Digital Photos and Genealogy

Photo by - Landsmann - on Unsplash

​It is so easy to take a photo today with our cell phones. No need to worry about film. With the push of a button, we can capture a still photo or a video of key moments in our lives. We also have immediate feedback on whether we need to take another because the first didn’t turn out. Very unlike the times of film and film development. With this great gift comes the challenge of quantity as well as labeling. Let’s look at how we can corral this in our family history digital photos.

​Hopefully, you have been preserving those precious family history photos that have survived for many years, sometimes over one hundred years in archival safe storage. Pictures are meant to be enjoyed so we also need to preserve these photos digitally. Congratulations if you have managed to scan and convert your family history photos. That is a big job! And if you’re not quite done, keep at it. The part that I struggle with is organizing these digital photos once I have scanned them. Here are some ideas for doing that.

1. It takes time and patience.
   1. Don’t kid yourself that labeling photos isn’t time consuming. That’s why so many of us put it off. I just spent an entire Sunday afternoon labeling digital photos for one branch of my family. I’m probably only a third of the way done. Yikes. Patience needs to be tied to a plan. It felt so good to accomplish this much. It had been months since the original scans of these unlabeled pictures were completed. I’d forgotten what treasures I had saved.
2. Bite sized chunks.
   1. It is rare that I have an entire afternoon to label photos but I certainly could spend a couple of hours each week while listening to music, watching a movie or listening to a podcast. While I’m not a fan of multitasking but this is one time where it might work.
3. Large categories.
   1. I understand if time doesn’t allow you to label photos right away. If you know that all the photos that you scanned are related to one branch of your family, you can make future labeling a bit easier by storing them together in the same folder with the date and need to label. You could take this a step further and say “Jones” Family-to be labeled. At least if you’re searching for a photo, you don’t have to look through all those digital files labeled image or scans. It’s a baby step but it does help.
4. Label as you go.
   1. If you are really disciplined, you could label your photos right after you scan them—especially if you’re doing small batches. I tend to scan a large number of photos in one go and then labeling photo afterward is unappealing. Perhaps you might do better.
5. Be thorough.
   1. Try to include as much information as you can in the label and if you have a group, add that information in the details of the photo. Be sure to include maiden and married names when you can. I also find that if the photo or the event is tied to a date, I include that as well.
6. Organizing.
   1. If you have many photos, once they are labeled, you will need to organize a bit more. I generally organize the photos by generation and family unit. This helps when trying to locate a photo. It is much easier to find a picture within one family versus several generations.
7. Other Ideas.

6 Tips for Organizing Your Digital Genealogy Files - Family Tree Magazine
Genealogy 101: Labeling Your Family Photos
Family Photo Organization: A Simple 6-Step System - Are You My Cousin?
NGS_2023_FamilyHistoryMonth_Resource_Scanning_FINAL.pdf
I hope this inspires you to tackle those unlabeled digital photos. Your family and future generations will thank you for this extra effort. Once you have photos labeled, you’ll be able to find them more easily and can better organize them with your other family history research. Happy labeling!