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Photos are more than just pictures; they’re windows into the past. We can see our kids as babies again or even meet our parents and grandparents when they were young. They've got amazing sentimental value, so you might be wondering how to store photographs safely and securely.
Photography has been around for nearly 200 years. That’s many, many generations of our families smiling for the camera.
If you’re lucky enough to have some of these older photos (or even ones which are only a few decades old), you’ll want to keep them safe.
Photographic paper is very sensitive to sunlight, especially the older types. Keeping them in an album or a box keeps those harmful rays at bay.
Photos can be damaged by exposure to acids, sweat and other things that can get on them while flipping through old albums too. Things like covering them with acid-free sleeves minimize exposure and let you still enjoy the picture.
You’ll also want to think about where you store them; not too hot and definitely not somewhere humid. If you've got lots of pictures, a board box will keep the safe from the sun and keep them all together.
If you really want to display them, go for a frame with UV-filtering glass.
If your photos have already been affected by damage, consider our photo restore experts to fix and colorize images.
Paper and water do not mix. Photos keep best somewhere between 30-50% humidity so that means away from kitchens, bathrooms and basements. You could even try putting some silica gel in your archive boxes.
Heat is another problem you’ll have to think about. All photos will suffer from exposure to too much warmth, but it’s a particularly serious problem for the oldest of them. Keep them away from radiators, ideally at around 65°F (18°C).
Old photos can be preserved, possibly forever, by using some digital magic. You can do this if you've got a good quality scanner, but if your pictures are older or you have lots of them, you might want to find a professional to handle it. This should help avoid anyone accidentally damaging them.
If your photos have already started to feel the wear and tear of years and you want to see them as they were intended, digital restoration can work wonders. This gives you the chance to see them as they once were while saving them in all their glory online. Digital restoration is a great way to clean up fading and damage or even see what old sepia-tone or black-and-white photos look like in color.
It's not just damage you have to worry about. Losing your photo collection could be heartbreaking, so security is worth thinking about.
Many, if not most, photos are now stored digitally. Even older ones are often scanned in and saved on the computer. This presents its own series of potential problems.
While having your library on hand is always nice and protects your privacy, keeping pictures on the computer comes with some issues. Hard drives eventually fail, trapping all those precious pictures in them. There are data recovery experts out there, but their services are expensive and never a sure thing. This goes for Solid State Drives as much as the old spinning plates. Even if your tech survives, there's no guarantee that your kids will be able to access it in the future as technology changes.
The cloud then? While images saved on services like Google Photos, iCloud or Dropbox are backed up and mostly safe from accidental loss, it's easy to forget a password and end up locked out.
The best solution to keeping your precious pictures safe is storing them in a few different places. That way if something does happen, you can restore them.
For physical prints, digital storage isn’t going to be much use. You do have options here though:
Every storage method comes with its own set of pros and cons.
Digital storage is handy. It lets you scroll endlessly through your memories whenever you like on your phone or computer. You can easily share pictures via social media or Whatsapp and, if you take some extra steps like backing up to the cloud, you can always restore them if something goes wrong.
On the down side, devices will die and passwords can be lost, stopping you getting to your photo collection. You also have to worry about the possibility of getting hacked.
Physical prints have their own set of problems. There's always a risk of accidentally losing your albums or archive boxes getting damaged. Even something like a leaking roof could spell disaster.
Even though there are risks, there’s something lovely about sitting down and showing your child old physical prints. It’s more tactile than using a screen and the best part of memories is sharing them.
The best way to deal with the downsides of photo storage is to go for a hybrid solution. This might mean having physical, printed copies of digital photos or scanning older images into your computer. The more places you have copies, the less risk of losing them forever.
If something does go wrong with one storage solution, you still have the other. Even if you opt for digital-only images, having them backed up locally and somewhere on the cloud means you have an extra layer of protection.
While locking them up in a climate-controlled, sealed box will keep them safe, it’s not much use if you want to actually look at them.
Luckily, you have options:
There are a ton of different albums and storage boxes out there, but some are a better bet than others. Opt for archive-grade materials for the best results. This means acid-free films in your albums and strong, sturdy board boxes.
Cotton gloves are great for touching old photos. These keep the harmful acids on your skin from reacting with the chemicals on the photo paper. They’re also great for avoiding unsightly fingerprints once they’re mounted in their album. You should also only ever handle a photo by the edges.
When it comes to cleaning, avoid water at all costs. Photo paper is tough, but it’s still paper and water will ruin it. Carefully use a lint-free cloth to wipe them down. If they’re particularly dirty, there are specialist cleaning solutions out there which should protect them,
The best way to store your photos depends on what you want out of them.
Photos are made to be looked at, so traditional albums and organising your digital folders will help. These let you flick through at a whim.
For older pictures or those that are more important to you, think about long-term options. Cloud storage will protect digital images from loss and is a great way to keep restored photos safe. For physical prints, think about a good quality archive box and where you stack it.
You can always get a little creative with your photo collection. A small album makes a great DIY photo book and an ideal gift. Memory boxes including photos and other items can help those we leave behind feel our love. Digital frames can be set up to cycle through your whole collection or a few select images.
The right choice when it comes to deciding how to store photographs always depends on what you want to do with them.
