First of all, if you’ve already started selecting and collecting your favorite photos every month, CONGRATS!! The hardest part is behind you, and no matter what you do with them, you are now consistently printing a curated selection of your best photos, and that in itself is a victory!
If you haven’t started? It’s not too late! The key is to stop postponing the moment you start, and just do it. And Mootsh can help you do just that!
If you’ve already begun printing, here’s the thing – there’s no right or wrong way to display or organize your photos. It all depends on you! Here are some questions to ask yourself to help guide you –
- How much time do I want to dedicate to my photo project(s) every month?
- Do I want to focus on one single project with all of my photos or do several different things with them?
Once you gain clarity on the time you can realistically spend on this project, you can start to understand what your goals are with your photos. Here are a few ideas:
- Do you want to tell your stories through photo albums?
- Do you want to archive them in envelopes or boxes?
- Do you want to display them on walls, boards or in frames?
- Do you want to gift them or mail them to your family or friends?
Remember to pick a project that is doable for you. And if you want to do several different things with your photos, that’s fine too!
The 3 Timeframes of Photo Projects
One thing to keep in mind when you choose your photo project is that different projects have different timeframes, and it can be nice to use them all.
#1 – The Short Term
Appreciate the joy of freshly printed memories
A temporary display of your photos on a board, a wall, your fridge, can bring you so much joy with very minimal effort.
“It adds a layer of joy to our daily lives, and makes us enjoy these fleeting moments for a bit longer, while they’re still fresh.”
Every month, when I receive my photos, I display them on a magnetic board at the entrance of my house. It takes me 2 minutes, and the whole family can enjoy a daily sneak peek at our past month’s memories for a little while. It adds a layer of joy to our daily lives, and makes us enjoy these fleeting moments for a bit longer, while they’re still fresh.
#2 – The Medium Term
Make some of your memories hang out for a while
Frame and display some of your photos and they will become part of your home, and thus part of your identity. Framing the photos that especially speak to your heart is a wonderful way to enjoy them in a direct way, for months, years, or even decades to come.
#3 The Long Term
The realm of photo albums and boxes.
Photo albums and photo boxes are both great options to archive your photos, in terms of enjoying your photos for decades or even generations.
But they’re definitely different, both in regard to the time you’ll need to put them together, as well as how you will enjoy your photos through the years.
A box of photos is, by far, the easiest photo project you can have. And that in itself, is a great reason to try it!
Simply put your Mootsh envelope with your dated contact sheet in your box each month and BAM: archiving made easy! You have a box of your favorite photos, organized and easy to look through, without more time than you need to read these words.
A photo album is a different endeavor, and will definitely require more time and effort to pull together. But boy, oh boy! Will it be worth it!
“Once photos are in a photo album, they are telling a story. Your story.”
Yes, photo albums definitely have our hearts, as they are for us the most beautiful way to look at our photos. Once photos are in a photo album, they are telling a story. Your story. You will look at them over and over again, in the same order. You will be able to find that one photo you are looking for because you’ll know it’s in the middle of the oatmeal linen photo album.
What really matters: your memories are safe.
Wether you decide to do one of these projects or a bit of everything – frame your favorite ones, make an album with your selects, and keep the other ones in envelopes in a box – what matters most is that your memories are saved.
You took the time to transform an intangible digital file into a photograph. You are not just capturing moments, you are creating memories. Mootsh on!