Photo Albums Archives - Page 5 of 5 - Picture This Organized

March 1, 2017May 14, 2018Photo Albums, Photos, Storytelling, Traditions, Vacations

10 Things I Love About My Photo Organizing Clients

Last week I published a post on why I love my job as a photo organizer, and I promised you a second part to that post.

My wonderful clients are one of the biggest reasons I adore my job — so this week I wanted to dedicate an entire post to articulating all the reasons my clients are special to me..

Ready for some big-time gushing? Here we go!

1. My Clients Love to Travel.

One of the many reasons someone might hire a photo organizer is to help them manage and display the photos they take when they’re traveling. Because so many of my clients have been bitten by the travel bug, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the world through my clients’ photos.

Whether it’s a 3-week trip through Southeast Asia or a hike along the Appalachian Trail, I feel inspired by my clients’ love for learning about different cultures and meeting the locals. Their love of travel is a tribute to their willingness to see things from a worldly perspective, and I get to be a part of that through their wonderful photos.

2. They Are Adventurous.

Many of clients not only like to travel — they like to have BIG adventures while they’re doing it! I’ve organized pictures of bamboo raft rides in China, helicopter skiing in California, multiple cross-country moves, and exotic foods samplings.

Since I’m not an adventurous person by nature, this part of my job captivates my attention and fascinates me. I love seeing the amazing escapades of my adventurous clients as they show up in images — and the photos that are taken on adventures like this are often incredible!

3. My Clients Stay Connected.

I’ve seen photos of hundreds (maybe even thousands) of family gatherings – from everyday moments to holiday dinners. What sticks with me about the images of these gathering is that we seem to have a nearly universal desire to spend time together celebrating our relationships.

Some of my very favorite client projects are family Christmas albums. Many of these projects showcase photos that are over a period of many years, from early marriage to present day. One of my clients once told me that her children said the family Christmas album was the best gift they had ever received – and that kind of praise is music to my professional photo organizer ears!

That particular client had saved photos, Christmas cards, letters to Santa, and all kinds of keepsakes over many years of holiday celebrations with her family. She shared many favorite memories of various years, and her children just poured over those albums reminiscing over their shared stories about those holidays. She wanted to be sure that each child received their own copy of this family heirloom, so we worked together to create multiple copies of the album after it was complete.

I have tons of client stories like this, and they make my job really special. I love that my clients stay connected to their families, want to celebrate their gatherings (both large and small), and want to make keepsakes that their friends and family members will cherish forever.

4. They Care About Their Family Legacies.

My clients also want to honor and celebrate their extended families, and their stories. For my clients, getting the details of their family stories right is really important, and that includes who belongs to what branch of the family, the resemblances between family members, and other details that could potentially get lost if no one is keeping track of them.

In each family, there’s typically one member who is the self-appointed “historian.” They are eager for everyone – siblings, aunts and uncles, parents, and children – to know the stories and relationships of the family, including what family members have in common, and how they differ.

They are willing to pour through photos, slides, and even memorabilia to carefully select what to keep, what to share with extended family, and how to honor the stories and legacies that these items represent. Sometimes they even photograph various items for extended family, so they can select which items they’d like to have.

5. My Clients Are Willing to See Themselves Authentically, and Recognize Their Limitations.

Every family has their own set of challenges, so I try to help them see the importance of using photos that highlight their lives – as they really are! In my free report, 8 Ways to Tell Stories with You Family Photos, I talk about how we can tell better, more memorable and more cohesive stories with our photos when don’t expect every shot we take and display to be “picture-perfect.” My clients embrace imperfection, and they are willing to see themselves and their families authentically – and I love their bravery and willingness to be authentic.

The people I work with also understand how important it is that we are able to find our photos easily. When there’s a pause in the busyness of life and a precious moment is captured on a camera, it’s important to be able to find that photo later, so the moment isn’t forgotten.

Even in this do-it-yourself-crazy world, asking for help with your photo organizing (or anything else) doesn’t need to be a statement of failure! I’ve seen how liberated my clients feel about releasing the photo organizationing piece to me and allowing me to help them get things under control. They deserve recognition for remembering to take a photo and capture the moment – as a photo organizer, I’m just helping them create order so they can easily remember and honor that precious moment.

6. They Celebrate the Milestones in Their Lives.

My clients are incredibly proud of their children’s accomplishments and life celebrations, and they enjoy using photos as a means to show off their appreciation and happiness. I love creating projects that help parents celebrate the special moments in their kids’ lives.

One client’s wedding celebration was especially memorable for me. As a tribute to their son’s life, a client wanted an album that would convey their pride in his accomplishments and their joy about his approaching wedding. While they suspected this would be a hit with their son, an unexpected bonus was the thrill their son’s stepsons got over his old football photos! His stepsons hadn’t known about that piece of his past, and it was clearly an opportunity for this newly blended family to bond over some very special family photos.

7. They Honor as They Grieve.

Most of my clients are in the midst of enjoying the fruits of our labor as our children grow up, leave the nest and have families of their own – just like me! But sadly, we’re also in that place of saying goodbye to aged parents. As my clients grieve over the loss of a family member, it’s a honor when I’m asked to help a client pay tribute to her loved one’s life.

While I may know many personal details about my clients’ families, I can still help my clients shift to a more objective perspective at a time when making decisions is difficult. Sometimes the photos we find depict a particularly sensitive time, such as the last days of a loved one’s life. Recently I unknowingly found one such photo that a client thought had been lost. Understandably, it was a bittersweet discovery.

8. They Like to Reminisce.

My clients like to remember their stories and life experiences, and I appreciate that. According to writer Kristine Dwyer, a staff writer at Caregiver.com, reminiscence is “a free-flowing process of thinking or talking about one’s experiences in order to reflect on and recapture significant events of a lifetime.”

“We all live in the present,” Dwyer says, “yet we still carry our ‘past’ selves with us throughout our lives. We are part of a rich history that needs to be shared and preserved. The stories we tell about our lives are also important sources of self-identity, and they enable us to explore and relate our past to the present.”

Images help us with that process of sharing and preserving our histories, so I feel a real sense of fulfillment when I help my clients organize and display their photos.

It’s really about reliving our past – whether it was a vacation we had, or a milestone reached by one of our family members. My clients want to think about (and talk about) all the sweet memories so those moments aren’t forgotten, and I feel honored that I am included in that process when we work together.

9. My Clients Appreciate Their Children’s Accomplishments, Interests, and Individuality.

When I work with my clients, I love that they want to recognize each family member’s personal accomplishments and aspirations.

This is especially important when managing photos for our children. As we document important dates, there is enormous value in tracking where each child went to school, the music programs they participating in, and the sports teams they were part of.

Creating albums that highlight each child’s interests and life stories is an important exercise in honoring each child’s individuality and interests.

As a mom, I know it is sometimes easier to take photos of my kids as a group, just to capture the moment, but I’ve learned that my client’s children appreciate having individualized albums that document their individual interests, friendships, and milestones.

My clients sometimes create individualized albums like this because they want to help their children adjust to a significant transition, like a big move. Even for teenagers, an opportunity to look back at one’s life can help make the transition to a new environment less difficult. Sometimes adjusting to where we’ve arrived requires looking back at where we came from.

Being part of a family of four girls and one of the middle children, I appreciate the need to feel recognized and valued – separate from my siblings. I enjoy being part of my client’s efforts to recognize and praise their children’s individual interests and accomplishments.

10. My Clients Become My Friends!

I know I’m doing something right when a client tells me, “I’m glad you’re in my life!” As we review my clients’ family photos, they often share personal information as well as milestones, accomplishments and disappointments, so I end up know a lot about the people I work with. It’s an honor and a privilege to hold onto (and honor) that information for my clients.

Since I work with many of my clients long-term, I am also delighted to say that many have them have become friends. My life is so much better with my wonderful clients in it!

October 1, 2016May 14, 2018Photo Albums, Photo Rescue, Print photos

How to Rescue Your Old Photo Albums (and Keep Them Looking Great for a Long Time)

If you were born in the 20th century (like me), you probably have some old photo albums that are not in such great shape.

Unfortunately, many of your old photos are may be in danger of getting seriously damaged. If you used “magnetic” pages in your album – the ones with sticky pages that you could cover with clear plastic – your photos might already be in rough shape. Photos on old black paper pages, even with photo corners, might not be faring well, either.

Your photos might be deteriorating, yellowing, or falling out of your albums. None of this is good for your sentimental prints!

You painstakingly, carefully, and lovingly created these albums. Is there anything you can do to rescue these precious memories?

I’m happy to report that there is a solution! You can still enjoy viewing the heritage photos in an album, sharing them with family, and preserving them for generations to come.

The solution is to digitize and archive the photos and the albums. Let’s talk about what those terms mean, and how to do each of them – and I’ll also tell you the story of a photo album that my husband and I “rescued” a few years ago.

What Do Digitizing and Archiving Mean?

Digitizing is the process of using a photo scanner to capture a photo print as a digital file.

Archiving is labeling your photos properly and storing them in an album or a box that is constructed of materials that will protect them from deterioration or loss.

Old photos can lose their meaning if their stories don’t get documented, so you should store your photos in a safe container and put them in a safe place, but also label them so that if they are discovered by future generations, the finder will know their relevance and significance in the family’s heritage.

A few years ago, my husband’s elderly aunt allowed my husband and I to take possession of her extraordinary heritage photo album, which documented her family’s life in Haiti and Germany during the First and Second World Wars.

We offered to digitize her one and only copy of the album, and gave her our sworn promise that we would return the book in its entirety. I think she was nervous, but she trusted us to take care of this priceless album and its contents. The purpose of a heritage album is to pass the book on to future generations, and wanted to make sure the photos and captions in this album didn’t get so damaged that she couldn’t pass them on!

Upon closer inspection, we realized the album and the photos were quickly deteriorating. The materials that her family had used to display the photos in the book weren’t archival quality, so the photos were starting to deteriorate and become discolored.

We developed a plan to upgrade her traditional album to an archive quality album while maintaining the original design, layout and captions. We also planned to digitize all the original photos, so that they could be easily secured, backed up, and shared with future generations.

Here are the steps we followed to digitize and archive her historical album:

Step One: Document the Original Version and Remove the Photos.

Before we removed the photos to scan them, we numbered and took pictures of each album page. These images would be used to re-create the album in its original form in traditional and digital formats.

Once we had pictures of every page, we went through the album, page by page, and removed each of the photos.

As we removed all the photos, we organized them into groups based on page numbers, and placed each group sequentially into a photo-safe box. We separated each group using index card dividers labeled with the page numbers. This organizational system made the scanning process easier and more efficient.

When a photo was stuck tightly to a particular page, we used unwaxed dental floss to ease it off the page by sliding the floss between the back of the photo and the album page. It did require a bit of patience and care, but most of the photos detached easily using this process.

When it became too difficult to detach the photo from the album page, we scanned that image while it was still attached to the album page.

Step Two: Scanning the Photos.

Next, we scanned each of the photos and turned each one into an individual digital file. We set our scanner setting to 600 DPI, since most of her photos were small.

All our photos needed to be dusted off before scanning, since the album hadn’t fully protected them, so we used a very soft micro-fiber cloth that wouldn’t leave lint behind on the prints. You don’t want dirt or dust to get onto the scanner, because they will be included in the scan and leave a mark on the image.

As we scanned the prints, we gave each image a file name that matched the album name and the page number.

If you’d like to scan the photos from your own older albums, you can use an all-in-one printer, if you have one. You also should make sure you keep the scanner glass free of dust, and use gloves so you don’t transfer any dirt or oil from your hands onto the prints. If you don’t have an all-in-one printer, there are a number of inexpensive scanners you can get on Amazon.com, at office supply stores, or at BHPhotoVideo.com.

Consider your ultimate goals when deciding on your DPI settings. The DPI setting typically means “dots per inch” and determines the clarity of the photo as you enlarge it.

For most projects, you’ll want to use at least 600 DPI. If you want to enlarge your print photo (digitally, or by getting a larger printed version), start with 600 DPI and consider raising it if you know you want to create a really large version of the photo.

Some quick examples: If you’ve got a 3×3 print, start with 600 DPI – this will be sufficient in most cases for regular backup purposes. Use 1200 DPI if you want a really large version of the original print, but be aware that you will be enlarging everything on the print, including any imperfections or discolorations in the image. If you have a larger print (like an 8×10), then 600 DPI will be just fine.

Step Three: Archiving the Traditional Album and Creating a Digital Copy.

We wanted to create a digital copy of the album, and recreate the original album in its original physical format – this was important so that his aunt could still have a physical album that she could hold in her hands and show to guests and family members. This process of recreating the original album in a safe and protected way is called archiving.

For the traditional album, all the original prints were placed onto archive-quality paper using photo corners, then slipped into page protectors. We scanned each caption with her handwriting to keep the album feel personal and original, and added printed-out versions of those captions to the album in the appropriate spots.

If you’d like get your own archive-quality paper and photo corners, you can get both at Hobby Lobby, ArchivalMethods.com, or Michael’s.

Once we completed the recreation of the traditional album, we finished off the entire process by scanning each page of the album. Once we were done with that step, we also had a digital version of the album to share and backup.

The once-deteriorating album is once again a family heirloom that is proudly displayed and shared with friends and family!

Protecting and Backing Up Your Albums

If you’ve got old albums sitting in closets or on bookshelves, you may want to archive and digital them using this process. It does require a bit of patience and organization, but it is totally doable for any family.

Of course, if you’d like some assistance with keeping your albums safe and intact, we’d love to help! Just call Picture This Organized for a customized quote.

August 8, 2016May 14, 2018Photo Albums, Photos, Vacations

How to Organize Your Vacation Photos (While You’re Still on Vacation)

You’ve just returned home from your vacation to Mexico. You’ve shaken the sand out of your shoes, unpacked all your travel clothes, and you’re just starting to think about going back to work tomorrow.

Before you head back to your office, you sit down at your computer to share some of your trip images with your sister – and that’s when you realize that your vacation photos are a bit of a mess.

Some of the photos are in your phone, and some in your kids’ phones. The rest are in your digital SLR camera – and you’re not even sure where that camera is. You’re looking for one specific photo from your snorkeling expedition, and you can’t find it anywhere.

So you push the whole thing out of your mind, and decide you’ll deal with your vacation photos another day.

Months later, your lovely vacation memories and images are still in a big, messy virtual pile. Your photos are scattered across several devices, and when you sit down to try to organize things to put everything into a vacation album or a slideshow, you can’t remember:

The name of the place where you went snorkeling (and you still haven’t found those photos to share with your sister)
Why everyone is laughing in the photo you took at the Mexican restaurant
Why this vacation was so incredible. You know it was special, but your memories of specific moments are already fading.

And because your memories are fading and your photos are disorganized, you throw in the towel and decide not to create the album at all.

Next time you take a vacation with your friends and family, this cycle repeats itself, until you’ve got cameras and smartphones full of photos of moments you can’t remember, (can’t find the ones you want), and those images will never see the light of day.

I’ve got good news, though – if preserving your vacation photos (and stories that go with them) is important to you, there are things you can do to prevent this from happening again.

You can actually take a few simple steps to protect and organize your vacation photos and preserve those memories while you’re still traveling.

And the best part is – this method doesn’t have to take a lot of time, and it can actually be fun.

Step One: Do Your Homework Before You Leave the House

The first step in this process involves finding a system to back up your vacation photos during your trip. This actually happens before you even start packing your bags. You need to do a little bit of homework about the technology you will be using, so you are comfortable with uploading and backing up your photos while you’re on the road.

Many of us take vacation photos with our smartphones, but a digital SLR camera often takes better photos – so we bring both. So you want to find the best way to backup your travel photos from your camera by uploading them to a secure location like your computer, tablet or online storage site.

The steps of this process will vary depending on your mobile device, your laptop setup, and your chosen online storage/sharing site, so my recommendations will focus more on the best practices and key features to consider for making your decision.

What’s most important is that you get the photos copied from your camera or phone, so the images are all in one central location and you have a backup copy of the photos should your phone or camera gets lost or stolen.

The bare minimum you need to know how to do is upload your photos to your laptop or tablet. In most cases you can use your charging cord and connect your camera directly to the device. I suggest making a vacation folder/album (ex. 2016-Mexico) and uploading them to that location on your device. This will keep them organized so you can easily find them for the next step.

If you want to go one step further to secure your photos (or you don’t plan to bring your laptop or tablet with you), you can upload the images to a reputable online photo storage service. There are a lot of choices for this – my recommendation would depend upon the devices you have. What’s most important is that you pick a reputable tool that has been around for a while, not a new service that just hit the market yesterday.

Here are some potential choices for online photo storage and backup:

If you’re using an online service like one of the tools listed above, you will need to:

Download any necessary applications to your smartphone well before you pack your bags.
Practice uploading some files so that you aren’t trying to learn while on your trip.
Know whether the app runs in the background or requires you to open it for your photos to upload.
Know whether you need wifi to run the application (most do). If you need wifi, look at your trip itinerary and figure out where (and when) you’ll have access to a network.

Again – let me stress that there are many variations of this process (smartphone or digital SLR camera, Mac or PC, laptop upload vs. online storage).

It doesn’t really matter what your process is, as long as you know it works and you understand how to upload your photos easily and save them to one specific location. There’s nothing worse than sitting in a hotel room pulling your hair out over technological frustrations when you should be relaxing and enjoying your vacation.

The photo upload process should be really fast and stress-free, so I can’t stress enough how important it is to practice doing it at home until you can implement it quickly and easily.

The other super-quick thing you want to do before you leave home is take a quick moment and put a large (gallon size) Ziploc bag into your suitcase. This will come in handy later.

Step Two: Uploading and/or backing up your photos while you’re on your trip

While you’re on your trip, upload your photos using the process you figured out ahead of time. Make sure you upload to a vacation album/folder. You should do this every couple of days, at a minimum — if you go too long between uploading sessions, the process can get time consuming because you’ll need to upload a lot of files at one time.

Review the photos quickly as you go through the uploading process, and delete the ones you know you don’t want to keep (like duplicates or blurry shots). Your photos should be listed in date order which should help as a reminder – at least of the photos you took each day. This can also help to remind you of photos you still want to take – such as the hotel where you’re staying or other things you can capture while you’re still on vacation!

Again, this process shouldn’t take a long time – about 10 to 15 minutes every couple of days should do it.

Step Three: Preserving the stories and memories from the trip

Gather the physical reminders. While you’re on the trip, throw all your memorabilia – all your ticket stubs, programs, maps, scraps of paper, brochures, paper menus, stories or quotes written on napkins, funny sayings or jokes from the trip, etc. – into your gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Anything that will trigger a memory later should go into the bag.

These mementos will help you remember all the details of your vacation later, when you’re putting together photos to display.

Jot down the memories and stories. The other thing you should do while you’re on the trip is take a few minutes each evening to write down what you did that day. Then write down the basic itinerary of the day (whether you went to a museum, the beach, a relative’s house, or some other attraction) and jot down any quick memories or stories from the day.

If your kids are traveling with you, enlist them to help you with this process. Ask them to help remember the funny or interesting things that happened that day, and write it all down. This can fun for all of you!

This doesn’t need to be a long or complicated process, and you don’t need to sit along in a room writing out long and eloquent journal entries. You can make your list on a napkin or the back of a placemat at dinner. Make a fast and efficient list, put the date on the top, and throw that list in your memory bag, too.

Step Four: Double check your photos when you get home

Within a day or two after you return from your trip, take a couple of minutes to make sure you’ve uploaded and/or backed up all the photos, and that you’ve got your memory bag in a safe place.

When you’re ready, you can display your photos by putting them in albums, frames, videos, or slideshows. You’ll have a lot more fun with this process (and it will take far less time) because of the work you did to protect and organize your photos ahead of time.

Use the items in your memory bag (like ticket stubs, quotes, and itinerary notes) to piece together meaningful collections full of wonderful stories and memories. You can even scan some of those items and include those images in your albums, frames, or videos.

For more information on designing themed albums around your trips or other adventures, check this blog post: 9 Steps to Designing a Themed Album.

Headache-Free and (Easy-to-Share) Vacation Photo Collections

Imagine being able to come back from your vacation, unpack your suitcase, and put your feet up, knowing your great trip memories are safe and secure.

Your photos are protected, your stories are preserved, and the memories of this trip will now last a lifetime.

Feels good, right?

And it only takes a few steps to make this vision a reality. Follow this process, and you’ll go from having messy, disorganized vacation photos to creating organized vacation albums full of heartwarming images, funny stories, and wonderful memories.

Do you need help with organizing and displaying your vacation photos from previous trips (or developing a plan to protect and organize your future trip photos)? That’s our specialty here at Picture This Organized! Get in touch with us to discuss your project.

May 4, 2015May 14, 2018Gift Ideas, Memorabilia, Photo Albums, Photos

Honoring Your Mother’s Day Treasures

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s save mementos and memorabilia – especially if they are Mother’s Day gifts from our children. As a former professional organizer, I know that saving every note and drawing this isn’t advisable, but come on! How can you throw away something that represents time your child spent on YOU?

Well actually you don’t really have to throw them all away but you should seek ways to honor your favorites. If it’s been ages, like years since you looked at them, are they really being treasured? Sometimes throwing them away may feel like we’re throwing away a piece of that relationship. But can you truly say that it’s honoring to keep these things tucked away, never to be looked at again?

When I look at a handwritten note or drawing from my children, they are lovely reminders of time they spent thinking about me. As the mother of three grown children, they are a kind of report card of my success as their mom. So when a memento from your kiddos is a pleasant reminder of your relationship or it represents a significant moment in your past, then by all means save it. Those random non-emotional items, can be discarded (guilt-free) to make room for the treasures. But I must encourage you to honor them.

How you ask? By putting your favorites and in a place of honor. There are lots of ideas. You can frame them, put them in a decorative box or create an artwork album. For more ideas on memorabilia, check out our Pinterest page or blog post Giving Memorabilia for the Holidays.

And when it comes to mementos, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! One of my “treasures” from my youngest (then teenage) son is a Mother’s Day card – all in Spanish. While he was in a silly mood and thought it would be cute to confuse this non-Spanish speaking momma, he also carefully translated each word so I would also know how much he loves and appreciates me!

So the next time you pour over treasures from your offspring, don’t forget to send a note to your own momma! And if she’s a saver like you, consider gifting her your time to help her create a special way to honor her treasures!

If this idea sounds appealing to you but you need some creative guidance, we love helping our clients with just this kind of project. Send me an email to schedule a free 30 minute consultation. Together we can brainstorm ideas to create a treasured gift for you or your momma!

Now go write that note to your mother!

April 6, 2015May 14, 2018Gift Ideas, Graduation, Memorabilia, Photo Albums

Creating the Graduation Album Project in 4 Simple Steps

You’ve decided to create an album for your graduate, have a deadline and are ready to get started. In this phase, you will be gathering everything that’s important to your graduate. Then digitizing anything that’s in paper or 3-dimensional form. You will develop a workable plan to complete your project in time. And finally, design your project.

Step One: Create a Timeline

A timeline can be a useful tool to complete a goal. With a breakdown of each phase, you can stay on task. The best way to approach this is to look at your deadline and work backwards.

Album publishing: 2 weeks
Album creation: 4-8 weeks. Depends upon the number of photos.
Digitizing: 2-3 weeks. Also depends upon number of photos.
Gathering: 1-2 weeks. This depends upon the organization of your collection and the number of photos you have.
Set daily goals.
If all you have is 15 minutes, you can use it to start going through pictures or albums. Use a journal, post-its, or a log to keep track of where to start next time you have time. You’re already farther along than you were 15 minutes ago!

Now start from the beginning and mark your timeline on your calendar.

Step Two: Gather

Grab their photos, artwork and memorabilia and put everything into one central location. A large bin or box that can hold letter or legal size handing file folder works well for keeping photos, documents and memorabilia organized.
Consider sub-themes. School years, holidays, birthdays, sports, activities, and vacations are typical sub-themes.
Mementos. Set aside artwork or awards to be considered for your project. Anything three-dimensional can be photographed and incorporated into your book.

Step Three: Digitize

Digitize what’s in paper form. Scanning can be time intensive, so if you’re short on time, check for local scanning services or contact us if you are in the Denver area.

Photography is another option. Use the best camera you have making sure you have good lighting and a simple background. Once everything is in digital format, you can start designing your senior project.

Step Four: Album Design

For album design ideas, check out our blog post “9 Easy Steps to Designing A Themed Album”

Making an album for your graduate should be fun! If you are feeling overwhelmed, I’m here to help. Email me today and I’m happy to schedule a free 30 minute consultation.

March 30, 2015May 14, 2018Gift Ideas, Graduation, Photo Albums, Photos

Three Simple Steps to Honor Your Graduate this Spring!

The school year is winding down. With every school request for a photo collage or tribute, you wonder how to personally honor your graduate.
You might be feeling discouraged by what you haven’t done so far.
Or overwhelmed about what to do with their memorabilia.

Don’t panic!

In this three part series, you’ll have the tools to honor your graduate in a way that works for you.

Step One: What’s the goal?

Let’s assume you have dreamed about making your grateful graduate a photo book. This can be as inclusive as their whole life, from diapers to graduation. An album of this type is called a life book.

If that feels overwhelming, you can reduce the scope and create a theme book. Some easy themes are High School, Hobbies or Activities. Keep in mind: this book should be as unique as your graduate.

Step Two: Get Real

At this busy time you need think realistically about what you can accomplish. Is it truly possible to have this project completed in time for graduation? Would it be more realistic to wait until your graduate flies the coop in the fall?

Step Three: Availability

How much time can you devote? An hour, all day, or just a little here and there? This will help to determine the project scope: a life tribute which takes more time or a themed project. Once you’ve determined the scope of the project, it’s time to think about its contents.

Making an album for your graduate should be fun! If you are feeling overwhelmed, I’m here to help. Email me today and I’m happy to schedule a free 30 minute consultation.

This is Part One of the Honoring your Graduate series. Part Two covers Creating the Graduation Album Project.

March 27, 2015May 14, 2018Gift Ideas, Photo Albums, Photos

9 Easy Steps to Designing a Themed Photo Album

Designing and creating a photo album can be a daunting task. There are ways to keep it simple and manageable. A themed album can help to keep it to a reasonable project and with this approach, you can get an album finished in no time.

Step One – Select your theme

What’s the topic or reason for this album? Keep the focus narrow such as Our Hawaii Vacation rather than Every Vacation I’ve Ever Taken in My Life.
If you try to do too much you will feel overwhelmed.
Then what felt easy becomes impossible.
You’ll find yourself devoting your efforts and attention to everything but completing the album!

Step Two – Choose the album type & size

Scrapbook or digital album? My preference is digital because it’s faster, you can duplicate your efforts and easier to achieve. Choosing the album size is an important decision at this point in the process because it is tied to the number of photos to be used. Some common sizes are 8×8, 11×8 and 12×12. There are many photo book sites where you can create and publish your own album. Some of our favorites are Picaboo & Mixbook. Pick the best quality album you can afford.

Step Three – Select the photos

If this is your first attempt, think small and manageable. The optimum quantity is about 100 photos. Plan on putting 4-5 photos onto a page. If you want to do a collage, we suggest no more than 9 photos on a page.
The more photos on a side, the smaller each will need to be. You want each photo to be noticed so the page doesn’t appear too busy. Look for photos that tell the story. Capture people looking their best – be kind!

Step Four – Layout

Use sub-themes to plan the sequencing of your album and its layout.
For example, if you were making a Christmas album, the main theme would be the year and sub-theme is the activity such as opening presents, dinner and decorations.

Step Five – Designing and Production

Drag photos into the pages using pre-designed templates. Don’t let perfectionism get hold. Just get pictures onto the pages. You will feel a huge sense of accomplishment from just getting this part done! Then you can tidy up the pages later.

Step Six – Captions and Stories

This is where you can get friends and family involved. You could have them email their stories to you.

Then just cut and paste the text into your album. Upload photos to a sharing site like Flickr so they can look at them and add comments. A caption can be as simple as just identifying the year, the person or the event. Or you can add a catchy phrase – but only if that’s your personality. If not, don’t fret about it. Remember this is your story and if writing isn’t your thing – just add quick captions and dates if you can!

Step Seven – Drafts

Plan to do this in drafts. Remember when you were in school and wrote drafts of that English paper? This is loads more fun – because it’s your story. You’ll be thanking yourself for doing that second pass through, especially when you inevitably find those typos you missed on the first one. Step back from this project for a bit and return to it after a few days. You’ll be surprised by what you find and the clarity you gain with some breathing room.

Step Eight – Pretty and Tidy

It’s time to take a look at some details. Once I’ve selected my favorite photos I can’t enjoy how they look on the album page if the margins aren’t neat and balanced. That’s my preference for a timeless design. But I’ll admit this is where my perfectionism can slow things down. If that’s not you (or you truly don’t care), then pay no attention to me! But if you have customized the page layouts and you’re picky, then you’ll be glad you spent the extra time to make it right. And in keeping with the clean and tidy concept, I prefer a background that’s simple so it doesn’t detract from the photos I’ve so carefully selected.

Step Nine – Place the Order!

Congrats! You’ve worked hard & now have a beautiful album to be enjoyed by generations. Consider ordering extra copies for family and friends. And if your album design software allows, save a copy on your computer and another copy on a backup drive. Then if something happens to the original copy you can order it again. This album style could be a template for future albums!

Making an album should be fun! If you are feeling overwhelmed, I’m here to help. Email me today and I’m happy to schedule a free 30 minute consultation.