A few easy tips to make sure that your treasured family photos are cared for and ready to share with future generations.
CLEAN + ORGANIZE | Updated November 22, 2024
Old family photos should be treasured and protected.
Taking pictures is commonplace today and we have countless photos, both printed and digitally, to showcase moments big and small. But those images of the generations that came before us are rare. You may have only a single picture of your great-grandparents making it much more valuable.
These vintage photographs are different sizes and shapes. Some may be in color, but most are black and white. A few are perhaps done professionally, but most are random snapshots that are a little blurry or poorly shot.
Unfortunately, these pictures are normally thrown into a box with the idea you'll have time to sort, label, and store them properly later.
More often then not, the oldest are bent, folded, or otherwise damaged. They need to be handled with care and properly stored to protect the fragile images for generations to come.
Below are five tips for using these photos to create new prints that can be organized and enjoyed today while preserving the old images from the past.
For quite some time, I’ve been doing genealogy research on all the branches of my family tree (which, including step-grandparents, means that I'm doing 6 trees).
Eventually I plan on having a flat archival storage box for each of the individual families where I can store the research, collected photos, and any documents or mementos I have from that part of the family.
I'm lucky to have gathered quite a digital collection of old photos showing my ancestors and the lives they lived.
I'm working at restoring the old photos using Adobe Photoshop. Once the old marks, discoloration and tears are fixed in the images, I save them to my computer and then send for physical prints when I get a batch completed.
I wanted a way to organize the photos when they return from the printer. These are a few ideas that I’ve come up with to keep things neat. I haven’t organized any of my current gneration photos (most of them aren’t even printed!), but these ideas would work for those photos as well if you have them.
Tips for Organizing Your Printed Photos
CROPPING TO SIZE
Ideally, I wanted all of my restored photos to be the same size, finish, and labeled identically to keep things neat and organized for the purpose of this project. The original images are not mine to keep.
So regardless of the original size of the scanned photo, I’ve cropped and resized all of the finished photos using Adobe Photoshop Elements into a 4x6 print.
Old pictures are found in various sizes and some are square rather than rectangle. If the reprint is in a different aspect ratio from the original (like it was a 3x4 that I'm enlarging to a 4x6), areas may be cut out during processing. I like to do the cropping myself so that I know what the finished image will look like.
This helps to get a modern, close-up kind of picture. You can eliminate some of the background noise often found in older images.
SCAN AT A HIGH RESOLUTION
For the sake of image quality, make sure you scan the original pictures at a high dots per inch (dpi). These tiny digital dots are what form the picture you see.
A minimum of at least 300 works, but for small pictures you'll want to go higher to at least 600 dpi. This allows you to edit, crop, and enlarge pictures without making the image blurry or pixelated.
CHOOSE A MATTE FINISH
This is a matter of preference, but when I get my photos developed online, I choose to have them printed in a matte finish over glossy. The texture helps keep fingerprints from getting all over the photos and enhances the look of the old images.
LABEL YOUR IMAGES
When I get the photos back from the printer, I create an adhesive label on the computer with the complete name of whomever is in the picture and an approximate date of when the picture was taken. You could also include where or why the picture was taken if you know the information.
After doing all the research I’ve done, I’ve realized how important it is to have the pictures labeled. Even though you may know who is in the photo, future generations will not.
When making the labels, I used 'Grant’s Hand' which is a nice handwritten font downloaded for free online. I think this adds a personalized touch. There are many font options available on websites like DaFont and Font Squirrel.
SORT THE PHOTOS
Once all of the photos are labeled, I sort them into piles based on what branch of my family they are from. If you're working with current generation photos, you could sort by event, year, or family.
Then I take a narrow strip of white cardstock that I've cut, wrap it around the photos, and print the family's name. This keeps the piles of photos from getting bent, scattered, or mixed into the wrong batch.
I originally got this idea from Pottery Barn Storage & Display. In the book, the photos are wrapped with the labels and then stored in an old film canister, which I though was really unique. Not only does it keep them organized, but it looks stylish as well.
| 
|
Although this can be a long process gathering all of the old images, bringing them back to life, and organizing them, I just love knowing that I'm taking care of the treasured pictures. And it is interesting to know what the people in generations before me looked like, the clothes they wore, or the places they lived.
Other Homekeeping Posts You Might Love
Add Style and Organization to Your Coat Closet - See how a simple makeover of a small entryway closet adds extra storage and style.
Home Cleaning Tips to Make Life Easier - Eight simple tips to help you maintain a spotless home.
Cleaning Caddy Essentials - What to Carry for Quick and Efficient Cleaning
LOVE THIS TIP?
Be sure to join the anderson + grant mailing list to get all the tips, projects, and recipes for making your house feel more like home delivered right to your inbox.
Please click on the image below to share it to Pinterest. Not only can you easily refer back to it, you'll help me spread the word so that others will benefit from the post as well!
