Are you tired of drowning in a sea of digital souvenirs? It is time to take all of those incredible photos of your adventures beyond posting them on Facebook and Instagram, just letting them live in the digital abyss.
We all know the drill: you return from a breathtaking trip, phone bursting with hundreds of photos (or in my case thousands), only for these digital treasures to be forgotten in your phone. Fear not, travel photo fiends! Today, we’re are teaching you to reclaim those photos and transforming them from digital to tangible.
This guide is your passport to rescuing your memories and putting those photos where you can enjoy them most. We’ll walk you through how to pick the best photos, create photo albums, and help you relive your adventures. It is time to stop putting this off and get started today!
5 tips to get your photos ready
#1 Organize your photos:
You just returned from your dream vacation and you want the relive your memories with loved ones. If you took the photos on your phone and you adjusted your settings to track you, then you are in luck and your phone kept track of your GPS location, your time of day, and the date. If you took your standard point and shoot camera when you upload your SD card to your computer consider organizing your folders by date, keywords, or put them into a photo app like photomyne and get them organized with tags.
Bonus tip: If you are looking for photos in your phone, consider looking for them with key words. For example, you just visited the Charleston City Market and you wanted to find photos you took in the market. Type in “Charleston” and all the photos that are geo tagged with Charleston will pop up. Or maybe you had that one amazing orange juice that you took a photo of and you can’t remember where it was taken from. Type in “drink” in your photos app and it will display where the photo was taken from and you will remember it was that little cafe in Gamla Stan in Stockholm Sweden.
#2 Decide what is book worthy:
If you are like most most of us you captured more photos than you know what to do with. Let’s be honest, people don’t care about 15 photos of the Eiffel Tower. This is where you become very selective! Curate your photos as if you were a opening a gallery for friends and family to come see your show.
#3 Sharing Strategies:
There are two main camps:
- Share as you go: Live-posting can be fun, but it exposes your empty home to potential lurkers. Ask a neighbor to check in, or mention a “house sitter” on social media for peace of mind.
- Photo dump: Unleash all your pics after you return – one big post or “dump.” But consider splitting it by city or day, or you’ll overload your feed and drown out your memories.
Remember, it’s your social page, so do what feels right! Simplify things, and prioritize quality over quantity. 50 photos for one day will just create digital slumber for those following you. Your words matter most – write about your experience, add a few photos, and you’ll create impactful memories for years to come.
Whatever you do, share your story. Make sure to include your captions, and hashtags that truly tell your story. Consider private group shares with loved ones for a more intimate experience.
#4 Time to bring those photos to life
Now, what’s next for your photos? I’ve got some favorite options that might work for you:
- Photo Books: Services like or Chatbooks or Blurb let you craft stunning photo books. If it seems to challenging or overwhelming look into a monthly membership on Chatbooks helps you get your photos off your phone and into your family’s hands. Every month you get a new up to 60-page photo book full of all your photos.
- Photo Calendars: Ditch the generic landscape calendars and greet each month with your own travel photos! These are great Christmas gifts for grandparents too.
- Placemats: Make mealtimes adventures with personalized placemats showcasing your culinary discoveries from your vacation. Check out our placemats here
- Digital Photo Frames: Turn your living room into a personal exhibition with a rotating slideshow on a digital frame. Relive your journey with every glance.
- Canvas: Breathe life into landscapes or candid moments with canvas prints. Inject your home with travel vibes, a constant reminder of exploration’s joy.
- TV Time Capsule: Ditch generic screensavers and relive your greatest moments! Turn your TV into a portal to past adventures.
#5 Back up your photos
Once you get all the photos into your books, calendars or placemats, you need to back up your memories on external drives or cloud storage.
Remember, the Power is Yours:
Don’t let your photos become digital ghosts. Explore your options, unleash your creativity, and let your travel memories come alive. Whether it’s a coffee table Photobook or a quirky placemat, each project becomes a portal back to your adventures, a conversation starter, and a tangible reminder of the joy of exploration.
Bonus Tip: Organize your phone photos regularly. Create albums for each trip
