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I have boxes and boxes of photos. Where do I start?

I have boxes and boxes of photos. Where do I start?

Old 01-15-2015, 12:01 PM
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Question I have boxes and boxes of photos. Where do I start?

I guess I have been postponing learning how to "scrapbook" for about 50 years. I have boxes and boxes of old photos that really need to be put into albums or picture frames. Honestly, I don't know where to start. It's not like quilting where I am attracted to the fabric, the magazines, the posts on the QB, etc. I'm not really attracted to anything having to do with scrapbooking. However, I cannot imagine leaving this stuff to my daughter to sort out. I really need to do something.

Help?

p.s. On a related theme, we have lots of home videos on different formats (I don't even know which ones). My dh always insisted on getting "good" equipment rather than "easy to use" equipment, so we have rarely ever played anything we have. I'm at the point where I am thinking of taking everything to one of those audio conversion places. However, I'm thinking that is a pretty expensive option, especially since we would be converting hours and hours of really dull home movies in addition to the fun stuff. My dh has always planned to home edit the movies, and I'm sure he could figure out how to do it eventually, but he is still working more than full-time at age 68 with no plans to stop anytime soon. I am thinking we should do something within the near future. What have you done with home videos???
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Old 01-15-2015, 12:34 PM
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good luck to you. It will take lots of time and determination. I have a large plastic tub i just put all my framed photos and boxes and albums into. I may move this year and they are all in one place now other than the ones still on display around the house. Same with all my genealogical stuff. large heavy tub!
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Old 01-15-2015, 12:50 PM
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My recommendation would be to minimally sort your photos into various categories...family; vacations; special events; whatever fits your life. As you are going through that process, toss out the bad photos that we have all been convinced we need to keep. You know, heads chopped off; big old blobs of flash. Just toss them.

You really don't need to 'scrapbook' if that is not your thing. If you can, write on the back of the photo who is in them; where it was taken; when; whatever you know. You can get photo background paper already cut to most photo-ready sizes - a bit oversize. i.e., 4x6 photo would go on a 5x7 sheet. If you are worried about archival quality, you can mount the photos on those sheets with archival safe adhesives. If not, a glue stick on the corners of the photo works. Transfer whatever you've written on the backs of the photos to the back of the sheet it's mounted to. Or make that one process. But if you at least get some basics on the back of the photos, you've passed on the info to future generations without making a total production out of it.

Get some photo-style decorative boxes (or other size-appropriate decorative boxes) and toss the mounted photos in there with a label on the box as to it's initial category.

You could even type up the photo info onto adhesive labels to use on either the back of the photo or the sheet you've mounted it to if you feel your handwriting might be difficult for others to read.

And, frankly, I'd bite the bullet and have all the videos transferred to DVD whatever the cost. If DH is still working, it's not likely he'll get to that in the near future. If you at least get everything onto DVD, when those go the way of the dodo, you (or your heirs) will likely be able to get them transferred to the next generation of video file.

My dad did that with all the home movies (and had copies made for each of the siblings) after trying to view them on the old family projector and having the bulb start melting the film due to it's age.

Just my thoughts. Yes, it can be daunting and time consuming. It's like eating an elephant...just do it one bite at a time.
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Old 01-15-2015, 01:00 PM
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Maybe your daughter can help? She will likely be the one who wants the photo's right? We had the same situation. My parents had TONS of pictures and slides. My dad was an amateur photographer. She took all the pictures of our school years and put them in an album, not "scrapbooking" just a regular album and gave each of us those. They did have the slides transffered to video, which was AWESOME. Now I will need to get those transferred to DVD. I think NJ QUILTER has it right.

"My recommendation would be to minimally sort your photos into various categories...family; vacations; special events; whatever fits your life. As you are going through that process, toss out the bad photos that we have all been convinced we need to keep. You know, heads chopped off; big old blobs of flash. Just toss them."
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Old 01-15-2015, 02:00 PM
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There were no photo`s from home for me so I guess I went over board keeping every one, even out of focus. 56 years later I find my girls have given me so many of their kids (because they all are great at everything they do even get to collage of choice from their accomplishments) So I am over flowing and don`t want give up any! Hubby says we can`t live here much longer, so start tossing things out. I also need help bad!
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Old 01-15-2015, 03:40 PM
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Sorting photos is my plan also, started a couple years ago when I was off work because of surgery. Long process, not helped by me reliving memories while I sorted!
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Old 01-15-2015, 04:54 PM
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Originally Posted by julie View Post
Sorting photos is my plan also, started a couple years ago when I was off work because of surgery. Long process, not helped by me reliving memories while I sorted!
This is my fear. I am not good with old photos. They remind me of all the wonderful people who are gone from my life.

The posts so far have been wonderful! At this point I am thinking I may be best off starting with the videos. It seems like a more manageable task, especially since I would be paying someone to put them onto DVD. My first task will be to engage dh so we get all of those home videos together in one place. Then I could take the box to a conversion store to find out about how much it will cost (gulp). My 24yo dd would be thrilled to see some of those old videos! I bet they would make the best Christmas gift ever come December of 2015.
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Old 01-15-2015, 05:39 PM
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I had a scanner and spent hours and hours of just scanning in all of my photos and most of my mom's photos. I just did a bunch at a time, sorting as I went as my scanner was kinda slow. Now I've got all these photos on my hard drive needing still to be sorted into better folders, then burned onto DVDs to share. I figured that if I spread them around the family, if someone had a disaster and lost everything, at least the pictures can be replaced.
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Old 01-15-2015, 05:55 PM
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I started this project just a few weeks ago. I think it will take me the entire year to finish. I have 10 grandchildren, and I plan to make each of them an album. I'm not keeping all the pictures we took - we were not very good photographers back then. But I want them to have idea of what their ancestors looked like, and what their life was like, as told by the pictures. I am not making scrapbooks. I just have pages with openings for the pictures, and on each page I will include a short description of who/what the pictures are.
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Old 01-15-2015, 06:19 PM
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My mother did the multiple album thing for all of us when she got a bag/box of photos from her mother. It's not extensive but does have the bulk of the family members as well as some of each of our childhood photos. Not sure what photos my father may still have of theirs that this will need to be done with as well.

Prism99...yes, your daughter will love the videos. The ugly Christmas morning hair/pajamas and all!
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