Family Photo Albums

Photo by Cheryl Winn-Boujnida on Unsplash

​I know we’ve talked about the importance of making digital copies of our photos as well as backups. I’ve been thinking more about family albums that I’ve created related to my family history. I thought I’d share some thoughts.

​I have been looking through these albums and updating them with additional pages and photos. I use the Creative Memories albums because they are acid free and you can take the albums apart and reorder the pages as needed. I prefer physical albums but whatever type of method that you use to create your family albums, thank you for taking the time to label those old photos and identify them.
 
However, I realized that I’ve fallen into the trap that many of us are busy researching and writing our family history. Like you I know all of these people and how they fit into the family tree. Other family members might look at the album and recognize a couple of people but wonder about all those other old photos. It’s important that we share the value of these people who have made it possible for us to exist today.
 
I’ve started to look through the albums, trying to see them for the first time. As I have been updating these albums, I have started to write short stories and descriptions that give more context to these early ancestors. I like to pretend that I’m explaining to a relative how they have a connection to this person or how their grandparents might and an important event in that person’s life. And for those of  you that are beginning to write your family stories, think of this as an effective way to help you fine-tune and organize that information. Obviously, you can’t author an entire book in an album but you could write a short story about your grandpa or how your immigrant ancestor traveled to the United States. In addition to adding photos, I am adding maps and information about their “homeland” to help bring more context to their stories.
 
Here are some interesting articles to help you think about creating and organizing your family photos—whether you create a digital album or a physical album.
How to Tell Your Family History in a Keepsake Photo Album (picturethisorganized.com)
Best Photo Book Services for Family History Albums (familytreemagazine.com)
How to Create a Heritage Scrapbook - Family History Album (thoughtco.com)
Make Your Own Family, Heritage, and Genealogy Photo Book (photobookgirl.com)
 
I hope this has given you some ideas to make your own family albums even better. Have fun reminiscing and sharing those stories with your family.