5 Inspiring Photo Album Ideas To Preserve Your Memories
Home » Lifestyle »Photo albums have come a long way over the decades, from their very humble beginnings when photography first became popular in the 1860s through to the modern-day photo books of the 21st century!
Photo Albums
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I remember as a kid looking at very old family photo albums of my parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents!
Early 1900s black and white and sepia photos were placed carefully in albums, sometimes with a date scrawled on the back.
The yellow-tinged color photos of my parent’s younger days in the 60s and 70s were placed on sticky, magnetic pages covered with a plastic film (which we now know actually damages photos).
Not to forget the flip-book-style photo albums of the 80s and 90s. I’ve got several of my teenage and young adult years like this.
As the 1990s transitioned into the 2000s, digital cameras became more popular, and cheaper, and so suddenly we were not stuck with just 24 or 36 images on a film reel, we could take hundreds and thousands of pictures!
I’m sure that I’m not the only one who is guilty of NOT having photographs printed very often.
Once taken and perhaps shared on Instagram or Facebook, the pictures we take are probably not looked at again.
And I think that is a shame because photos are special and should be treasured.
Photos and photo albums evoke memories – tell a story, help you to relive times gone by, remember people we’ve lost, and reminisce on the good old days.
Photo Album Ideas
I might not print out individual photographs often, but I do love to make photo books, so here are 5 inspiring photo album ideas for you to preserve your memories, and enjoy the photos for years (and generations) to come.
- Vacation Photos – I’ll start with a very obvious idea – vacation pics! Whether that is a short city break, a cruise to the Caribbean, or a fun-filled day at Walt Disney World, choose your favourite images and get them printed! As you flip through the pages you’ll remember the wonderful experiences you had on that trip.
- Milestone Birthdays – When my son turned 18, I curated photos from his life into a sweet memory album for his birthday. I looked at it recently, and it brought a tear to my eye as the moments flooded back into my mind!
- Memory Book – This type of book is one I have had to make very, very recently – in memory of my dear dad who passed away at the start of 2023. It was a tough one to make when the grief is still so raw, but as it was passed around at his wake, so much laughter filled the room as people remembered him.
- Project Diary – Do you have a hobby or project that you take photos of? It might be the finished article, or steps along the way, like a renovation. Or maybe you take part in Project 365 like I have done for many years since 2011. Putting all your photos into an album will be a great way to remember that time.
- Social Media Pics – Did you know that you can get download all of your Instagram photos? Well, why not turn that digital showcase of your life and times into a tangible thing? I have done this before with a selection of social media pictures and they’re great to hold and look through.
And these five photo album ideas are just the start, here are even more ideas for you:
- Celebrate your furry (and non-furry) friends – your pets!
- Create your own recipe cookbook (yes, I’ve done this too!) with heritage family recipes.
- Take photos of your child’s art and put it in a book (parents will know the clutter that is made when their kids bring back project after project after project – this will help declutter)
- Mark a special anniversary with a photo book for yourself and your partner, or as a thoughtful gift.
- Make a family tree book – perfect for children to learn all about their past.
- Document the ‘every day’. As I said, we are probably all guilty of taking hundreds of photos that won’t see the light of day again. There was a reason you snapped that pic – curate your favourite images and put them in an album.