Photographic Memories

If you have a new baby in the house, chances are fair to excellent that you have taken about a gazillion photos on your digital camera, smart phone or tablet. If you are anything like me, however, there they stay for months until you get around to printing them.

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But there are better ways of keeping track of your precious memories...

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Online photo sharing sites

There are many online photo storage options and most of them are free to a certain limit but then involve a fairly minimal annual payment. My preferred site is flickr because it’s easy for the techno-challenged, and it allows sharing on social media, as well as embedding on other websites. You can also invite friends and family via email to view your albums.

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Other popular sites are snapfish, Photobucket, shutterfly and Google’s own Picasa.

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Photo books

You can create your own memory books through shutterfly and other online tools, or outsource to a professional. These books are a creative way to organise your photos chronologically or thematically and are a great keepsake.

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There’s an app for that

For those who like to take pictures with their smart phone or tablet, there are several apps on the market that can help you store the images. The popular Dropbox app is probably the most common (and it allows you to store documents as well), but there are also apps from Photobucket, flickr and most of the more common photo sharing sites.

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USB/Discs

Even if you choose to store your photos online, it’s wise to store a backup on a USB or burnt to disc (does anyone still burn things to disc these days?). That way, you have a backup should anything go haywire.

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Old fashioned prints

The best thing about digital photography is that you can choose which photos to print and keep in an album. No more fingers over the lens, no more red-eyes, no more blurred images. If you don’t get to the shops often (or if, like me, you always forget your memory card anyway), many of the photo sharing sites offer a printing service which is mailed straight to your door and very well-priced. Or if you have a Target nearby, you can pick up your shutterfly prints.

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Cataloging

Some people like to catalogue chronologically, some by theme (birthdays, Christmases, milestones etc). Again, photo sharing sites and apps give you the ability to create “albums” as required.

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The main thing with photos, especially in your baby’s first months, is to stay on top of them. Trust me, you will take an unbelievable amount of happy snaps, and you don’t want them to still be on the memory card or in a shoebox by the time the child turns 18.

© Oz Baby Trends 2012