photos matter. stories matter. celebrate yours.
If you are planning to organize and scan your own collection, I highly recommend the course Easy Index Scanning Workflow offered by Chaos to Memories
Check out the other courses offered while you are there. There are courses to help you work on your own photos, and also if you want to learn more about organizing photos as a profession.
My favorite easy-to-use software for color correcting and cropping photos is Restore and Land and Sea Scuba by Vivid-Pix.
Easy Editing
Patented artificial intelligence restores images with 1-click. Fine-tune with easy controls.
Improves JPEG, TIFF, PNG, DNG, BMP and RAW images. Automatically creates high resolution JPEG and / or TIF images –without affecting the original. Automatically creates sharing file size for posting on genealogy sites and emailing.
Crop and create the perfect image. Add Metadata – click View/Edit Metadata to add searchable Tags and comments that are saved to your fixed image. Create folders and organize improved images (example: Census Records, Aunt Gladys, Vacation 1970…)
Applying patented artificial intelligence, LAND & SEA SCUBA makes it fun and simple to fix scuba pictures – for any underwater photographer – with any experience level. Other imaging software can be difficult to learn and use… We analyze every photo and automatically improve color, brightness, contrast, and sharpen to the vibrant colors we see in the underwater world. Easy-to-use sliders provide fine-tuning if desired.
Created by Scuba Divers
Developed specifically for the needs of SCUBA (and topside) photographers, relive the colorful, vibrant environments as you remember. LAND & SEA SCUBA has been “trained” for the underwater world with several easy-to-use features.
Exceptionally fast and capable of the highest quality touch-up.
You can check out the products here:
Vivid-Pix Memory Station scans and/or selects images from your computer, restores these images, records a voice memory describing images, and combines the photo / voice memories into an MP4 video story. Images / Recordings / Movies are saved onto your computer wherever you wish – an existing folder or create a new folder – or external drive – or upload to the cloud. I have not personally used this scanner, as I owned other scanners.
Vivid-Pix also offers Education in telling your family stories, using the software and Photo Reminisce Therapy, as well as great articles and information.
The Photo Managers is the global leader in training and supporting professionals dedicated to helping individuals, families, and businesses organize, preserve, and share their most cherished memories. I have been a member since 2012.
Our mission is to empower member businesses to best serve the diverse needs of their clients by offering the tools, education, and resources needed to thrive in this evolving industry. People and businesses hire professional photo managers for peace of mind, knowing their priceless photos and videos are securely organized, to create meaningful gifts or legacy projects, and to simplify managing digital and physical photo collections. Our professionals help their clients transform their visual memories into beautiful and accessible formats, ensuring these stories are preserved for future generations.
The Photo Managers offer a range of solutions from finding a professional to help you with your photos, training you to manage your own photos like a pro, and providing training and certification to help you become a professional Photo Manager. TPM also has a Training Academy with a variety of courses to help you do it yourself, or manage others’ photos. If you would like more information about The Photo Managers or what a Photo Manager does, contact me.
Helpful Links:
Find a Professional Photo Manager
Organize Your Photos Like a Pro
I love stories, and the Creative Memories Story is a great one. I have been involved with CM since 1999. I realized that I was taking so many photos (with an analog camera) of my twin boys, I needed to start doing something with those photos. I attended an event (called a crop) and was hooked.
Creative Memories is my go to for high quality, long lasting, Archival quality photo albums. With many page options, it is easy to find the solution you want. CM is also my recommendation for scrapbooking tools, adhesives and decorative elements.
You can view the collection, check out the blog and order here.
Creative Memories has a YouTube channel with Product and Training Videos
And a Facebook Group offering virtual crops
If you are looking for layout ideas, I have created an online album with Project Recipes from Creative Memories, to inspire and guide you in using the wonderful decorative products CM offers.
I first heard about Forever in 2014. I was amazed at the concept of online storage that was secure, private yet shareable, and purchased once rather than monthly subscription fees. I purchased my first 100 GB of storage, and have watched the company grow and prosper, and add so many more great services. Here are my favorites:
Own don’t rent your Storage You pay once (one payment or monthly installments) and own your storage account. You don’t lose access if a credit card expires or if you should pass on, your family retains access to your precious memories. You can designate a family member so your family can access your account after you are gone, and can designate an Account Manager to help you any time.
Digitize your memories Forever offers professional digitization of photos, home movies, slides, negatives, albums, and much more. Your precious memories are carefully tracked and monitored from your doorstep to Forever’s state-of-the-art digitization center and back again. I have personally digitized hundreds of items, without any loss during shipping, and very high quality results. Your memories are not sent overseas, and Forever will upgrade your saved memories to current formats as digital formats change over time. Watch your digitized movies right from your account with Forever Video Streaming
Organize your memories in your Storage Account. Forever offers many ways to organize your photos, documents and videos. With the powerful Facial Recognition tool, you can organize by person. You can create albums by name, date, event – whatever you want, and tag photos. You can add descriptions to your images and correct dates and use the Declutter tool to clean up your photos. Forever has bulk organizing tools allowing you to work on a number of photos at once. Forever storage features fuzzy dating, allowing you to add an exact date or approximate date even just a decade! If you have already organized your memories on your computer or elsewhere, Forever Valet Software (Mac and PC) will easily upload your organized structure to your Forever Account. Coming soon will be the ability to download from other online platforms. Valet will also allow you to download your photos and memories with metadata intact should you wish to do this. If you like to work offline, Forever Historian is the organizing software for you.
Research Your Family History Whether you are unfamiliar with your family history or have been researching for years but still need answers, our trained professionals will uncover your ancestors, document their lives and share their stories with you so you can celebrate them today and preserve them for generations with Forever. Forever has several research plans, or you can hire a professional genealogist to coach you through your projects.
Digital Scrapbooking Software I have used Forever Artisan software for digital scrapbooking for many years and love it. Originally called Storybook created by Creative Memories, it has grown and developed into an awesome program. It is not online, so you can work anywhere, any time you choose. Crafting beautiful layouts shouldn’t be complicated. The intuitive interface and powerful features of FOREVER Artisan 6 make it easy for anyone to create stunning scrapbooks and other projects from start to finish. An Intuitive organization and a user-friendly interface keep your creative flow going. Dynamic design tools and access to a world-class digital art library empower you to create beautiful layouts quickly. Personalize every detail to make your scrapbooks and more uniquely yours.
Turn your Photos into beautiful gifts! With Forever Create and Print, you can easily create a wide range of photo gifts for both important and unimportant occasions. From quick Photo Books, Greeting Cards, Drinkware, Puzzles, Notebooks, Ornaments, and much more, create right from your Forever Account.
As a Forever Ambassador, I will help you with any of your photo needs using Forever.
Even as a Professional Photo Manager, it’s a struggle to organize my own photos. So I started using my skills as a Professional Photo Manager on my personal collection. That led me to get involved with the virtual Projectkin Community, a remarkable group of family historians hooked on stories that share the joys and challenges of sharing family history stories. In a series of virtual meetings and online commentaries, we share best practices, crazy ideas, and the joy of family stories. The idea is to focus the effort on “projects” with a defined end goal. This focus makes it fun and satisfying.
It’s entirely free, independent of vendors, and all about encouraging creative ways to capture and preserve our stories.
With Projectkin, I hold monthly online sessions called Kathy’s Corner, where I provide information and advice to help you organize, digitize, preserve, and share your family’s photos, media, and ephemera for generations to come.
If you’re working on your photos, ephemera, family history, or stories, join the conversation at Projectkin.org. These sessions are free, as is everything from Projectkin.