What I learned at Photo Camp: Photo Industry Trends Part One
I just spent 3 very full days at the Association of Personal Photo Organizer’s conference in Orlando, FL. My head is spinning with all that I learned and all of the amazing and very smart entrepreneurial people that I met. In this 2-part series, we'll talk industry trends and hot topics.
To Scan or not to scan…that is just one question
I frequently get asked, 'should I scan all of my old photos?' My answer has always been, 'it depends on what you are going to do with them', which I still believe is a good answer. However, there has been a lot of discussion recently about archiving your digital life. Two Facts:
there is a shelf life to your printed photos, VCR tapes, film, slides, etc., they will deteriorate over time, and,
people are not printing their photos like they used to.
Because of these facts, if we don’t scan, archive AND store our meaningful photos, videos and documents in a safe, secure way, we risk losing both meaningful history and important information for future generations.
So let's do something about this, because there are some really good solutions out there.
A lot of companies offer digital and cloud storage. Here is the bottom line, folks…if it’s free, there’s a catch. Don't get me wrong, I love free, but our world is changing and digital storage is not just a fad, it's a business. If you want to save your photos, videos, albums, documents, etc. for future generations or have these items in a safe place for legal and other reasons, and DON’T want someone to mine the information for marketing or hold it hostage (and make you pay later to get it back) you will have to pay for cloud storage. Whatever company you choose, read the fine print. There are good ones out there. I recommend a company called Forever for storage and Legacy Republic for digitizing VCR tapes, film, slides and albums. For more information on either of these companies, I'd be happy to chat with you.
YOUR MEMORIES MATTER! They are worth the investment
Watch for Part Two: Taking photos rocks! But, where are they now?