Preserving Memories in Today’s World

In this digital age, we have far fewer tangible prints than ever. We can pull up our images with the touch of a screen, share them on social media, store them on our Cloud – but none of these methods alone give me confidence in preserving our memories for generations to come, let alone the next decade. I love sharing images as much as the next person …ok, maybe a little more… and storing images online is one form of backup I use. But that’s how I think of it – one possible, not permanent, backup. A good mixture is necessary.

Some Things Truly Never Become Old-Fashioned

While helping sort my grandparents’ belongings in their farmhouse, photographs, both loose and in albums, were found. I love the texture, the color cast, even the dusty smell of these treasures, dating their length of existence. I stopped to think, in 50 years would my great-grandchildren even stop to search a flash drive? A CD? An online account if it even still exists? Chances are no.

But an album preserving memories, filled with our families’ favorite images – that’s worth sitting down to peruse through. Images that show our little glimpse of life, who we were, and how we were together and in that moment. Printing images is my favorite way to preserve my memories and reflect upon them.

How Do You Preserve Memories?

The key to safely saving and preserving your memories: use several forms of backup.

1. Heirloom Print Products

Printing my images is my top form of backup. I’ve researched and consulted with fellow photographers in finding the best available products for use in my business and my home. It will be a continual search and update as technology grows. When you create a piece of art that will one day be a family heirloom, you want highest quality and superb color, nothing less.

I want the same for each client, just as I do in my home. I love that part of this job – helping clients make images come to life in a classic, irreplaceable, tangible form. Whether it’s an archival-quality album, a keepsake print, or a rich, vivid canvas, it’s sure to captivate any future audience that stops to take a look, and last beyond a lifetime.

Printing your images can be overwhelming, considering how many we take in today’s day and age. Sift through new images taken monthly and delete unnecessary ones. Back up the keepers and print the best of the best as well.

Talk with your photographer about printing images from your sessions. It will take a load off of you, and they will have access to professional labs with pristine product you will cherish forever.

2. Online Storage

There are several ways to back up your images online. Depending on the amount you want to spend, there are several available options for backing up your images.

You may already be subscribed to a service that you could use for storing photos, such as Amazon Prime or iCloud storage through Apple. For larger backups, such as for large volumes of high resolution images that are saved on your computer or external hard drive, a service such as Backblaze or Carbonite might be a viable option.

They do charge monthly fees, but the fees are low. At the moment, I use Backblaze and have been happy with it! It performs automatic backups for me, which is a huge timesaver. Fortunately, I haven’t had to use it to restore any losses though.

3. External Hard Drive

I like to have backups for my backups. I don’t store my images on my computer. I use an external hard drive instead to help preserve the health of my computer. Then, I make an extra version on another hard drive (sometimes on two) and label them.

4. Social Media as Storage | Pros & Cons

Many people rely on their social media accounts to store and view their images. While this method is handy and easily accessible, accounts have been known to suffer from hacking or from being indefinitely terminated. Entire albums full of years of images and stories could be completely and irreversibly lost.

Also, another negative is that full resolution images cannot be downloaded once uploaded. When saving an image from one of these platforms, the images are compressed and lose quality. I use and enjoy social media and love the memories that pop up each day from them, but would not trust these platforms as my only form of storage.

5. Scrapbooks & Journals

Get creative! Scrapbooking is a great creative outlet that will allow your artistic juices to flow. If you’ve got a desire to give your albums a creative flare, then consider scrapbooking. Costs can add up depending on how much you want to invest in the process.

Scrapbooks can stay simple depending on your style. I like to print images from Mpix when I’m scrapbooking. The prints aren’t professional lab quality but they’re close and more cost-efficient for the purposes of scrapbooking.

Journaling allows you to feature your images alongside your unique handwriting. Combine your words with your images to share your life’s journey through this fun way of storytelling.

Preserving Memories is a Necessity. Some Things Truly Never Become Old-fashioned.

Make your memories last. A variety of backups has become a necessity in today’s world. However, a good old-fashioned print or album just can’t be beat in the long run. I will always be partial to running my fingers over an old photo and smelling that familiar scent of a treasured family album.