Tidying up family photos etc

[Deleted User]

There comes a time in life when it is a good idea to do some drastic tidying. Most of us have been through the trauma of going through a loved-one`s possessions either when they become unable to cope or have passed on

I decided to face facts head on and a few months ago I started on the family trees. That is now completed and has been put together with any family photos which will be of interest to the following generations. I am doing a book online and all my children and siblings will get a copy. It is ready in draft form and just needs a quick tidy. The photos range from our grandparents 1900 ish to my generation as children. The family tree has one branch going back to 1345 but very very luckily, someone else did all that work and I just sumarised

Today I am sorting photos for each of our children and what a job and a half that is. Bundles for each but there are lots of joint photos and they will be scanned to disc as well. I am going to make a couple more scrapbooks for me and after that it will be bye bye to whatever is left. I have a photo mountain at my feet at the moment, all the views etc I have never looked at most of them after the first viewing

I remember getting a whole box of photos thrust at me, years ago and I don`t want that to happen to our children. Ok there were lots of old photos in black and white but the important ones will be in our family book now, for my siblings and children to share. The rest will be divided and sent to them all and I tell you that is a big weight off my mind. I have put in all the details of my dad`s army career and events from 1938 to 1947. I am sure all the detail would have been lost to the next generation so it was definitely my `duty` to do that

I did the bedroom stuff yesterday and any stranger could go in there now for a root and I wouldn`t be embarrassed

Tomorrow it will be my study ie a good tidy of household paperwork. I have already done the financial side so my dh could pick up from where I left off as I deal with everything to do with money.

Phew, I am tired already but we`ll be opening a bottle of champagne at the weekend, it was cathartic and necessary and I am so relieved that I have done what I put off for many years

Biggles

We found that the vital thing is to identify old photos while some of the older generation are still around to recognise people, and then to lightly pencil the information on the reverse.

Once the older folk are gone, the old photos will be useless if no one knows who they are of.

jackieblack

kittie wrote: »

I did the bedroom stuff yesterday and any stranger could go in there now for a root and I wouldn`t be embarrassed

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

missile

What a good idea. What program/ site did you use for your family tree?

We used Kodak for books to record our visits to Longleat and the Goodwood Revival. http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk

mary-op

I started my family tree a few years back and tried to include as many photos of grandads generation as possible -didn't have many but at least they're in a folder now with a name and what info I have on them.
The rest of my photos were in a complete mismash so last winter I sorted them all out so now there's an album for 'holidays', 'my kids', 'grandchildren' and the old black and white photos have a folder of their own too.
Bit time consuming but at least now I know where to look if I want to find a photo of someone or somewhere

luxor4t

kittie wrote: »

....
I remember getting a whole box of photos thrust at me, years ago and I don`t want that to happen to our children. ... I am sure all the detail would have been lost to the next generation so it was definitely my `duty` to do that

That is a very thoughtful and sensible thing to do and I am sure your children and descendants will appreciate it.

MiL had a drawer of family photos that she has talked about for years but has never wanted to sort out. Now, at almost 77 and following a series of small strokes, she has destroyed a fair number and is unable to remember with any certainty who the remaining people are.

Backspace

I have been writing up the family history for years, bit by bit, and scanning old photos for the files. A relative has a beautiful Victorian photo album full of pictures (probably family members) but no idea who many of them are, such a shame. You daren't throw them out in case someone appears who can identify them!

Yes, write on the back of photos if you know who they are, but be careful as a wrong name can cause complete chaos! I speak from experience, having assumed the name was correct and going up the wrong path for ages. Write 'maybe' if you're not sure.

Katykat

I half did mine last year, I threw out all the ones that I didn't know where they were. like views of the sea or hills ( OH is a monkey for snapping birds flying in the sky- I cant believe we paid to have them developed) However, when I started on the family photo's, everyone started looking through them & it was all " oh "I wonder where he is now", & "do you remember that holiday". Before we knew it, it was very late & I never got round to sorting them.
Memo to self ---- sttart sorting them again, when nobody is due to visit.

Errata

Quick tip: write the names on the back in pencil as you and others are going through them. You can do a proper job in ink at a later date.

moonrakerz

If you have the time/inclination I would really suggest scanning them into your PC.
There are numerous software packages around to do this. I use Photoshop Elements which I paid for, but there are free ones as well.

If you go this way - make sure that you have a backup hard dive AND copy everything onto DVDs as you go along.

Another great advantage of doing it this way is this:-



I've only just started doing this, but for a first effort I think it isn't too bad - certainly better than the original.
I would recommend that you don't store them in jpeg format if you intend to do any work on the photos, as I have photoshop I use .psd.

isofa

You've made an excellent job of that moonrakerz, you could improve the neck area by looking at the separate channels and using the non-aligned clone tool (all in full Photoshop, but not sure in Elements).

If you are looking to archive long term, TIFF files are very well supported and a lossless, or look at DNGs from Adobe. (As are JPEGs but are lossy.)

Never (as Moonrakerz says), save the file as JPEG, open again, work on it, save again as JPEG etc. As ever time you save in this format you are losing data, it's a "lossy" format. However once you are finished, if you just want to have JPEGs and nothing else, save as the max quality.

If you are serious about this and have the original negs, medium format, or just 35mm, a dedicated slide scanner, will reveal detail you never thought even existed from a print.