Photographs carry a lot of meaning and as the saying goes, one picture is worth a thousand words. One picture can tell a love story and another picture can tell of a glorious win. That’s why photographs can be nostalgic, especially when passed down through the generation as keepsakes to remember the elders.
“We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
Times forever frozen still”
– Photograph, Ed Sheeran
Ancestor photos are less likely be photo clutter in your home, in part because they are more scarce then modern snapshots. Photography used to be much more expensive than it is today, which means those black and white pictures of your grandparents, great grandparents and great great grandparents are highly valuable.
Whether you’re the caretaker of a treasured family album or a collector who has searched out the classics of photography, it’s important to preserve and protect the images you value. Today we’re going to explore more on you how you can make sure that your printed photos last as long as they could through proper storage, framing and backup.
PROPER STORAGE
Good storage is arguably the most important preservation measure for photographic prints and negatives. High humidity like you find in basements and attics encourages mold and mildew, which can permanently stain and destroy photographs. Fluctuating humidity can cause the photos to crack because the paper backing and the emulsion absorb moisture at different rates.
A relatively dry (30-40% relative humidity), cool (room temperature or below), clean, and stable environment with minimal exposure to all kinds of light, direct or intense, is the most suitable storage space for your photographs. Store photos in closets, cabinets, or under the bed. These locations, being part of your living quarters, will be climate controlled. Keeping them tucked away safely in storage can also be a great option.
FRAMING
When organizing and storing your photos it is important to choose the right container for them, and the two main types are photo albums and frames for decoration. The important thing to look for are items that are archival quality, and that are photo safe, acid, lignin and PVC free.
Here are also a few don’t for you to take note of:
1) Do not use tape or glue to affix photos into an album or scrapbook
2) Do not mount or affix photos to anything but archival quality paper
3) Do not hold photos together using paper clips or rubber bands
4) Do not store photos in envelopes, especially if the envelopes are not made from archival quality paper
When possible refrain from writing on photos, since often this leaves indentations on the photo, but in addition the ink can smear or get onto another image in the stack. If you’re going to write on a photo (as opposed to writing information on a separate scrap of paper next to the photo) use an archival safe photo pen, and still don’t press very hard.
BACKUP
It never hurts to make copies of your photos, even after taking steps to preserve them in storage. Digital copies serve as your backups in case the originals are damaged or lost. Professional restorers can also use high-quality digital copies to restore your precious photos to their original beauty.
Get an external drive that has twice as much space as your hard drive so you can keep a copy of all your photos on that drive as well. This way, if you lose your computer, it crashes, or gets stolen, you still have your photos safe and sound on your external drive.
Voíla! Storing and preserving the beauty of your photographs is not that hard! It just takes a little bit of purposeful planning (and maybe a few hours of getting your current photos into the right conditions) and you can breathe a sigh of photo contentment. We hope you enjoyed this educational blog. Give us a like if you find it useful.
If you’re wondering where to get pictures of yourself taken, photo booth style like in the old days, 123Cheese would be more than happy to bring the nostalgia back for you. Offering multiple photo booth styles that have made more than 2000 events across Malaysia smiling even brighter, our friendly and energetic crews are ready to accompany you!
Contact us today!
Phone: 019.3233.868 / 019.3233.682
Email: sales@123cheese.my
