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How to Digitize Every Aspect of Your Family History
Archive all your memories in case of disaster
Reports from the recent fires in California include many stories of families who lost their photographs and other heirlooms to wildfires. In a best-case scenario, insurance can make a family whole again financially after a disaster, and help them find new housing. But it can never replace these lost treasures. In rare cases — like an inspiring story of a wedding photo returned to its owners after a wildfire, or a project to restore photos damaged in Hurricane Harvey — families get some portion of their history back. But after many natural disasters, entire family histories are lost forever. As climate change threatens increasingly intense weather worldwide, it’s more crucial than ever to protect your family’s memories from natural disasters or other losses. One way to do that is to digitize them.
I work in photography and digital media and co-founded a company that digitizes and licenses historical media. We work with everyone from large organizations like Duke University to individual collectors. If you can think of a type of photo, film, or physical artifact, we’ve probably digitized it. Here are my recommendations for the best gadgets and strategies to digitize and protect your family’s history — based on more than a decade of industry experience.
When most families look to digitize their family history, they start with photographs. Personally, I have photos of my family going back to the 1870s, as well as some gems from the 1970s, like an infamous shot of my late mother-in-law Wendy during a motorcycle phase. Printed photographs are one of the easiest kinds of media to digitize, so they’re a great place to start.
If you have a few hundred photos and a limited budget, using a flatbed scanner to digitize your family photos is a great option. Even budget…
