Can you help me with ideas about a photo album.

Hm for family photos years are good as you’ve stated. That’s perfect in my eyes! and makes more sense. Unless it’s art with a motif what you have mentioned is just fine! <3 <3 Just do it now, 10 years is a long time to put it off!

Yeah. Its one of my new years resolutions. Finish crappy projects that stress me out. Don’t get me wrong. I love the photos and there is a need to organize them so I don’t go nuts trying to always remember when a photo was taken or how many pictures must I go through in my boxes of photos to find my favorites. I start to go into a photo coma.
All I can say it thank God for digital cameras. So much easier to keep them in order.
So your saying Chronological is best?

It sounds like you might need a few more albums than you already have, but I’m a “chronological” kind of gal myself. But within the chronology, I will try to group photos of the same person at the same event, so it’s not just totally haphazard. For instance here’s a picture of Billy at Disneyland, next to another picture of Billy at Disneyland, on the next page, there’s a picture of Jane and Billy at Disneyland, then a 2 pictures of Jane at Disneyland. I also tend to put vertical photos next to vertical photos, and horizontal photos next to horizontal photos. It’s just easier to look at the album when you aren’t constantly having to turn the book.

If you find some absolute favorite photos, have copies made and frame them. I think having a favorites album would be confusing in the long run, because the photos would be from too many time periods and events.

Scan them (or pay someone to do it) into a digital format. You can then put “tags” on the photos through software like iPhoto. Tag each photo with date taken, the names of those in the photo, location taken, anything else (Christmas, Wedding, Vacation… etc). Of course, you may not know exact dates. In which case, just put the year.

When you are finished, you can view the pics on your computer any way you wish, ie all the photos from 1990 with Suzy. You can also make infinite copies and give them to whomever you choose, and they will have all the info needed to arrange the photos for themselves.

Sounds like you need to make a decision and just go for it. I like your idea of having one for your son, one for your daughter, and one for the family.

The benefit of the yearly album is that you’ll go through the album and be like, “Oh yeah! look its Tom Tom! ::next page:: Oh yeah! Look it’s LuLu!” as opposed to, “this is the LuLu album, every page will not be a surprise” But at least the viewer knows what they are getting into.

Good point, @auhsojsa . I have mine listed in year order. I don’t know that anyone would want to sit down to an album of just one person.

After getting all of my pictures in order, I then started making photo books on line for special trips and events. They have been really fun, although a bit pricey. Now that those are done (for now) I started making little storybooks for each individual member of the family. They are only about the size of the Little Golden Books, and just contain my very favorite pictures of that particular person. That way, if you just want to show someone what Susie looked like as a child, you don’t have to go sifting through tons of albums.

As a tog, I’m always up for creative photo presentations.

My fellow tog friend has beautiful art bowls set up around the living quarters with loose photographs piled into each bowl. It’s pretty neat.

And then, when it comes to photo albums… there are many creative DIY projects.

@Skaggfacemutt I agree and @RealEyesRealizeRealLies That’s true there is no one way to do this. Which is why I’m also confused as to which way I want to present my photos and I have bajillions of digital photos! So for me the best way to organize is just to date them. But the artist side of me wants to present them in a different order. Ah the pains of photographing!

@GladysMensch Yes, I already have that as the next project. But I do like keeping actual physical pictures.
@RealEyesRealizeRealLies What the hell are you doing to me? That has been my problem. I kind of want to make it fun. However after seeing your video I feel like doing an album like that, that will have pictures of my Husband and I and on each page our letters to each other over the years. That will however now be a hugeeeeee book. OMG. But now I feel like making it as a romantic gesture of our 30 years together. Why or why did I ask!

@Pandora (Just an FYI) – Once you have the photos digitized you can have actual photo books printed. Shutterfly and Snapfish can make professional quality hardcover and softcover books. You can design every page yourself, or have the site do it for you.

Wow, good to know. Thanks. It sounds like a good idea.

I say years, since there is bound to be overlap between your children and the whole family. In terms of putting it off, I just made it over that hurdle! It wasn’t decades, but it had been three years since my massive Europe Trip and I had no scrapbooks to show for it. I set up a card table and worked on only it for a few days, and it went well! The best part is that I no longer have those boxes full of scrapbooks and photos lying around!

I get my digital pictures done in hardcover books from Picaboo.