Why You Should Digitize Your Photos This Holiday Season

It’s a project we all hope to get to some day; just not right away. We dream of a utopia in which our life’s photos are perfectly organized and digitally backed up on external hard drives and cloud sites. But sorting and scanning photos by the hundreds is not an exciting prospect for most people. Given how busy our lives are, it’s easy to see why this project remains permanently on the back burner.

But the holidays may be a perfect time to get it off that burner. This may sound outlandish if you think your to-do list for the season is already daunting enough. But we are not suggesting you have to tackle this project on your own. Allow a reliable service to take it off your hands and suddenly it will seem a lot more doable. And once you’re off the starting block, you may want to consider also digitizing negatives, VHS and 8mm tapes and all your other analog assets as well.

Why now? Because the holidays are about reaching out and connecting with people who matter to you. And what better way to do this than with beautiful memories?

There are a number of ways to do that with images and videos from your digital archives:

Resurface a moment from the past: Share an old memory and make someone’s day. A summer camping trip with siblings or a Dairy Queen outing with an old school friend…it’s now easy to relive those moments with the ones with whom you originally shared them.

Resurface a moment from the past - Nevada, 1976

Tell a story: A picture makes for a terrific share but a story is even better. When you start going through your digitized photo collection, you’ll find it filled with storytelling potential – ranging from high school socials to family reunions and beyond. It doesn’t have to be a time consuming activity either. These days, there are apps that make it easy and painless to create a beautiful photo story – complete with cover titles, collage layouts and captions.

The Martins Skiing - Since 1936

Unleash a little bit of movie magic: If you have photos as well as video footage to work with, then you have all the elements of a gripping home movie. Movies are a great way to tell the nostalgia-filled story of past holiday celebrations, memorable trips, and more. You can put the stills and clips together using iMovie or a similar application. Throw in a catchy soundtrack, titles and captions and it’s sure to be a blockbuster hit with your audience.

Unleash a little bit of movie magic

There are so many wonderful and creative ways to spread the light of photographic memories around once they are rescued from closets and attics. Start with a shoeboxful of those memories this holiday season and gift yourself the power to touch the people in your life.