I have a problem. A photo problem. A way-too-many-photos-of-my-kids problem.
It’s seriously overwhelming. First world problem, yes. But still something I have to figure out. Because what am I supposed to DO with all these pictures? Family photo book? Yes. I do that already. I usually make one around the end of each year, but this year, I fell way behind. I’ve always been a crammer, but even I wasn’t able to find the hours to sort through the 10,500 photos from 2015 and turn them into a book.
YES 10,500.
CRAZY RIGHT?
I’ve totally considered paying someone else to do this for me, but really, it’s a job only I can do. No one else can look through my pictures and say, “Oh yes, this moment was a special one. I mean, it may look like she’s just sleeping but actually it was her FIRST NIGHT in her new room! TEARS. SUCH A BIG TRANSITION. It definitely deserves a spot in the yearbook!”
I also considered letting Shutterfly take my selected photos and make the book for me, but… the way they spread their pages, I’m pretty sure it would come out to about 1,000 pages and cost at least as much. Plus, it’s filtering through and selecting photos that takes the longest time. It’s trying to figure out which pictures make the cut and which ones will likely be forgotten forever, because let’s be honest: there is no way I’m going to go through every folder and image from every year… ever. Even when I’m old. I’ll be glad if anyone even takes the time to look at the dozens of photo books we’ll have lying around by that time.
But I want the pictures to be looked at and the memories to be remembered, because one thing motherhood has done very effectively is show me just how human I am and how awful my memory can be. When I look back at photos from just one year ago, I already have moments of, “Huh- I totally don’t remember this!” and “OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO CUTE DID IT REALLY HAPPEN??” and “THANK YOU, JoEllen of yore, for not deleting these photos. Because you were right- those 10 pictures (all taken in the same second) ARE each unique and precious and save-worthy! I LOVE IT.”
I know. I have a problem.
But I jussst might have found a solution. I’m not sure how sustainable it is, but here’s what I’ve been doing: I’ve been blogging! Yep, I created a separate, private blog for just our family. I started posting a list of 10+ things I’m thankful for each day, just like I did in college. I initially decided to do this for two reasons. First, I wanted to have a better outlook and attitude every day with my family. The main reason, though, was because I knew I would forget all these precious little moments and I really, really wanted to record it somewhere. I wanted to capture the things that seem too mundane to write a whole journal entry over, but that I know future-me will be delighted to look back on and remember. Like the way she pronounces the word throw and the sweet little conversations we have every day. They’re everyday, but they’re also special. Someday when she’s a big four year old, I know I will have a hard time recalling any conversations we had when she was two, and my memories will only fade from there.
I know this is true because when I look back on my college lists, I already have moments of surprise. I don’t remember most of the things that happened, and if I’m honest, I even struggle to remember some of the people that I was thankful for a decade ago! I laugh at things that I would never believe happened, and I am warmed all over again by moments I would never have recalled based on brainpower alone. If looking back at my college days brings me so much delight, how much more will this be true when I look back on the everyday joys of my life with my children?
And here’s an added bonus: I get to throw in some photos in there! Photos that probably wouldn’t make the cut for our printed yearbook, but photos that still capture those special everyday moments. Already, I enjoy scrolling through the entries and looking back on snapshots from life just last week. All of this helps me treasure and make the most of life this week.
So if you have a photo problem like me, maybe you should start a daily list too! Once you get the hang of blogging, it’s a snap to get the entries up. I think future- and present- you will thank you for it :).
9 responses to “What to Do with Family Photos”
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In a similar vein, I have created email accounts for both my children and I email them photos, videos and stories/ accounts of things that have happened that I’m sure will make fun reading when they’re older ?
Yes! I do that too 🙂 I think my kids’ accounts will run out of storage before they can read haha 🙂 and I have a OneNote journal where I write them letters that serve a similar purpose. The email accounts I’ll probably let them have access to sooner, and the other letters… maybe when they’re older :).
Another option that has worked great for us is to use the “Day One” journaling app. Its super user-friendly and really easy to add pictures while on the go. I used it to document a recent vacation, adding pictures and little commentary as we went along so that I didn’t forget anything after a packed day! You can create geo-tags, and regular tags to help sort when you want to look for just one kind of post.
Just another option out there if you want a “on-the-go” capture!
Yesss I am loving all these great ideas! Keep em coming! Thank you for sharing, I am totally checking it out!
Oh yeah, this is a huge huge issue that nobody has seemed to really solve still. I’ve been trying to force both of us to filter immediately (especially with babies, each moment has 10 photos taken) and delete right away. But still, there’s way too many photos on a phone camera roll to be of any use in the future. What we’ve done so far: 1) One on-going digital album (iCloud Shared but soon migrating to gPhotos) with highlights. 2) Monthly gPhotos albums with more “posed” shots 3) Monthly email to baby’s email address with highlights/milestones/likes&dislikes and just a few photos.
I really, really hope to be able to do yearly physical family albums like you do one day. One day.
I don’t think we’d ever be able to upkeep a daily blog though =(
You should check out Stellashare.com, it’s the perfect solution to your issue. We had the same challenge and it’s what we use!
Yes, we are gPhotoing too. I like their little animations- great way to make use of the 10-photos-per-moment phenomenon haha :). I like the idea of monthly emails! Is it weird that that feels too daunting to me? Haha. I thought you guys did a physical album? Another thought I had for filtering photos was to just print out whatever I have on IG… and call it a day. Would sure save me time picking photos! But it doesn’t really capture everything. No. Sigh. Solution needed!
Hi! What a great topic! We had the same challenge which is why we created Stellashare.com. It’s an easy solution to capture your everyday family moments and share them with your friends and family. It’s as easy as sending a text and it’s the only private solution that isn’t an app (no downloading required) and no ads, ever. Plus, your recipients can choose how they receive the photos, either text or email (picture shows up right in the email no link to click on) and the frequency, immediate, daily digest or weekly digest. Which is a first across the field.
Thanks for sharing, Nikki! I will check it out!