Here’s The Answer

Well, it’s time to stop the guilt and turn to a professional for help.

With today’s popular DIY lifestyle, many people want to start (and finish) home projects to better declutter and organize their lives. Sounds great, right? But what happens when your free time to DIY gets interrupted by work, family, errands, and housekeeping? Well, if you’re like most people, the DIY projects unfortunately get put on the back burner. Before you know it, six months have passed by and that old shoebox filled with photos is still sitting in the closet and hasn’t been opened, let alone organized.

Photo organizers are professionals who bring a detail-oriented, analytical mindset to your family photo archiving projects. I will guide you through the process of sorting, culling, and managing photo collections. Whether you just need a simple system to sort and organize your photos or a full-scale software implementation that archives a lifetime of photos, VHS, film, negatives, and slides, I can help. As a professional photo organizer, my areas of expertise include sorting digital and analog photos, creating traditional and digital albums, digitizing analog family photos, converting old media into current formats, crafting gifts, implementing backup systems, and conducting photo organizing, memory photo books, and smartphone workshops.

Organizing boxes of printed photos is a major project. Why would you want to take this on alone? It’s realistic and honest to recognize that you need some help with a project like this. Give yourself permission to outsource your photo archiving projects; it will take that extra weight off of your shoulders.

I will help motivate you, keep you on track, and hopefully bring a sense of fun and relief to an otherwise daunting task.

Now, let’s talk money. Prices for professional photo organizing services are always based on the time needed to complete your project.

The larger your needs are, the more time will be needed to organize and/or scan your photos, watch your VHS’s, and create a backup system perfect for you. In order to determine how much time we will need to complete your project, I will need to know the following:

• The number of photos, VHS, slides, negatives, and film. This will include both print and digital photos.
• How many different devices do you use for taking and storing photos? For example: smartphone, laptop, External Hard drives, Memory cards, photo albums, shoebox, etc.
• How organized (or disorganized) you currently are. Sorry, I know this one will be hard to talk about, but it’s important to be honest with me. I promise we are in a judgment-free zone.
• The scope of your project. What is your long-term goal? What are we working towards?

Our family photos are priceless and irreplaceable. When you ask most people what they would rescue first if a house fire threatened their homes, most people have “family photos and memories” at the top of their lists. Where are your memories being kept right now? Are they safe?

Still have questions? Good!

Call me today and let’s talk about your project and how I can help you preserve your memories.

Michael D Thomas

empirebeatmedia@gmail.com

Unleash the Photo Genie: 7 Steps to Taming Your Image Jungle

Face it, your photos are a chaotic mess, trapped in a digital dungeon or buried under dust bunnies in forgotten albums. Fear not, brave adventurer! With these 7 steps, you’ll be Indiana Jones-ing your way to photo organization nirvana.

Step 1: Declare Your Quest!

What’s your photo endgame? Share memories with future generations? Craft a killer graduation slideshow? Or maybe blackmail your teenage self (just kidding… mostly)? Knowing your goal will guide you through the organizational jungle.

Step 2: The Great Photo Roundup

Time to wrangle your photographic beasts! Scour every nook and cranny – attics, closets, even that embarrassing box in the garage labeled “Grandma’s questionable fashion choices.” Don’t forget to raid family members for hidden photo treasures.

Step 3: Gear Up Like a Pro

Think of yourself as a photo archaeologist. You’ll need acid-free albums (think luxurious hammocks for your pics), photo-safe pens for labeling (no Sharpies allowed!), and soft cloths for gentle cleaning (dust off those memories!). Bonus points for a scanner (your digital genie) and photo organizing software (your magic map).

Step 4: From Chaos to Categories

Imagine your photos as a disorganized library. Time to sort them! Chronological order is cool, but themes like holidays or “Aunt Mildred’s questionable hats” work too. This is where your inner Marie Kondo sparks joy (or throws shade at blurry selfies).

Step 5: Album Amnesty: Friend or Foe?

Those magnetic albums from the 80s? They might be secretly damaging your photos. Consider transferring them to safer havens (acid-free albums, here we come!). But sentimental vintage albums get a pass – let them tell their stories.

Step 6: Scan and Conquer!

Scanning is like giving your photos superpowers – digital immortality! Choose your scanner wisely, like a trusty steed. Flatbeds handle delicate pics, while feeders chomp through big batches. Remember, budget-friendly doesn’t always mean low quality. Do your research, photo warrior!

Step 7: The Digital Fortress

Think of this as Fort Knox for your memories. Acid-free boxes and albums keep your physical photos safe, but don’t forget digital backups! Cloud storage, external hard drives, or photo storage devices – choose your digital vault wisely. Remember, redundancy is key – a double dose of protection for those precious moments.

Bonus Tip: Back up regularly! Disasters happen, and you don’t want your memories to become dust in the digital wind.

So there you have it, photo wranglers! With these steps, you’ll be organizing your photos like a boss, unearthing hidden gems, and reliving memories that’ll make you laugh, cry, and maybe cringe (but in a good way). Now go forth and conquer your photo jungle!

Remember that time Uncle Doug did the Macarena at your wedding reception? Or that epic selfie with the llama in Peru? Yeah, irreplaceable moments. But what if your phone nosedives into a latte, your computer throws a tantrum, or the cloud Gods decide to rain data deletion?

Fear not, photo fanatic! I’m here to be your digital guardian angel with 7 ridiculously simple steps to back up your memories and prevent a photo apocalypse.

Step 1: Photo Boot Camp

Imagine your photos are adorable kittens. You wouldn’t leave them scattered around the house, right? So gather them all! Scour your devices like a detective for those precious pixels. External drives, dusty thumb drives, even that cloud storage you haven’t touched since 2012 – no stone (or byte) unturned!

Step 2: The Backup Buffet

Think of your backup options like a delicious buffet (because backing up shouldn’t be boring!). We recommend the 3-2-1 approach: 3 copies, 2 media types, 1 off-site.

• External Hard Drive: Your trusty sidekick for local storage. Bonus points if you store it at your grandma’s house – natural disaster insurance included (hopefully!).
• Cloud Storage: Think Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud – your photos are always a click away. Just remember, privacy might be an ingredient you have to pay extra for.
• NAS (Network Attached Storage): Basically a fancy home server for your digital goodies. Think of it as your own personal cloud, minus the nosy neighbors.
• Secondary Computer: An extra device to store your photo treasures. Just don’t let your goldfish use it as a chew toy.

Step 3: Automate, Automate, Automate!

Remember that time you swore you’d go to the gym every day? Yeah, me neither. That’s why automation is your BFF. Set up regular backups with your cloud storage – it’s like magic, but with less smoke and mirrors!

Step 4: Backup Software to the Rescue!

Imagine a superhero sidekick for your backups. That’s backup software! We use Backblaze (because let’s face it, fighting data dragons is tiring), but there are many options out there.

Step 5: Backup Drill! Is This Thing On?

Just like a fire drill, test your backups regularly. Restore a few photos, make sure they’re not corrupted gremlins, and breathe a sigh of relief.

Step 6: Repetition is Your Friend (Seriously!)

We can’t stress this enough: BACK UP MULTIPLE TIMES! It’s like having 3 parachutes when skydiving – just in case one (or two) gets caught in a rogue squirrel’s nest.

Step 7: Sync vs. Backup: Know the Difference!

Syncing is like a two-way street – delete a photo on your phone, it’s gone in the cloud too (oops!). Backing up is a one-way ticket to safety – your chosen photos get copied, no deletions allowed.

Remember: Backing up is like flossing – not the most exciting activity, but it saves you a world of trouble later. So grab your metaphorical floss (or external hard drive), and start protecting your memories today! Because let’s be honest, nobody wants to explain to their grandkids why there are no pictures of Uncle Doug’s legendary Macarena moves.