Tackling a photo organizing project is like putting together a large jigsaw puzzle. You lay all the pieces out on the table, find all of the edges, and soon the border takes shape.
Then you start connecting pieces with similar colors, lines, or words. When you have questions about what the project is supposed to look like, you look to the photo on the box to guide you.
When it comes to fitting all of pieces of your photo collection together, a professional photo organizer can help you see the big picture and motivate you by showing you what a finished project might look like.
We get a lot of questions about the photo organizing process from prospective clients, so we wanted to compile the answers to the most common ones in this quick Q&A post.
Let’s dig in!
1. “I’m not tech savvy. Is that a problem?”
Technical knowledge is not a requirement to be our client. But we are excited to show you as much as you want to learn! For example, if you want to build confidence navigating your digital photos, we can teach you a simple list of how-to’s.
Many of our clients are over the age of 50, with children and grandchildren, so they aren’t “digital natives” and may have limited technical knowledge. In this previous post, we share all the wonderful ways we work together to help our clients get the most out of their photo collections.
Don’t let your lack of technical expertise deter you from your goals of finding, displaying and sharing your photos.
2. “How much do I need to be involved in the process?”
Hiring a professional to organize your photos is an investment, and we want our clients to get as much value as possible out of the process. You will get a better return on your investment if you stay available and involved as we’re working on your project.
Phone, or video conference calls, email, or in-person meetings are the best ways for us to communicate with you along the way. These meetings allow us to ask questions and provide you opportunities to give input, feedback and review the progress of your projects.
Our clients need to respond in a timely manner when we have questions or need their input. We also want you to commit to keeping your appointments with us (unless you have an emergency, of course). When you reschedule unnecessarily, it delays our progress and affects our other projects, as well.
3. “What things should I do to prepare for the work that Picture This Organized will do for me?”
Our first question will be “Where do we find your photos?” and we’ll get going on everything from there!
You don’t need to prepare anything before we get started. We actually prefer that our clients don’t do any work ahead of time, because they might unknowingly choose a direction that we do not recommend. For example, sometimes people get rid of more images or media files than we would suggest, or they delete the wrong versions of their photos.
You definitely don’t need to hire someone to gather your digital photos, either. We’ll take care of that whole process. We once found out a client had hired someone to gather their digital files, only to discover the person they had hired didn’t transfer the best versions of the photos.
Once we start working together, we might assign you a little bit of homework. But don’t worry! They will be easy tasks, like reviewing details or helping us select and identify photos. You can read more about the process here.
4. “Do you work remotely? Do I need to be in Denver (or Colorado) to work with you?”
Even though our offices are located in the Denver area, we still help a number of clients in other states organize and maintain their photo collections.
When we work remotely, you simply give us access to your online photo collections. We can also provide instructions for how to send us a copy of your photos on an external hard drive.
Then we work to collect, organize, rename, and back up all the photos. With video or phone conferencing, we can help you maintain an organized collection as you add photos over the years.
5. “I have years and years of photos, and lots of different goals. Is that okay?”
Yes! Most of our clients have large photo collections.
Some people only hire us to organize their photos and help them maintain order as they add to their collections, and others have long-term goals that include multiple projects.
Often a client may come to us for help with one project, like a parent tribute album. Once that project is completed, the client realizes they want additional help with their photos. Together, we set goals for new projects, like like organizing their entire photo collection, or doing another special project (like a video slideshow or travel album).
Depending on your goals, your time constraints and our project load, we may have the ability to work on more than one of your projects at a time.
6. “What work do you do in your office, and what kinds of projects go to outside vendors?”
Our team scans printed photos and scrapbook or older albums in our office. We also scan memorabilia and three-dimensional items with our specialized equipment.
We design albums in our office, but send them to outside vendors for printing.
When our clients want to convert slides and home movies to digital copies, we facilitate organizing and sending these items to a trusted group of local vendors.
If You Have More Questions, Give Us a Call!
We would love to be your guide to help you organize and create a beautiful photo collection, album or project.
Have more questions? You can find more answers on the FAQ page, or in this post, where we share more details about what a photo organizer does.
We also offer a free, no-obligation, 30-minute phone consultation. Get in touch with us today to ask a question or set up a time for us to call you. We’re looking forward to speaking with you and finding out more about your photo organizing goals.