dmdpeterdmd

Any suggestions on how to store / sort hundreds of pictures from years past? Shoe box? Labeled boxes? Have maybe over a thousand pictures or so. Thanks

MSW

i'd go with labeled boxes, but that's just one guy's opinion ... free and doubtless well worth the price.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I scanned my old prints and then stuffed them in envelopes labeled by subject.
The envelopes went into a "Xerox Box", in the closet.
I probably will not refer to the paper prints again, but have them as a backup.

FreddB Loc: PA - Delaware County

Albums? 3-ring binders? Is anyone ever going to see them, or is this for permanent never-to-be-seen storage?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Binders take up too much space, if they're scanned and never, or extremely rarely, going to be viewed again on paper.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I’ve scanned thousands of prints and slides over the years. Doesn’t matter to me what happens to the originals so they go back into their boxes. For organizing, I use folders with at least the year taken, maybe month if that’s important.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I can never remember when I took pictures of what, so I organize my photos by subject.
I'd be looking for a what, not a when.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I do the "what's" with tags in PS Elements. My experience with old album photos is that people want to know who the subjects are and what year the photo was taken.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I don't use a cataloger. I just add info to the image metadata in tag or comments (who, year, subject, etc.).
It stays with the image and is not dependent on using a cataloger or specific image editor.

goldenyears Loc: Lake Osewgo

I use a numerical method for a website I have with 13,000+ photos of airplanes. Photo No. 232 is on page No.232, and so on. Prints, slides, or negatives are boxed in that numeric order. The website catalogs the photos by manufacturer and model. It's one way of doing it. It works for me.

rmcgarry331

Since the OP did not state the age or purpose of the collection, I can't give any reasonable advise on how to sort. However, to prevent deterioration photographic prints, slides and negatives should only be stored in acid free storage containers. The best and most expensive are called archival, and can be obtained from Gaylord Archival. Good choices can be found at most camera stores, some craft stores and B&H or Adorama. Regular envelopes, Bankers Boxes, and recycled paper boxes have a mild acid, which can accelerate the detonation of photographic materials.

Chappy1101 Loc: Glenview, IL

Well, for me you just hit a sweet spot. A couple years ago, I finally tackled a large collection of 30 years or so of pre-digital (for me about 2000-01) paper and negatives (still need to tackle the slides). I did not wish to spend hundreds of hours scanning, so took a pretty low tech approach. It really boils down to beginning with the end in mind. How will lookfor something when you want to find it: by name, by subject, by timeframe, etc. I went with timeframe. Then I went to the Container Store and bought a bunch of boxes that would accommodate roughly 5x7 envelopes and found some envelopes that with a little trimming would fit the boxes. Then went through all the old photos, print envelopes, and boxes and put stuff in envelopes labeled by year and event or topic or just misc. Ended up with about 8 boxes (about 6”x 18”) that stack nicely. And larger overflow boxes for enlargements and albums. Took most of a winter to complete. Yes, I have gone back to it many times looking for “treasures” to share. Time well spent. Of course now programs such as LR and organizing in many different ways / using keywords etc. nicely replaces such crude organizing. Good luck. Winter is coming.

Bill_de Loc: US

I would be kidding myself if I believed anyone will ever go through the prints/ negatives/ or digital images I've produced in the last 60 or so years. So, everything gets boxed up in cartons marked "Photos". That said, I have in the past and continue to share a few pictures every now an then with the friends I know will enjoy them.

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RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

Bill, I took a quick glance at your pages and looked at some of images you submitted. I am only speaking for myself here, but I would enjoy having an opportunity to look through a collection such as yours and imagine that there are others who would as well. Also I bet there are images that relate directly to your family. If these aren't identified, do that and get all those together. If you have been doing this for 60 or so years, I can just about guarantee that you have images that were "run of the mill" shots of subjects that were of no particular significance at the time they were made, but over the decades and years have become useful documents of a time no longer with us. Thanks

RodeoMan Loc: St Joseph, Missouri

Longshadow, I usually agree with you, but not here. I think it is important to keep paper images. I have never been to an secondhand or antique store where an SD card labelled "family photographs" is for sale. No it is always actual paper images. Also I much prefer to look at images on paper, just as I prefer to read a printed book as opposed to a digital screen.