I am so lucky. Through the use of digital photography I have been able to preserve so much of my children’s childhood it is crazy. We can click back easily (through the use of programs like Picasa) and relive our lives when my boys were young, and life moved so fast (still does) that is so easy to miss it all. And although my hard drive is full of nearly 60,000 photos- not all of them are of the ‘say cheese’ variety. I have tried to use my camera to capture ALL of their childhood. I wanted to share some of my ideas with you…..
1. Art work: It is easier than scanning, and helps to preserve that Open House work of Art on the wall of the classroom, since by the time you see it again it will be destroyed from a trip home in a backpack.
2. Edible, temporary or bulky crafts: These things actually can not be saved. So a photo is a great option.
3. Toys: Eagerly we will cleanout a toy box to make room for new stuff. But having a photo of some of the favorites makes reminiscing so much more rewarding later for both you and the kids.
4. Lovies: Charlie the Bear and Blue Blankie were/are so important to my children- it is like they are members of the family. Is it possible that some day they will no longer be with us? Possible, but with photos we will never forget them.
5. The Details: Those little feet look so soft and edible? Take a photo now. Before long they will be stinky pre-teen feet. Trust me. This I know.
6. Their Friends: Take photos of those playdates, sleepovers and field trips. And the bonus is, if your kid is a playa since like BIRTH, you will get lots of photos of him with adorable little girls.
7. Their Rooms: Having moved 4 times in 12 years, I am always happy to have photos of the kids rooms as well as all the rooms & exterior of houses we have owned from Chicago to San Francisco to Orange County.
8. Favorite hang outs: Take a photo of Target? Yes! Or maybe a favorite yogurt store or local playground.
9. The Mad Face: Not every photo has to a ‘pretty’ one. This face Tucker used to make pretty much would melt me. I never wanted to forget it. And Jack? He makes this SAME face many years later. And don’t forget to grab your camera when unfortunate things are happening. This is a photo of Tucker when he was in the hospital for this. It is the only photo I took, and I wish I had more.
10: Documents: Report Cards, eye glass prescriptions and awards can all be stored nicely in your computer for easy locating later. And before you say anything, yes, I am blind.
But remember the most important thing….online back up. I use Mozy (hence my cat’s name) , which is about $5 a month. But there are many other services out there. It guarantees if your computer explodes or your house burns up all your photo memories and photo records will be with you forever. It is piece of mind that is worth the cost.
If you have any suggestions to add to this post, I would love to hear them.
Please leave them in the comments so everyone can benefit!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Marcy – you are BRILLIANT. I’ll never forget the day you said that when you see something you think you’d like to have or are tempted to buy, if you just take a picture of it you feel like you “own” a little piece of it and are content. I still love that. And it’s TRUE besides!
I just wish I was decent with a camera. Even buying the same point and shoot that you have hasn’t helped. I’m just a hack.
One more thing…. Mozy? (the service, not the cat) – you upload stuff to them? Sounds interesting, but how secure is it? I don’t want the contents of my hard drive accessible to just anyone. Or anyone at ALL for that matter. Talk to me.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to imagine ALL this creativity, generosity, information, style and wit comes from ONE human being! You amaze me! ~xo~
We’ve been photographing our documents for years. It’s a great way to back up! I recently dug out a couple of huge rubbermaid totes of the kids artwork (old old old! – the artwork, not me) and took photos of most of it. With Photoshop I was able to get the tears and wrinkles out to restore the artwork to its “original” look; and I can resize the finished piece to fit in a suitable frame or photo album! Great idea to put them in online storage – I’ll do that next!
If only I would have saved “Easter Bunny” digitally before Zoe (cat #2) maimed the 2D cutout… he was so young. WHYYYYY?
LOVE THIS! I have containers full of my kids’ artwork. I used to save EVERYTHING with kid #1 & #2…now I am a bit more picky and keep only my favorites of Kid #3 & #4! Maybe if I go through and take photos of them all, I can just add it to my computer, save it to a disc for each child (and one for myself, of course) and save some storage space. Sometimes, when I think I might forget what a certain drawing is, I ask my kids what it is and then write it in quotes in the bottom corner of the picture (along with their name, date & age) so we both will always remember what their imagination created!
Love all these ideas…you are brilliant! ;)
awesome article Marcy! Thanks so much for your fabulous tips, now let’s see if I can implement them!
Ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto.
great idea to photograph the bathtub toy art! it says “childhood innocence” so well. thanks for reminding me to take photos of the sidewalk chalk artwork summertime will soon bring. I’ve seen so many washed away and did photograph one a while ago, and i love having it pop up on my screen.
here’s another thing to capture: the AV in/out wire zoo behind TVs, stereos, DVRs. having a photo of what set up makes the picture and sound work for all the techno gadgets in the house keeps the migraines away.
i’m still missing my little stolen camera every day. i don’t think the cell phone camera will suffice. :0(