If you’re like most people, they’re scattered across multiple platforms. Lots are on your phone(s). Some are backed up to iCloud or Google Photos or posted on Flickr. Some got shared on social media. Some are on your computer. Some are on that old laptop in your closet that you really should do something about.
Your photos are probably one of the most important things to your family, but they’re also one of the hardest things to access without your passwords and account information.
This isn’t just about preserving memories (though that’s important). It’s about making sure your family can find the photos they want for memorial services, for sharing with relatives, and for their own comfort.
I know someone whose father was a photographer who had thousands of photos stored across multiple cloud services and external hard drives. When he died, the family tried to piece together his digital archive. Some photos were duplicated across multiple services. Some were organized, some weren’t. Some were backed up, some existed only in one place. In other words, their dad was like us.
They eventually recovered most of the photos, but it took a lot of time and technical knowledge that not everyone has.
The solution isn’t to consolidate everything into one service because that’s likely to be a nightmare amount of work. I often have good intentions of culling or organising my decades of digital photos but I only get so far before I give up. It’s so much effort.
The easiest (and therefore best) solution is to document where your photos are stored and how to access them.
Go the extra mile and include any special instructions about organization or backup systems. If you have a particular photo organization system, explain it. If there are photos that are especially important, note where they are.
Your family will have enough to deal with. Don’t make them play digital detective to find your memories.
Leave a Reply