[2023-01-15] Digital photos

Today, I finished my project to scan selected photos from my mom's photo albums. With my son's help, I scanned about 350 photos and renamed them using the naming convention I had previously developed:
  • Date, in the YYYY-MM-DD format, so that I can sort by filename and the photos will appear in chronological order
  • People, the names of all the people in the photo, listed from left to right, so that I can search by name to find photos will specific individuals
  • Place, so that I can search by location (or add this to my search when looking for certain people)
So, if I want to find all the photos of my childhood dog, I can search by "Kate." If I want to find all photos of my kids taken at my mom's, I can search for "Shane Mel Farm" and I'll get only those photos containing both children that were taken at the farm.

I learned through my project of organizing digital photos—my own as well as the ones I digitized from my mom's collection—that a standard naming convention was essential. As photos in my collection grew to an unmanageable level, it became impossible for me to scan through thumbnails of thousands of photos looking for a specific one if the files were named IMG 001, or something equally generic. It also proved difficult to see whether I had multiple copies of the same image.

In addition, I learned that having photos in an electronic format makes them much more useful than in a paper format stored in an album on a shelf.
  • Digital photos are easy to share and enjoy. I found a tiny photo of me and a boy from my school at our first communion. I sent it to him this evening via Instagram Chat, saying: "I was going through old photos and found this one of us at our first communion. I thought that you would find it interesting." He replied: "Omg this gave me a laugh." I responded: "Aren't we adorable?" He rejoined: "Lol you maybe, me trouble."
  • Because they're so readily shared, digital photos can quickly transport viewers back to the past. While trying to figure out the date (even the year) of the photos I scanned from my mom's albums, I regularly sent one or more photos to my mom through Facebook Messenger with the question: "When and where was this photo taken?" One that stumped me—because the picture was taken from behind—was a photo of a young boy milking a cow (see below). I needed my mom to tell me which one of my brothers it was.
  • Pictures can be lightened or darkened as needed to bring out the best of the image. This is especially important for old black-and-white photos, some of which were taken in unflattering light or have lost their sharpness over the years. My son and I were able to quickly enhance photos as soon as we had scanned them.
  • Photos can be edited and cropped. I've created many visuals in Canva—which is the program I use to develop the visuals for my blog—that extract the best from a photo, and leave the rest on the cutting room floor. I can select a frame style (e.g., oval, rectangular, square) that will highlight the best part of a picture.
  • It's easy to create stories once one's photos are organized. As I explained in my August 2022 post Organizing digital photos, the first step in organizing photos is to understand your why: "Do you want to capture and archive family stories? Are you making a special photo album or gift for a loved one? Or [are] you just organizing these photos so they're easier to access and enjoy?" In my case, I'm doing this project for all three reasons. However, the most exciting outcome of my work to date is the ease with which I can now find a photo I'm looking for.
  • Digital photos can be easily duplicated and stored in multiple locations. Creating digital copies of the photos I want from my mom's collection guarantees that I have a copy of the prints that are important to me while leaving the original photos intact for her and others to enjoy. I can also store my digital copies in multiple places so that if one copy is compromised, I have a back-up.
I have enjoyed taking a trip down memory lane and taking other people with me on this journey to the past. While trying to figure out the date (even the year) of the photos my son and I scanned from my mom's albums, I regularly sent one or more of them to my mom through Facebook Messenger with the question: "When and where was this photo taken?" One that stumped me—because the picture was taken from the side—was a photo of a young boy milking a cow. I needed my mom to tell me which one of my brothers it was.

Photos are a link to our past, but just as they can fade, so too can our memories dim. There is value in asking our elders who is in a given photo, where it was taken, and when it was snapped. I've enjoyed chatting with my mom about various photos. Pictures that have not been looked at in years are suddenly getting another viewing.