You Really Need To Save Your Family Photographs

I was interviewed for an article  in Consumer Reports by the amazing writer Melanie Pinola (twitter). We talked about  how you really need to save your family photographs. I also gave some information on how to do so and why you need to consider a lot of information when it comes to preserving your family's history and treasures.

The article was written as part of Black History Month. Melanie interviewed several very impressive African American Museum specialists and family historians. I was also interviewed as a photographer who has preserve some of my own family photos. I've also advised others on how to save their family photos. It was a great honor to be included with this very impressive group of experts that she interviewed.

Preserve Family Photos and Other Memories for Future Generations

The article is titled How to Preserve Family Photos, Videos, and Memories for Future Generations. I highly recommend reading it. If you have any family mementos, photos, videos, movies, or anything that you want to preserve the article is full of great advice. I'm not only honored to have been included in this article but I can't stress enough how much I care about this subject. That is especially true when it comes to groups that are/have been disadvantaged and/or marginalized.

Local Resources

Here in Pittsburgh we have great resources such as the Heinz History Center. However much of what is saved and displayed belonged to wealthy families. Saving your own family's history is vital because those photos, videos, and memories are so much more real.

Photos Of The Working Class

Elite and incredibly wealthy people are good at curating their image and legacy. The average working class person is often more focused on the day to day. Beyond that, your story, your family's story matters. Your story is a much better indicator of how we live, how we love, who we are. It is a more honest indicator of us as people. The belongings of the wealthy elite are chosen to tell a specific story.

Our mementos and heirlooms tell more honest stories. Even more importantly they are your memories, your family's photos, your family's home movies, and your family's memories. They matter to you and they will matter to those who are yet to be born. They'll tell your decedents something about who you were long after you are gone.

Preserve Your Family's Story

I want to see you preserve your family's story. If you want to know how to preserve your family's photos I'm happy to help you. I can help you find places to get photos scanned, to how to set up a digital archive, etc. I'm here to help you preserve your family's photos. If you want help with family photo preservation please reach out via my contact form.

Where To Save Your Family Photos

If you're trying to save your family photos it's always a good idea to save them somewhere safe. The safest place these days is really several places. Natural disasters happen which means keeping all of your family's memories in one location might lead to their loss.

Online Storage

Storing your photos online is one way to ensure they're safe from natural disaster. Using a reputable online storage solution is critical. Amazon offers unlimited photo storage for Prime Members. This is a great way to back up your photos so long as you're a Prime member. Google Photos and Apple Photos are some other choices. These large companies keep backups of your backups. This means if something goes wrong they'll have another copy to create a backup of.

External Drives

Another great way to keep copies of your photos in an external drive. I prefer solid state drives (SSD). These have no moving parts. They can still fail but they're less likely to do so. This 4 terabyte SSD by SanDisk is a great option. It's small and easy to take with you should you live in an area prone to hurricanes or bad storms. Because it's small and well made you can grab it on your way to safety.

No matter what you do, the best idea is to keep multiple copies in different locations.

Read the Article

If you missed the link to the article at the top of the page you can find it here:

How to Preserve Family Photos, Videos, and Memories for Future Generations

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