Make a copy

According to the experts at Corbis, the company who sells rights to photos for customer use and has a collection of over 1,000,000 images, the most important thing you can do is make a copy of your favorite photo and display that instead of the original or create digital storybooks, canvases, cards, and other projects. Sunlight, the air and humidity are all photographs worse enemies. Most people want to display their most valuable or prized image, but that’s the worse thing you can do.

Don’t put them in the freezer

While professional collections are often held in -20 degree temps, trying to do the same by putting your photographs in your freezer at home is a bad idea. “The humidity would ruin them in days”. Plus if the power gets turned off the last thing you want is ice cream over your favorite holiday snaps.

Meta, meta, meta

How many times have you looked at an old picture and wondered what, who, where and why? The more information you can write on the back (with an archival pen) the better. If that sounds like a bore, at least write down who is in the picture and when you took it. That way, when your descendants look at them 100 years from now it will help them more than you can imagine to piece together the jigsaw of your memories.

Store in a cool dry place

It sounds a cliché but storing your photos in a box in a cool dry place is the best bet. The best place for this in your house is your bedroom. “It’s the only room you actively temperature control. Nobody wants to sleep in a hot or cold room”. A downstairs cupboard is equally good, but a family room can get too hot, especially if you have lots of parties or a fire that you regularly light.

Digitize and backup

Scanning old prints should be done to share and archive. The originals are important, but by making a digital copy, you can share with family and friends and give the photo to the memory keeper of the family. If you’ve already gone digital, then make sure you back up your images and don’t keep them on a single drive, and certainly not your laptop that can get stolen. DVD’s are good, but can be easily damaged, but online storage is best – choose a trustworthy source.

(Source Corbis via Pocketlint)