It’s summertime, and that means parents are snapping pictures of their children left and right! If you’re anything like me, you literally have thousands of pictures of your kids. My parents were the same way, and all of their photos are stored in photo albums scattered throughout their house. In this day and age, it’s an oddity to find an album on someone’s coffee table or bookshelves. iPhones make it so easy to snap countless pictures every day and never miss a single precious moment of your kiddos! DSLR cameras save time by cutting out film. Digital photography has made life easier when it comes to taking pictures, but it’s also made us lazy when it comes to printing and saving photos. The only time I print pictures out is when I intend on framing them or displaying them somewhere. Even though I don’t print many out, it’s imperative to me that all of them are stored somewhere safe. There’s nothing quite as heartbreaking as losing the newborn pictures you took of your babies or family vacations you can’t get back.
Photography is a huge hobby and pastime of mine, so at any given point, there are hundreds of photos on my computer and iPhone. We all know how finicky technology can be, so I never rely on my devices to keep my pictures safe. I’ve had a handful of computer crashes, and the only thing I’ve ever been upset about is losing my photos. Over the years I’ve found some great, easy, and cheap solutions to guarantee my pictures will be there in the years to come.
Here are a few user-friendly storage solutions everyone can use:
Amazon Photo: If you’re an Amazon Prime member, Amazon Photo is included with your membership! Let’s be honest… most everyone takes advantage of Amazon Prime these days, so this is one of the easiest and most convenient storage options out there. You have an unlimited amount of space at your fingertips — you don’t have to worry about running out! I have tens of thousands of pictures on there! It’s so easy to use. You just upload your photos, and you can order prints straight from the site! To make it even better, they’re delivered directly to your door! I also use it exclusively for all my printing needs. The prints are great quality! That’s one of the many reasons I love Amazon Photo. Another great feature is the “sharing” option. My mom loves to get the pictures I take of my boys, so I create an album, and then I just share it with her! It cuts out the need of trying to email them all or taking a flash drive to her house and transferring them to her computer. There’s an app for your phone, so it also uploads your phone pictures as well. There’s also a gift making option, holiday/special event cards, invitations, calendars, photo books, wall print options and more to order directly from the site. It will make Christmas time easy! It really is great!
Google Photos: If you have a Google account, Google Photo is included. I love using this for iPhone photo backup! I use the app on my phone to backup my iPhone library, and then you it gives the option to clear it off once it’s finished. It’s easy to access online, and there’s a photo sharing option on the site as well. It also has some great photo book options from which to choose! If you’re not one to order prints, photo books are a great solution! They are also great in lieu of a baby book.
Google Drive: This too is tied to your Google account. The great thing about Google though is it’s free! This isn’t a photo based site like the other two, but it’s great for any kind of storage, not just photos! Personal Google accounts have a limited storage amount, but it’s still a great option. I upload my pictures here as soon as I finish editing them, and it’s so easy to organize. I organize mine into folders by years and events. You can’t order prints or books from your Google Drive, but it’s still a great place to keep all your pictures nice and tidy. There is also a phone app for this, and it’s easy to upload and share photos from your mobile device.
I realize that all of the photo storage solutions I’ve mentioned are cloud based options, but I’ve never had any luck with external hard drives, CDs, or flash drives. Those are options that will work as well, but I’ve lost photos on those from normal wear and tear. All parents know that pictures are worth a thousand words (and emotions), so I always make sure I have a foolproof option when it comes to saving photos of my babies! It’s always so much fun to pull them up and look back at them with my boys.
It may be different than when I was a child, but this form of photo album is just as precious to my husband and me as mine were to my parents!
