The month of February celebrates love, and we believe the best way to share the love is by preserving sentimental old photos that have been aging for years in a Heritage Album. These are large books full of black and white pictures with white borders and deteriorating edges, held in place by photo corners – or what’s left of them. They are old family treasures that take our family back in time to the 1920s through the 50s, but, unfortunately, the large scrapbook format wasn’t designed to last forever. No need to panic; we got this.
See an example of one of our client’s album pages below:
Why is preservation so important?
Photography and photo albums document our family journey. They remind us what life was like in the past and how much change we’ve been through. The paper that displays our history is fragile and doesn’t hold up well without proper care. Unless you’ve had your heritage album in a photo container designed to keep out dust, light, and moisture, you’ll see missing photo corners as the adhesive breaks down and loose photos that have become discolored. Before any more damage can happen, we can help you make archive copies preserved in digital formats that can never be hurt or lost. That means your family can continue to enjoy and share them with future generations.
How we preserve our client’s heritage albums
Our process for archiving and preserving old photos happens in stages. We handle your originals with great care as we move through four important steps.
Step One: Scan the photos
We use a flatbed scanner to delicately hand-scan the full album pages. Both sides are scanned to recreate them digitally. We also scan each photo individually so clients can use their favorite copies for other projects (themed albums, collages, and more) and share them with family.
Step Two: Restore the scanned images
Your old originals may not be looking their best after sitting on a closet shelf or being boxed in the attic or basement with other heirlooms. Luckily, we can edit the scanned copies using tools that can:
- Remove unwanted marks, smudges, or writing. (ex. White lettering)
- “Clean” the photos by minimizing any spots, stains, or creases from being handled and stored (example)
- Crop out any jagged edges to create crisp lines instead. (example)
- “Clone” part of a photo to restore areas on another photo in worse condition.
- Add final touches like borders or text as needed for a beautiful photo and description that tells a story of each person, place, or item.
Check out a video of our restoration process!
Step Three: Client review
Our clients can view their albums as we restore and design them on an album proofing site. Feedback on the appearance and progress of the album reduces the need for revisions and helps us complete a successful project that your family and friends are thrilled to page through and share. Generations from now, your heritage photos will be in the same condition. Archived scanned copies are protected in a separate cloud application or secure external hard drive. Your original album can be saved in a photo container, free from dust, light, and moisture, or discarded. The family tree is preserved and safe from damage or loss.
Step Four: Publish
The finished hardbound album can have a custom cover with a title that describes the collection. Copies are easily made for everyone, so you can give them as gifts. They make a great coffee table book! Picture This Organized cherishes photo memories as much as you do. We have many types of photo album projects according to themes to preserve memories about different family members, celebrations, trips, or time periods. Each one is a visual story to keep in our hearts and share with others.
Below is the restored version of the client album page we shared above:
Celebrate the love of your family by reaching out to our professionals to help you gather, sort, and organize photo collections of all sizes, including your heritage album. We work remotely with clients throughout the US using video and phone calls, transferring digital files, or mailing photo collections. If you live nearby, visit us in person and meet the team!