Advice on Organizing/ Communicating Kids'/ Famiily Photos

well, I came into the whole scrapbooking addiction at a late date. My sons are 24 & 15....so I have a lot of catching up to do. I started the scrapbooking process when my MIL passed away 2 years ago & we saw how abused her photos were.....senior pics just crumbled in a drawer!

As the mother of 2 sons, I knew that if I wanted my photos treated right...then it was up to me to get the job done. I have "baby" books made for both sons, working on the toddler years, & have a "thru my childhood" book finished for my older son. When I went to compile the photos for my younger son, I realized it was all archived on my computer....with very few printed out! Ouch! His file now contains almost 500 photos from 2005-present. Good Grief!

For me, it's important to create these books. It's a hands-on process, & I incorporate all of the flotsam/jetsam which has accumulated thru the years. It's all of the little things which make the pages come alive....the "before/after" orthodontic photos combined with a few of the leftover rubber bands ....makes an awesome display! Movie ticket stubs (thru the years) lining pages as a border for summer fun. Ribbons won at our local fall festival combined with parade photos. & the list goes on!

The cost of the book is about $20. The supplies to embellish can be more expensive, but I rely on sales & hitting BigLots. Michaels also usually has great sales. I also buy in bulk & split with my sis. & I use a lot of vintage things, too! Once you have a stash of supplies, the whole process becomes much easier!

For the most part, I am the family archivist. It is important to me to document our family history, our antique photos, & to commemorate past generations. In addition to my sons' books, I've also created scrapbook journals for my Mom, my Dad, started one for my ILs, one for our Lake House (40+ years!), my family history, & an early childhood one of my Sis/I. Lots of works in progress....& I love it.

As for sharing current photos, as soon as I load them into my files, I send them to my family. I try to do this every couple of weeks....or after events. Sometimes I'm emailing 5-6....& sometimes it's 20 or more. Just depends on the event. Oh, & I also share on FB.....which really cuts down on the time/effort! Hope some of this helps.....

We stopped printing photos and now only do the photo books through Shutterfly. We do one each year and it includes all the best shots and memories. It's actually turned into a "birthday book" for our daughter and she gets a new one each May, her birthday month. Lately, they've been out at our house during our daughter's bday parties and everyone takes a look at the new one at that time. They all love to see pics of themselves in the book!

Added: Oh, I also take photos of our daughter's best artwork of the year and there are a couple of pages in each book of her artwork for that year, as well.

Each of my kids get a professional photo book each Christmas. I think it cost about $130 per book but there are approx. 300 pictures in each book. I generally place 2 or 3 photos per page but occasionally will have 4 or 6 pictures on a page. I add photos to the album each time I download photos from my camera to the computer which keeps it much more manageable. I then pick my favorite pics about 50 and get doubles made and place them in my own book to give to grandparents.

Have you considered keeping a digital record. You can make a DVD of a large collections of pictures say 200-300 pictures have them using the software on your computer. Once you get the hang of it you can get more fancy and buy better software. Put music to your DVD and you can have an interesting fun Christmas gift. Just don't put too many of the same pictures together as it can get boring to watch. I make a early video and include home movies w/ it too. It also becomes a great history of your family and because it's digital it will never wear out. (as long as the DVD doesn't get scratched that is. One thing I strongly encourage you to do if you do make a video is save, save, save, save.... the programs that you will use tend to be memory hogs and can lock up your computer or crash the program if you view a ton of pictures in one sitting so make sure you save a lot and if it seems to act funny (computer or program) stop and save and restart you computer then you can resume. Good luck!

since i love scrapbooking that is a way for me to get my pictures together,set themes and do some fun work and also it helps me get ino a relaxation mood to enjoy what im doing and to bring adventure to a picture album.

I upload albums from events to share with family and friends on Shutterfly, and I edit HEAVILY. Which means, you took 6 similar shots of DD in her party dress, only share 1 or 2.

I don't print and album anymore, it's too much trouble. Really spectacular single shots I will enlarge and frame for the walls. For keepsakes, I make a book for each kid for Christmas that covers one year. Starts with the birthday cake on the cover, and ends just before the next birthday, they're titled "WHEN I WAS #..." I love to look through them with the kids and I like that they have keepsakes for later. When i was growing up, all the photos went into albums of my mom's, and now they sit in a trunk somewhere in her garage. I want the kids to be able to have their own memories.

I use SMILEBOX. It's great. you pick the digital scrapbook you want and then add-in what pics and comments you want. you can then print it off. i share events this way since it allows me to share the pics i really enjoy and enables me to create a story if i want. by no means is Smilebox the same as creating a home made scrapbook, but if you're trying to share with minimal time in a pretty way, visit Smilebox.com. it's free unless you add-in extras. i don't and my family and friends love receiving messages saying i created a Smilebox for them. Take care!