Create an Easy System For Archival Photograph Storage
January 14, 2010
The fun part of photography is undoubtedly taking the photographs and then creating beautiful prints with them. The dull but essential bit is making sure that your images are safely stored, so that they will last for the rest of your life and beyond. Backing up your photographs is often the last thing you feel like doing after a busy day out with the family. You can make it a lot easier for yourself if you create a simple and effective system for archival photograph storage.
For digital images one of the best storage methods is using special archival quality CDs and DVDs. These CDs are made of long lasting materials that are less liable to corrosion than regular CDs, so will protect the images saved on them for a very long time. So the first step to creating an easy storage solution is to buy a good stock of archival quality CDs and keep them close at hand, so that there is always one available.
Your back up CDs will soon mount up, so for dust free long term storage you will need a neat storage system to put them into. The first option is to purchase a set of CD storage boxes. It is best to buy from a photographic storage specialist so that you can be sure that the boxes are made of acid free materials. They will probably also come with corrosion protective sleeves too. Stack these boxes on shelves near your computer and it will be a simple task to back up your photos and just pop the latest CD into the storage box.
Another option is to store your archival CDs in pocket sleeves in album style ring binders, in which case you should again make sure that the sleeves are acid free and corrosion resistant.
Buy yourself a special acid free pen to label each CD with the date and subject matter of the photo files saved.
If you can just get yourself into the habit of backing up and storing your photos safely, you will have peace of mind that your photos are well protected. You’ll be able to access the photos easily at any time and won’t be caught short by your computer crashing and losing al your precious photos.
It’s up to you how often you back up your photos. If you take a lot of photos regularly you will probably want to burn a CD every week, but if you take just a few photos every now and then, you might not feel it is worth using a CD for just a few images. In that case back up the photos anyway, but onto a separate drive of your computer, a memory stick or an external hard drive. Collect your photos into a back up file over a certain period and then burn a CD once you have enough photos to make it worth while.
Of course if you take a really special photo that you would hate to lose, then burn it onto a CD straight away and never mind the wasted space… a precious photo of your baby’s first smile, or a once in a lifetime family reunion, is irreplaceable and you want to make sure it is as securely protected as possible.
Mum and Photographer
Archival Photo Storage Supplies
December 16, 2009
No matter what your photo storage needs, they can be met with the numerous kinds of archival photo storage supplies. There are storage systems for those who want to use boxes, albums, scrapbooks, or hang your pictures like file folders. There is a national standard for having a product be deemed archival safe. The American National Standards have given the recommendations on film and print storage.
Photo Boxes
Photo storage boxes come in a variety of sizes. Will you be storing your photos permanently in boxes or do you need a place to store them temporarily until you can store them differently? Do you need a place to store unfinished scrapbook pages without them getting messed up? Look into scrapbook size photo boxes. The photo storage boxes allow you to file your photos in a variety of manner, so they can be easily customized to your personal taste.
Albums and Scrapbooks
You can still have your photos in an album without have to scrapbook them. The album should not be the magnetic page style if you want your albums preserved for future generations. The adhesive on the pages will lead to yellowing and premature aging of the photos. You can make your own album placing archival grade pages in a three style binder that is archival grade. Scrapbooking is a fun way to tell the story of your photos. You will need storage for your photos that you are not currently using in the theme of your scrapbook. When shopping for scrapbook supplies make sure that they do mention that they are archival safe. True quality scrapbook supplies will be archival safe.
File Folders
You can put your photos in archive quality folders that can hang in your filing cabinet. Wondering where you should put all those negatives that you have floating around? There are specifically designed archive quality folders to store them, where they can be enjoyed for years to come. You can place slides you might have in these types of file folders.
Some exciting things have come out of the mass public is looking to store their photos long term. The scrapbooking world has become so large to accommodate all their fans. The supplies have come down in price. They are also offering more colors to match your décor. The supplies are easier to find and
there are more supplies to choose. Now that the general public knows how to preserve their photos, we just need to remember to identify the people in the pictures.
Last Minute Gifts for the Keen Photographer – Photo Storage Supplies
December 10, 2009
So we’re running out of time to do the Christmas shopping and there are still gifts to buy for important people in our lives. If we haven’t already ordered them it’s getting a bit late to create a personalized gift with special photos, but there are still gifts that we can get and make a little bit special for the keen photographer in our life.
One thing a photographer always needs more of is photo storage supplies. However many albums, boxes and memory cards they have, if they take a lot of photos they use up the space in no time. Now it may not sound like a very romantic or personal gift, but if it is something that your partner will really use, they’ll appreciate it far more than a conventionally romantic gift. To make a gift like this more personal there are plenty of things you can do.
Perhaps what your photographer partner most needs is more secure computer storage space for his or her photographic data. An external hard drive would be incredibly useful for that. They can use it as a back up, unplug it and keep it in a safe or other secure place, so that they always have spare copies of their precious photos no matter what happens to the computer. To give a personal touch to a gift like this, one idea would be, to plug the hard drive in secretly before you wrap it and save a special file on it to surprise your partner when they first use it. You could put on a photo that has precious memories for you both, a poem, a letter or just a loving message.
Does your partner only have one memory card for their camera? Why not get them a spare one, so that they never run out of space, even when you’re away on vacation. Small in size, this would make a thoughtful gift to put in a stocking or it can be tucked inside a hand-made Christmas card. Just make sure that you know the exact make and model of their camera before you go shopping, so that you get the right size of memory card.
If the photographer in your life prints out all their photos they are bound to need more photo albums. Take a look at the way they store their prints. Do they spend ages creating scrapbook style photo albums, or do they prefer to slot prints into pocket pages for speed and ease of storage? Buy them an archival quality photo album with plenty of pages and personalize it by tucking a special picture or poem into the first page.
All these gifts can be bought at the last minute at a photographic store, or there may just be time to order them online before Christmas, but check delivery dates before you order.
Mum and Photographer
Organizing Your Pictures
December 5, 2009
Photo storage and display essentials from Betty Muscott
Last weekend in my blog we discussed organizing hard copy or printed pictures; this weekend we will discuss organizing & storing your digital pictures in an archival format.
Burn Your Pictures To A CD
After you download your pictures to your computer, I recommend that before you start any work on them, that you burn them to a CD or DVD & preferably in the RAW. This will give you the maximum flexibility to both have a back up to your hard drive on your computer & to be able to work on them should your hard drive crash on you. Some of you have who more than one drive on your computer can make a copy to that drive, but drives are mechanical and can fail. Anything that can fail, someday will fail.
The Best CDs and DVDs For Storing Photos
I have consulted a computer technical expert about the kinds of CD’s & DVD’s are the best to use for storing pictures. I was advised that I should the CD- or DVD- because they will work on most machines, even the older ones. Try to avoid the CD+ or DVD+ or the RW’s.
CDs Don’t Last Forever
Did you know that CD’s & DVD’s corrode & rust? I didn’t until recently. Normally, they last from only 2-20 years depending upon how they are stored. The best recommendation is to store your digital material where you live, not in the basement or the attic of your home.
My Recommendations
Archival Photo Storage Albums
Archival Photo Storage CDs
Make Extra Copies
Archival Storage Boxes
Betty Muscott, Child Photographer
Preserving Your Photographs
November 28, 2009
Many of you have asked me if I have any ideas as a child photographer for organizing and preserving a large number of photographs. This is part 1 of a 2 part blog on that subject for you. The first part is about printed pictures, and next weekend we will discuss digital photography archival storage.
All Photographs Deteriorate Over Time
As you all know everything involving photography deteriorates over time, and it will do so more rapidly depending upon the storage methods and devices that you use. Therefore, you have to make some individual determination of just what pictures are important enough to preserve for future generations, and then learn how to do that safely.
Leather Photo Albums
Most Plastic And Paper Destroy Photographs
Many kinds of plastic and paper actually eat and destroy your photographs chemically. In addition, sunlight and moisture will take their toll on your pictures, too. Therefore, you should choose acid free archival storage materials for your photographs whenever you can find them.
Start With Archival Leather Shoeboxes
Leather Shoe Boxes For Photographs
You should start with the normal 4 X 6 inch pictures and put them into archival leather shoeboxes. These shoeboxes can also be made of paper provided they are archival safe. Archival safe means the material that these items are made of is the same materials that museums use to preserve important documents and papers.
Make Copies Of Your Best Photos
From the pictures stored in these archival shoeboxes, choose some of your best pictures to have copies made to put into regular sized archival photo albums with archival safe photo pages. Then, for some of the very special ones, have them printed as 8 X 12 inch pictures and put them into archival safe oversize albums (also with archival safe oversize photo pages).
Oversize Photo Albums
Put Special Photographs In Archival Safe Picture Frames
If the pictures are so very nice that they could be displayed on the walls in your home, have those enlargements made and put into picture frames of various sizes. You will need to use archival safe materials here as well if there is any matting involved in framing these pictures. Sometimes it is a good idea to have button backs made for your frames so that you can easily change your pictures.
Archival Picture Frames
Avoid Direct Sunlight Where You Display Your Photographs
Display your precious pictures on the walls which are not directly exposed to sunlight, because over time sunlight will bleach your pictures out. Or, you can have an extra copy made of the picture and keep it in your archival safe photo album. Do remember, that moisture and humidity are also enemies of your photos. You should store your pictures where you live, and not in your basement or attic.
How Can You Protect Against Fire?
What about a fire in your home? Most people feel that other than their loved ones, who are most important, the only other things they would miss in case of a fire are their photographs. However, if you get copies of your favorite pictures into the hands of other people, you will always be able to see them again.
Betty Muscott, Child Photographer
Put Stunning Pictures Of Your Kids On Canvas For A Special Gift
November 19, 2009
Thanksgiving is just around the corner with the mad rush to Christmas in sight, but there is still time to be creative with your gifts this year. All too often the last minute rush of Christmas shopping has us buying gifts for our partners that are uninspired, and that a year later have either been forgotten or worn out already. If you want to give your husband or wife a really special and lasting present this Christmas, why not put one of your best pictures of your kids on canvas, as a meaningful gift that will last forever.
A beautiful canvas print isn’t cheap, but it is far better value for money than an electronic gizmo or a few shirts that might not ever get worn. Displayed on the wall of your living room or in your bedroom you will both enjoy looking at it every day for years to come. Good quality canvas prints will last for many years, long enough to be handed down to the next generation, so you can even look at your gift as a family heirloom in the making!
You may already have a perfect picture of your kids in mind; one where you have captured a happy moment, when they are full of life and energy smiling and with eyes sparkling. It could be a close up portrait just showing head and shoulders, or one showing them busy and active in a picturesque landscape, perhaps at the beach during the summer or running through the gorgeous fall leaves.
If you haven’t got a picture you are happy with, then grab your camera and your kids on a dry day (it doesn’t have to be sunny, you can get some gorgeous photos with the soft light of a cloudy day) and head out somewhere pretty; it could be a park or the beach, a mountainside or a the steps of a fine city monument. Take loads of photos of your kids, from close-ups to action shots. Keep shooting more and more pictures and think of fun activities that your kids will enjoy; jumping off rocks, peering into rock pools, hopping down steps, playing hide and seek behind trees. Catch natural shots as they play and set up a few more formal poses in between, while they are full of energy from their games.
You only need one picture for your canvas print, but you will end up with a whole series of fun pictures that you could use to create an album with later too. The hardest part will be choosing which picture to use for your gift. It doesn’t have to be technically perfect, it is the emotion of the picture that is important, so choose one that really conveys a happy feel.
So now you have one of your most important gifts sorted for Christmas and can relax a little, knowing that your canvas print will be delivered to you soon, saving you that last minute frenzy of the mall on Christmas Eve.
Mum and Photographer
Colorful Boxes Make A Great Photo Storage Solution
November 17, 2009
Our digital cameras free us up to take more photos than we ever did on film. Our children grow so fast that we photograph them at every opportunity to preserve memories of them for ever. But the problem is, will those photos last forever? Digital photos are even more vulnerable than film used to be. A computer can crash losing all your files, and even if you have backed up all your pictures on to CD, those CDs can be corroded over time if not kept in optimum conditions. This is why it is so important to find a good long term photo storage solution, to protect all those precious memories that you’ve been collecting.
Backing up your photos on to archive quality CDs and DVDs is only the first step. Those CDs need to be protected from dust, humidity and great temperature fluctuations. Just sealing them in a plastic storage box isn’t the answer. Plastic can give off corrosive vapors that will gradually deteriorate the surface of the CD, affecting the pictures stored on them. CDs and DVDs need an acid free environment and then they can last for as much as 100 years with picture quality intact.
An ideal storage solution is to keep your CDs in a box storage system made from acid free paper, in corrosion proof sleeves.
Exposures have a great range of acid free boxes in perfect sizes for CDs and prints and you can choose from several color ranges, to match your home décor. In fact the boxes will look so good stacked on open shelves that you might be tempted to get more boxes to store other things in too. I can’t decide if I like the Brights collection or the Autumn Spice warm colors best, and then there is the Beautiful Baby Collection in pastels for all your baby photos.
The great thing about having safe storage boxes for your prints is that if, like me, you haven’t got around to making the definitive family album yet, you can keep collecting prints and know that they will be kept safely until the day you eventually do get around to putting them in your album. And if that day never comes you still have your photos neatly organized to look through and enjoy the memories just the same.
A selection of these boxes would make a great gift for an enthusiastic photographer too. Print off a few special pictures to go in the box as part of the gift and you will be giving them the gift of memories lasting a lifetime.
Mum and Photographer
Photo Safe Storage Boxes
November 11, 2009
Now that you have taken the time to print your pictures, where are you going to keep them? Photo safe storage boxes are the simple and perfect solution. Photo storage boxes not only can hold large quantities of pictures but do it in a quick, an organized manner.
Quality Does Matter
Since you invested time and money into printing out your pictures, you should take the time to buy quality storage boxes. These boxes do not have to be expensive but remember this is an investment. Photo storage cases that are designed to preserve your photos for years to come can fall into two main categories, archival storage boxes and acid free storage boxes. Archival storage boxes are built very durable with a very tight fitting lid. These boxes are designed to hold your photos for a long time by protecting them from light, pollution and other harmful items. Archival storage boxes are usually treated so that they neutralize any acid that the photo might come into contact with in the box. Acid free storage boxes are like the name states, the materials they are made from are free from acid. Acid free storage boxes might not have the same barriers that archival storage boxes but will protect your photos for years to come. For paper to be considered acid free, the acidity of the paper should be 7 or higher on the pH scale. Either of these boxes will not protect your photos as well if you store certain kinds of items with your photos. Paper and photo negatives are two items that should not be stored with your photos. Photos should not be stored in manila envelopes, shoe boxes, file photos or plastic baggies. Make sure the storage boxes are acid free, lignin and PVC free. All of these will ruin your photos, you will not see it over night, but they will cause your photos to deteriorate.
Size
Archival and acid free boxes come in different sizes. You need to consider what size pictures you are storing. You should be able to find boxes that will hold small 3×5 photos, medium size photos on up to much larger photos. You also need to consider if you will be storing any pictures that are mounted and or matted. These added features will increase your picture size, and you might need to purchase a larger box.
After you go out and purchase your storage boxes, chip away at those photos that you have stored in a temporary home or still in the computer. Design your filing system to fit your need, whether it is by months or occasions. This way you have made sure that you will have these memories to share with generations to come.
Archive Your Family Photos In Quality Albums For Long-Term Storage
November 3, 2009
Family photo albums are often the most treasured possessions in the household. They hold countless memories not just for those who took the photos but for the generations to come. Older children love looking at photos of when they were babies and one day their children will love looking at their parents as kids. Storing your photos in quality albums so that they will last long enough for your grandchildren to enjoy them is not always the first thing we are thinking of when we put together a family album, but this is just when we should be thinking about archive quality photo storage.
Putting together albums is often something we never get around to. One day we’ll suddenly get the urge to do it and we’ll dig out all our prints, bundle them into whatever album we have available and tick that chore off the list. Cheap albums and album pages are often made of plastics that give off vapors that will eventually damage our precious prints, fading the colors and eroding the surface. When you are going to the trouble of creating a family album, printing off your best pictures of your kids and arranging them in pages, it makes sense to buy good quality albums and album pages that will protect your photos and keep them in good shape for many years.
Look out for albums and album pages that guarantee archive quality pages. They should be acid-free and lignin-free, as well as being sturdy enough not to warp. A great solution is to buy a dedicated ring binder album which offers a selection of different page styles to suit your preferences. There are pocket pages if you want a quick and easy storage solution for your prints or sheet protector pages where you can layout your photos and captions creatively exactly as you want them. The important thing when you are using a scrapbook approach to laying out your photo album is that you use photo-safe adhesives to stick your photos in place.
So before putting your baby album together or making an album of your family vacation, check the album you plan to use. If it is just an ordinary scrapbook or cheap photo album it will probably display your photos alright for a few years, but if you want to your album to be there for your grandchildren to enjoy invest in an archive quality one to keep your precious memories as fresh and bright as the day you took the photo.
Mum and Photographer
Keep Your Family Photo Memories Safe With Archive Photo Storage
October 22, 2009
With the advent of digital photography, most of us take more photos than we even did on film. No longer having to worry about the cost of processing and printing frees us up to snap away, to experiment more and to take loads of photos of our children, recording every special minute of their life. Downloading them onto the computer is easy enough but with the temperamental nature of computers we need to find a better long-term way of keeping our best photos safe. Everyone should find a way of backing up their photos that works for them and you should also look into archive photo storage to keep your best photos in good condition for at least the duration of your lifetime.
One reliable back-up method is burning your photos to CD or DVD as soon as you download them. CDs are supposed to be long-lasting, but it has now been discovered that they can actually degrade within 2 years and start losing content, if exposed to acidic elements in the air. The boxes that they come in don’t even guarantee their protection, as the plastic used in them can give off vapors that contribute to their deterioration. So if you want to keep precious family photos safe for many years what are your best options?
You can buy special pocket pages that protect CDs from corrosion and help them last for 40 or more years. These pages can be kept in an archival quality CD album or storage box which gives added protection and makes them easier to organize. For long term storage of your digital photos you should also choose archival quality CDs to burn them onto and label them with a special non-corrosive pen that won’t damage their surface.
It is up to you whether you store every single photo you take, or just choose your best for this special treatment. If you take loads of pictures but don’t want to keep them all, a good idea is to make a selection of your favorites about once a month and burn an archival CD to preserve them. This will ensure that you have a continuous record of your family history stored safely, without creating an unmanageable bulk of CD albums by storing every single picture. You should still back up all your photos to an external hard-drive or to your D-drive as you download them, to avoid losing them to computer failure before you have burned your CDs.
Make sure you protect your digital photos so that you and your children can enjoy them for years to come.
Mum and Photographer
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