Prints Everywhere -- Where Do I Start?

Before you can move forward with scanning or other projects, your hard-copy photos must be in some kind of order. This can be a little overwhelming. Of course, one of the easiest ways to do this is to hire someone like me, but you may be the type of person that wants to tackle it yourself….so let’s talk a little about how to get started.

If you are one of those people who has just thrown everything together in a box or a bin (or many boxes and bins), the first thing you need to do is a “general sort” in categories something like this:

• Vintage –  Heritage photos that were passed down from grandparents/parents

• Color prints –  Probably starting early 80’s and ending early 2000’s when the digital camera era began –  Keep envelopes intact at this point

• School photos / kid’s portraits –  If you can do it quickly, go ahead and sort by child

• Miscellaneous –  Random, loose pictures (not family related, not that important)

• Newspaper clippings/paper memorabilia –  If you have stored paper keepsakes (programs, wedding invitations, newspaper articles, etc.) with your photos, these need to be separated

Be sure the boxes that have been sorted are labeled so when you are ready to come back to sort in more detail, you can easily tell what is what.

The next blog we will be diving in deeper!