What To Do With Old Family Photo Albums

What to Do with Old Family Photo Albums: The Best Way to Preserve Your Memories

Old family photo albums can be a treasure trove of memories, preserving moments of joy, love and milestones that define your family history. Over time, however, these albums can degrade, their pages becoming brittle and the photographs themselves fading. So, what to do with old photo albums, what should you do with these cherished relics of the past? Here’s a suggestion: the best thing you can do with your old family photo albums is to digitalise them. Let’s explore why, and how you can take the first step in preserving these memories for generations to come.

Why You Should Digitise Your Old Family Photos – What to do With Photo Albums

Preserve for the Future

• Photographs, especially older ones, are vulnerable to damage from light, moisture and physical wear. If not stored properly, they can fade or get torn. Digitising them creates a permanent, high-quality record that can be easily stored and backed up, ensuring these memories are safe for years to come.

Easy Access and Sharing

• Having digital copies of your photos makes it easier to share with family members, no matter where they are in the world. You can send them via email, upload them to social media, or even create digital albums or slideshows. Plus, digital photos are much more accessible. You can search for a specific image by name, date or event without rummaging through stacks of albums.

Space-Saving

• What to do with photo albums when downsizing? Photo albums, particularly old ones, can take up a significant amount of physical space. Digitising your photos means you can keep thousands of images on a USB memory stick, a folder on your computer or cloud storage. Thus, saving valuable space in your home.

Improved Quality

• Old photos often suffer from discoloration, fading and other types of damage. When you digitise them, photo-editing software can be used to restore their quality, enhancing the colours, removing scratches and fixing any other imperfections. This gives new life to images that might otherwise be lost to time.

How to Digitise Your Old Family Photos – What to do With Old Photo Albums and Pictures

Now that you know why digitising is the best way to preserve your family’s photographic legacy, let’s go over how you can do it:

Scan the Photos

• What to do with old photo albums? The most straightforward method is to use a scanner to create high-resolution digital versions of your photos. Many home scanners are available, or you could take your photos to a professional scanning service. The key is to scan each photo at a high resolution (at least 300 dpi) to ensure good quality for both viewing and printing.

Organise and Edit

• Once you’ve digitised your photos, take the time to organise them into folders or albums by year, event or family member. You can use free programs like Google Photos or paid software such as Adobe Lightroom to edit and enhance the images. If you’re not confident in your editing skills, don’t worry there are plenty of dedicated companies that can look after you.

Back It Up

• It’s essential to back up your digital files. Save your photos on a USB memory stick, an external hard drive or a cloud service, such as Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox. This ensures that if anything happens to your computer, your memories are still safe and secure.

Create a Digital Album or Slideshow

• Once your photos are organised, consider creating a digital album or slideshow to showcase them. You can use online tools like Canva or even software like Adobe InDesign to make beautiful albums. Many online services allow you to print custom photo books too, which makes a wonderful gift for family members.

What Else Can You Do with Your Old Family Photo Albums?

While digitising your old photos is the best and most effective way to preserve them, there are a few other things you can do with your albums:

• Create a Family Heirloom
  Consider making a special family heirloom by carefully preserving the albums in archival-quality storage boxes. This can be a lovely way to keep the physical albums intact while protecting them from further wear and tear.
• Turn Photos into Art
  What to do with old photos in albums? You can use some of your favourite photos to create personalised artwork. Whether it’s enlarging a photo for a framed piece in your home or turning images into canvases, it’s a great way to celebrate your family’s history.
• Repurpose Old Albums for Scrapbooking
  What to do with old empty empty photo albums? If your old albums are falling apart, you might want to repurpose the photos for scrapbooking. Creating a new album with modern materials can allow you to preserve the memories in a more creative and personal way.

Final Thoughts

Old family photo albums are irreplaceable, but they don’t have to be fragile relics of the past. By digitising them, you’ll not only preserve your memories but also make it easier to share and enjoy them with your loved ones. With just a little effort, you can ensure that your family’s stories live on for generations to come, safe from the ravages of time.

So, get started today – grab that old album, and begin the journey of preserving your family’s history in a way that’s both modern and meaningful whether that be by doing it yourself or going to a dedicated company to digitalise your photos. Or just chose Supaphoto – UK’s no1 for the conversion of scrapbooks.