Indian Photographic Society Members' Blog

Storing pictures in photo albums, on CD-ROM or in filing systems can save pictures from unnecessary damage and fading. Those who don’t know how to properly care for their pictures can find that their precious memories become ruined over time. For example, placing pictures in photo albums with acidic paper or tossing them into a box with the intention of “sorting through them someday” can significantly deteriorate the quality of your photos.

If you are guilty of storing pictures incorrectly (and who hasn’t had a shoebox full of photos at one point or another?), getting organized can save your photos from an early death. Here’s how to start the process of storing pictures.

1. Getting Started Storing Photos The first thing to do is to go through your photos, looking for signs of damage and fading. Make sure none of the photos are stored facing each other. If the images face each other, they will eventually stick together, ruining both pictures.

Take a careful look at your photo albums. Older photo albums with black or gray pages are made from paper with a high acid content. While you think you’re storing your photos safely, such photo albums are slowly destroying your photos.

Removing Pictures from Old Photo Albums

Carefully remove pictures from old photo albums, those in which pictures are stored in plastic sheets and photo albums where the pictures are stuck on wax backing. All of these are not photo-friendly.

Some pictures may be pasted into the photo albums and impossible for you to remove. Cut these out of the page, as long as the page doesn’t have photos on both sides. If pages do have pictures on both sides, scan the photos into a computer to preserve the images.

You probably won’t have time to immediately store photos in acid-free photo albums. Storing pictures in acid-free cardboard boxes until you can get to them into an album is a fair compromise. Store the boxes in a dark, dry and cool environment, safely away from possible water damage. Boxes should be at least one inch away from any walls.

2. A Trip Down Memory Lane Storing photos in chronological order makes sense. As you go through photo albums and shoeboxes, make notes of who is in the picture, when the photo was taken and any other important information.

If old family albums have information written on the pages, jot it all down. You can temporarily attach sticky notes with the info to the backs of photos.

If you must write on the back of a photo when storing pictures, use a pencil with a soft-grade lead. Avoid using pen. Write lightly to prevent damaging the picture.

Older relatives are wonderful sources of information when storing pictures: They are often able to provide information about who is in older pictures, as well as stories about when the photos were taken.

Take notes about any information that people are able to provide. Not only will this give you information that would otherwise be lost, but it also allows you to strengthen connections with older relatives.

3. Storing Negatives Because negatives allow you to reprint photos if the originals are destroyed, they should receive the same attention as prints. Store negatives in acid-free, plastic sheets used for archiving.

Consider storing photos and negatives in different places, so if one set is destroyed you still have the other.

4. Digital Archiving When storing pictures, take advantage of today’s technology by scanning pictures into some form of digital media. Not only will this provide you with easy access to pictures, but it also gives you back-up copies of your photos.

You can store your pictures in digital form on a computer hard drive, on CD-ROM or in online photos albums. Of these options, the CD copy may be the most effective: It means that you still have a copy of your pictures if your hard drive crashes or if online photo album websites are taken down.

5. Copies, Not Originals Framed prints should never be the original copies of photos: Exposure to light will inevitably fade pictures. Using copies rather than the original print is especially important with older pictures and pictures with sentimental value.

Photo Albums and Storing Pictures Photo albums remain one of the easiest methods of organizing and storing photos, as long as the photo albums are made of acid-free paper.

When storing pictures in photo albums, remember that many varieties of transparent tape, photo-mounting corners and glue are not acid-free. Like acidic paper, these products will cause chemical reactions that slowly damage photos. Check all supplies to ensure they are acid-free.

If you are scrap booking, never use the original photo for your scrapbook. Use the tips for storing photos mentioned above and always use copies for scrapbooks. Remember, you’re storing pictures and photo albums for future generations.

Storing Photos in Black and White

Make copies of your most precious color photos in black and white. Black-and-white prints are made with silver while colored prints use dyes. As a result, black-and-white prints last much longer. Color photos, no matter how carefully stored, eventually fade and diminish in quality.