What to Do with Your Photos (So They Don’t Just Sit in Your Phone)

Let me tell you I’m a geriatric millennial without telling you I’m a geriatric millennial: most of my early childhood photos are in the form of slides. If you don’t know what that is, take a second to google it. Basically, they were teeny-tiny pictures that we would load into a projector and project onto a blank wall for family photo-viewing! In retrospect, we actually did this a lot, considering the amount of work that it was. Fast forward 30+ years, and I had an iPhone full of thousands of photos that mostly just sat there. Sure, I’d post a few to social media and text a few highlights to my kids’ grandparents, but that’s about it.

I’ll be the first to admit that I appreciate the conveniences that modern technology brings. It’s amazing to not have to drop film off at Proex, wait a week, and pay a bunch of money for photos that may or may not have even turned out. That said, though, I realized a few years ago that I want people (myself included!) to actually see the photos on my phone. I want my kids to be able to flip through pictures of themselves together, giggle, and reminisce. But – that meant figuring out what to do with them! If you, too, want to start enjoying the pictures you take, here’s a few ideas that may work for you!

First things first: make sure that you have all your photos stored in a backup location, aside from your phone. This could be a cloud or an external hard drive (or both!). But don’t miss this step – you don’t want to drop your phone in the pool without your cherished memories backed up!

1. My personal favorite – Make Yearbooks! I won’t lie, this is time-intensive, but so worth it! They’re kind of a big “year in review” book that includes all your favorite photos and family accomplishments for the year. If we take a “big” family vacation, we will often make a separate photo book for that, too! There are dozens of sites that offer this service, including:

• Shutterfly

• Snapfish

• Mpix

• Mixbook

• Chatbooks

Each has pros and cons, so just choose what is most important to you! Ease of use? Layout options? The world is your oyster! Pro tip: if you’re going to start making yearbooks annually, you probably don’t want to pay full price for these big photo books. Wait for a site sale, or for coupons in the mail. All of these sites typically offer a % off of your first order, too, so that’s another discount to consider! Don’t get overwhelmed - there are truly a lot of ways to save money on photo books!

2. Invest in a digital photo frame! Some of these frames can hold tens of thousands of photos! They make great gifts for grandparents, and you might even find your own kiddos getting distracted by the photos as they change.

3. Turn those photos into videos set to music – then share! There are several options for this, as well. Again, try a few and see what suits you! A few easy apps that will do this for you:

• RealTimes

• Perfect Video

• Magisto

• Montaj

• PixGram

Once you finish your videos, send to family members! A dear friend of mine even has a private TikTok account, where she stores all her videos that she makes. She doesn’t allow followers on this account; it’s just for her to save and store photos.

There you have it! What else do you do with your photos, mama?!