Photos only last if somebody looks after them. A phone can be lost, a cloud account forgotten and a hard drive dropped. Keeping pictures safe is mostly about simple, boring habits that run without you thinking about them.
This is how the two pictures sit together on one spread.
What to look for
The best system is the one you will still be using next year. Keep it simple enough that it survives a busy month.
Sharing is part of keeping. A photo that three people have is safer than one that only lives on your phone.
- Keep one photo per day at most
- Back up before deleting anything
- Hand the camera to someone else
One more thing
If you miss a month, do not try to catch up all at once. Start again with this month and fill the gap later if you feel like it.
On the second pass, look for variety. A month of the same room and the same faces feels flat, even if each photo is lovely on its own.
Picking is a skill. Like any skill, it gets faster.
Priya Nair, Paperleaf print room
What we got wrong
Do not forget the in-between moments: the car park before the party, the coats piled on a chair, the walk home in the dark. They are the parts of a day that nobody photographs on purpose and everybody recognises straight away.
Try to include everyone. It is easy to end up with a book full of the children and none of the person holding the camera.
Before you start: make sure your phone is backed up. Deleting is easier when nothing can be lost.
I never thought about the light from the window. Moved the high chair and the difference is huge.
Try giving them the phone for a day. Worked with my teenager.
Thank you, that really made our day.