Organizing and storing your photos

Photos to be stored.

Now we often store our photos entirely on our computers, but many of us still have real photos that must be stored. To clarify, these photos take up real space in our homes! There in lies the problem. Storing and organizing photos does not have to be a daunting task. After a wonderful lunch with Baltimore’s Photography Examiner, Jodi Born, I left with great ideas to organize and store your tangible memories (A.K.A. photos).

Jodi Born is a professional photographer serving the Baltimore area so she has taken her share of questions and photos! Jodi suggests storing your photos in an album with acid-free paper to protect the photos for long-term storage. Don’t think an album has to be boring and traditional. She added that albums can be great gifts. Your albums can have themes, be organized by person, by event, by year, etc. She also suggested using an album to store all the photos you receive in Christmas cards each year. Albums can be fun!

Jodi Born, Baltimore Photography Examiner

Jodi suggests labeling the photos by writing on the back. I asked Jodi what information was most important to include on the back of the photo – her response included “name, age, date, and location”.

When storing the photos and photo albums avoid excessive humidity and excessive heat. Do not store in attics or basements. Jodi suggests storing prints in moderate, consistent temperature and humidity levels. She also advises to “not display in direct sunlight.” This may seem obvious but you may have photos hanging that are being damaged and you don’t even know it. And finally Jodi cautions against environmental pollutants such as cigarette smoke, strong cooking odors, air fresheners, etc.

Prints in an album for storage.

Take care of your photo prints. Storing and organizing your memories is worth the time it takes to do it right. A special thanks to Jodi Born for her tips on storing our memories!