process of preserving and recording your memories, and so will your loved ones.
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