Creating digital photo books from old photo albums offers an opportunity to share precious memories with your family and friends near and far. Scanning the old photos, a necessary first step, safeguards your photos with a secure back up. And rather then storing bulky, mismatched albums in a cabinet or a box in the back of a closet or under a bed, albums of a uniform size and color, beautifully displayed out on a shelf, will more likely be viewed and enjoyed.
While there may be a slight learning curve if you have never created a digital photo book, most programs are easy to use and offer good technical support. Following, is a list of benefits that will make the time involved in this type of photo organizing project, well worth the effort.
Multiple people may want a copy of the same album. This can easily be accomplished by printing several copies of a photo book. Depending on the program used to create the project, your photo book can most likely be saved, allowing additional printing of the book years later.
Old and damaged albums are not safely holding your photos, especially those with sticky pages. The photos need to be removed and after scanning, should either be stored in acid free boxes or, if you choose not to make a digital photo book, they should be returned to better quality photo albums for viewing. Some people are comfortable letting go of their photos after scanning and securely backing them up. For self-protection, wear a mask if handling moldy albums and for the protection of the photos wear a pair of gloves while removing and scanning.
Couples going through a non-amicable divorce may want to limit which photos they view in their photo book. Once a digital album has been made, it is easy to go back and alter the book by removing or adding photos and creating a different version of the original photo book as family circumstances change.
For anyone who is downsizing, a smaller home may not have enough shelf space for big, bulky albums. By reducing your photos into more of an overview, you will end up condensing your albums. Uniform albums, designed with a consistent color and shape, will provide a beautiful display on your shelves and may compliment a fresh start in a new home. A more compact shape can also make the photo book easier to hold, especially for an older person.
Floods, hurricanes and fires have resulted in many heartbreaking situations where all memories are lost. A photo book that has already been created and backed up can easily be printed again. There is even the possibility that some insurance companies may cover the cost of reprinting lost or damaged albums.
Consider collecting photos from other family members to create an album. Adding additional comments and storytelling can turn a photo book into more of a photo journal. This is an opportunity to reach out to family members and learn about their stories and family histories. A photo book of this type makes a wonderful gift for a family member and can especially be enjoyed at a family reunion.
Creating photo books can be time consuming. The more organized your photos are from the onset, the faster and easier the process will go. Consider hiring a photo organizer to help you with this special project and make it an ongoing goal to keep your current and future photo collections organized!