Let me begin by declaring that I’m as sentimental as they come. Be that as it may, I recently realized that the number of photos that I’ve taken or acquired has reached unmanageable proportions, and leaves me with no choice but to thin the population. Just the number of boxes has me in an anxious state of mind. A plan - what to save and how to save it - is what I need.
We save photographs because they provide us with fond memories of events and people; they’re the perfect - and instant - trigger. There are, of course, secondary reasons for collecting or saving photos, but my hope here is to curate a kick-ass family photo collection. I no longer want to approach any given box of photos with dread or even resignation. It should be a pleasurable experience to pull out a box or album and meander down memory lane. It would be especially helpful if all those photos were organized.
Today’s the day that I implement my new approach and share my “wisdom” with all of you!
Observations:
1. So many otherwise beautiful photographs are ruined by the presence of utility lines or cars or both.
2. Ten million photos of one trip may be meaningful or precious, but only to the person who took that trip. Is more necessarily better?
3. Ten million baby pictures of your first-born may be meaningful or precious, but only to you. . . and probably your first-born. Regardless of your first-born’s opinion on the matter, this is a case where “less is more”. Just like they do with Christmas presents, children - especially those further down the ladder - keep careful track of the numbers.
4. Ten million pictures of your only child could be reduced by 95% and no one would notice a substantial difference.
5. I sometimes will save a photo that has several family members just because it has several family members in it, not because it’s a good picture. (I wonder if I’m trying to prove that we “get together” on a regular basis. It may also be that I unconsciously place higher value on photos of large groups than those with only one or two people.)
6. There are just some people in your family that will always ruin the group picture, either naturally or by design.
7. There are also some family members that, try as they might, they can’t seem to look normal in any picture.
Recommendations:
1. With all photos that you intend to keep or scan, identify - if known - who, where, and when on the back. Do it now! (You’ll never get to it later because it becomes a real hassle when you have dozens and dozens, maybe even hundreds or thousands, that need it.)
2. Give or throw away duplicates.
3. Throw away photos that have uncomfortable memories. (If the uncomfortable memory is one you shouldn’t or don’t want to revisit, that’s just masochism, and some memories are so uncomfortable that you won’t need the physical reminder - you’ll remember the moment anyway.)
4. Like with #3, throw away photos of people whose presence in your life have made it less joyous.
5. Scan photos that will have enduring meaning. (Hopefully, you’ll understand which ones fall into that category.)
6. If you inherit someone else’s trip photos, decide on only one or two to save (if any). Remember, the trip was their memory, not yours.
7. If you acquire photos of ancestors, scan them, even if you don’t know the subjects at that moment. If you know which family they belonged to, send them on their way in that direction. Historical societies are great repositories for old photos with known connections.
8. Save individual photos that stand apart for their artistic quality; frame them and create or add to a gallery. Don’t leave that for some vague future point in time.
9. Make a separate pile for the photos that you think would be more appreciated by others. (At the end of your re-organization, you can mail those with personalized notes or cards.)
10. Save one embarrassing photo of each member of your family and let them know of its existence. (You may need it down the road; get what I’m saying?)
When you find it hard to part with a photo, consider:
1. If the feet &/or top of the head are cut off, toss it (even if you find yourself saying, “Aw, but that’s Tom dancing with his niece Lindsey; they look so cute!”)
2. Is the photo flattering to the featured subjects? (Closed eyes are not flattering to anyone, by the way.)
3. Is it blurry? (You should know what to do with it.)
4. Is it featuring the back of someone’s head? (Even if you know that that’s the only photo you have of your great-uncle Stuart, it’s not really of any value.)
5. Is there no hope of identifying the subject(s)? (Why are you saving it?)
6. Would this picture be more meaningful to someone else? (If so, give it to him/her.)
7. If the picture is essentially only a record of what everyone brought to a gathering, it is of low value. (I’m amazed at how many photos I had of buffet settings.) Often, the array of food distracts enough to ruin an otherwise decent picture.
8. Was the picture taken in the late 60's? (Yuh, you'll generally just want to remove any physical reminders of that brief era.)
Even if only a few of these ideas speak to you, you should be in a better place with your family photo collection. Hopefully, you’ve been inspired by my data-driven and very sciency observations and proven strategies tested across a broad swath of industry participants.
Good luck with your own photo collection project!
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