June Tip – Organize Last Year’s Photos Now
Spend some time this month organizing the photos you took last year. Create a file system and gather them all to one place. The stories are still fresh so be sure to add some metadata to your photos. This task becomes more difficult the longer you put it off, so book some time on your calendar, right now, to get last year’s pictures in order.
Record Family Stories
This is a great time to share and record family stories. While we are separated from our families and loved ones, we are reaching out more regularly. Even with things loosening up, there’s still not much new for us week to week! Make your conversations more interesting by asking about your family photos. Select a few each week and record the stories that go with the photos – going to prom, a high school track meet, your family’s old cottage. Ask what everyone remembers about the event and record the stories and details. Write them on the back of your printed photos (with a soft pencil or photo safe pen) or type them into the metadata of your digital photos. Ask about the who, what, where, when, why and how.
Sometimes a question will come up about a certain photo or event. Use this opportunity to reach out to more family or friends and start the conversation. Capturing the stories brings so much more meaning to your photos!
Share Family Photos
We’re all ready for something different! This is also a good time to share your photos with family and friends. Choose an online photo sharing site, like Flickr or SmugMug, and upload some photos to share. You control what everyone can see, and who can download copies of your pictures, through your settings. Send links to loved ones so they can enjoy scrolling through your photos. Ask them to upload their photos so you can share too. You can arrange it so the people you invite to look at your photos can leave comments – invite them to share their memories of an event and round out your stories.
Finish Your Photo Projects
As we begin to get out more and to book appointments on our calendars again, I encourage you to book some time for yourself to finish any photo projects you started over the last couple of months. Before we know it, we will be busy again and your organizing project, photo book or backup project will hit the bottom of you to do list. If you’re stuck, please contact me with your questions!