It feels pretty amazing. When did you last go through a family album? Do you remember the feeling?
As you know I’m frequently advocating for getting photos in print. It doesn’t matter if they’re a bunch of 4×6 prints you put in a shoebox, or a few you put in a frame on your desk, or some you send as gifts/surprise to family, or get printed into a photo book. However you choose to have some photos printed, is excellent. Because, for every photograph printed, that tangible photograph will always be there, easily accessible, to remind you of that specific memory.
This advice is not for photographers. Well, it applies to photographers, but I am hoping to convince people who don’t even have photography skills to simply print some of those special moments/memories. Let me show you how easy it can be to get started.
Since I’ve been writing about this for years, back in 2017 I wrote a full article explaining the steps, “How to get started sorting through years of digital photos.” But I’m going to do better than that this time. I’ll show you some of the things I do when putting together my annual photo yearbook.
So to begin, like you, I need to go through my folder of photos taken in the past year and begin marking favourites. If your photos are on your phone, go into all your photos from the past year and start marking favourites. Refer to my article (linked above) for a few tips on getting started. And if you have a photo organizer on your computer such as Lightroom, that’s where you’ll begin this process.
Tip: When I’m selecting images for my yearbook, I’m primarily looking for photos that tell stories (signs of the pandemic; places we’ve been; special occasions; highlights; sights in the neighbourhood; daily activities; hobbies; and so on). Once all the favourites have been marked and are in a separate folder / album / collection (whatever method you use), go through them again to see if you have duplications or maybe even if you missed any that you feel may be important. Be certain to preview the work to be confident it’s exactly like you want it. Even if a photo is slightly out of focus, don’t dismiss it! If it shows a special moment or expression, use it.
Tip: If making your yearbook as a photo book or zine, I’d recommend no more than two photographs per page (or 3 at most), otherwise not only will the photos be too small but it will look cluttered.
If you’re going to get them printed as prints — whether you put them in an album or a shoebox — all you need to do now is send those favourites to a photo printer. I like using Pikto because the quality is so good compared to the box stores (I have absolutely NO affiliation with Pikto — I just like them.)
If you choose to have your photos made into a family yearbook, they’re now ready to send off to the printer of your choice. (But if you’d like some ideas on how to curate the images in the book, I’m going to cover that in the next post.) There are so many places, online or in person, that produce photo books so you pick what works best for you. Decide whether you want softcover or hardcover, what photo you want on the cover, any specific title, and you’re all set.
Now, once you send those images to be printed, back them up somewhere (thumb drive; external hard drive). And get them off your phone!
Tip: A very economical way of getting your yearbook printed is to have it made in zine (magazine) format. I recommend either Blurb or MagCloud. Again, I have NO affiliation with either business.
If you have a few minutes, I suggest using them to watch John DeVries thoughtful video, A Few Reasons to Print Your Photos. From the video, “… in a world that has gone completely digital, it’s really enjoyable to create something that is analog and physical.”
Every photo you get printed, is a memory preserved for generations.
Diane Schuller
If you enjoyed this why not share it with a friend or post about it on social media. Thank you for reading and sharing your time with me. — Diane
Oh I wouldnt know were to start…
Diane, this is very good advice. Thank you. I recently found an album put together by my mum (who died in 2010) with previously unseen (by me) photographs of my famously unphotographed wedding. (Long story.) Imagine my surprise and delight.. It made me realize how important it is to gather and print.
Oh such great advice! It’s something I need to do. I’m not a photographer but have so many on my phone and someday want to organize them and yes, print some. I love the idea of going through and marking your favourites. Thanks for such great advice. Will look forward to your next post.
There was one thing that came to realization recently about printing photos. When a photo is printed, it is stored somewhere where someone else can tangibly view the photo and stir memories of days of yore, or even tell a story of a great-grandmother someone never got to know. Keeping them stored on a drive keeps these memories inaccessible. Great tips you shared.