Preserve your memories forever and for others.
Helping you create safe, searchable and shareable photo collections.
Success Story
She got exactly the searchable collection she desired to help her create the photo books she’d been wanting to design forever and to gift each of her children their own collection of treasured memories. She also could pitch the majority of the photos for which she didn’t have the space to store them in their new home.
Together we accomplished her searchability goal by creating keywords for the folder/filenames that both she and her children would instinctively use to find specific photos, and she stayed consistent with them throughout her collection! Her children now have their childhood memories, not with meaningless files names such as 00001.jpg, but with meaningful keywords such as dates, places and names that will not only allow them to find specific photos quickly, but will also help them reconnect with their past memories in a more significant and personal way because of the extra details that were included in the filename.
The customer was also proud of her decision to go with 600 DPI scans and help ensure their family memories and legacy can be enjoyed to the maximum in ways that are inconceivable today.
The customer texted me a few days after receiving her digital collection to say, “Sharon, had to tear myself away from looking at everything you scanned. I am so happy we had u scan our photos. Thank you!”
(Stats, in case you’re into numbers: She ended up with 43 folders and over 3000 photos and documents that when copied to her computer fit in perfectly with her current organizational system. No additional organizing required! The perfect “plug and play” system.)
Personal Approach
Prior to scanning, we discussed her goals for her ideal digital collection such as: (1) how she intended to use the collection now and in the future; (2) what her current digital organizational structure is; (3) with whom she wanted to leave the collection; (4) with whom she wanted to share it with now; and (5) what digital capabilities did she want to provide to future generations.
Based on her goal to find specific photos quickly, I suggested she organize her print collection into categories that mirror her current folder structure by creating meaningful folder names that would also double as the file name and keywords. She was excited to discover that she could organize her collection prior to scanning in such a way that she could get back searchable files and instantly locate the exact photos she wanted–all by simply typing in a few keywords she used in the folder/filenames.
(Not the actual customer, in case you were wondering.)
How She Organized Her Collection
She chose to follow her current digital folder structure and used a combination of dates and themes such as her children’s names, vacation destinations, family trips, homes, etc. For example, for the children, she did “child’s name-birth to 5 years,” “child’s name-kindergarten to 8th grade,” “child’s name-basketball,” etc. For vacations, she chose “year-destination” such as “1983-trip to arizona-grand canyon.”
As shown in the photo, she opted to write her folder names on note cards and use them to separate the “folders” into batches. (This is only one of many ways in which you can organize your collection for scanning. This was her personal method that worked best for her.)
She indicated that she also had an album in which she only wanted select photos scanned and asked if I could I do that. Of course!! I suggested she mark the photos with sticky notes and instructions or use colored flags.
Her goal for future generations was to give them as much flexibility to edit, display, print or enlarge. In other words, to future proof the collection as best she could based on the current technology. She opted to scan in 600 DPI which is considered archival quality by today’s standards for consumer collections.
To complete her project, both the auto scanner and flatbed were used. Fragile documents and photos, as well as the photos in the paper album, were protected from any further damage by scanning them on the flatbed scanner.
Customer Collection
The customer’s collection consisted of photos ranging in sizes from very small to 8″x10,” documents and an album in which the photos were glued onto paper pages and for which she wanted only select photos preserved. She wanted to get her collection back in such a way that she could instantly find any particular group of photos she desired.
MIXED PHOTO COLLECTION
HOW WE WORK OUR MAGIC FOR YOU
Mixed Photo Collection – Organized and Searchable!
PRE-ORGANIZED SCANNING PROJECT
This mixed memorabilia collection contained photos, documents and an album. Downsizing and moving to another state was the motivation for this customer to preserve her photo collection.