Recently, I've been speaking to lots of people about the importance of printing your photos. So many of us are relying on our digital images to live in perpetuity when, in actuality, your printed photos will most likely outlive your jpgs. Especially when the day comes that the tech gods decide there's a better format than jpgs and you don't want to pay someone to convert your thousands of images to the latest and greatest technology.

In this digital age, the majority of us just aren't bothering with photo prints. But that's a huge mistake. And here's why: barring a disaster that burns your house down or a flood that sweeps through your basement, your photo prints will be a highly viable means to share your family stories for at least your lifetime and probably longer. My grandmother passed away almost 6 months ago at the age of 90. But her childhood photos are still with us, in great condition, and continue to tell the story of her life. Some of those photos have been around almost a century and we can still see the faces of our ancestors, see the clothes they wore, the cars they drove, so many interesting and amazing details of their lives. Without those prints, the memories would surely fade into oblivion.

Hard drives fail. Cloud storage providers go out of business. Smartphones get lost. And DVDs are inching their way to extinction. Photo prints are a long-term, solid and reliable option for backing up our images, especially when stored properly.

Another advantage to printing photos is the quality time it ensures your family as you tell your family's stories. When images are flashing by on a screensaver or in a slideshow, they're intangible and they move quickly. When you're holding prints in your hand and passing them around to family members, time moves slowly, stories can be told and you have a physical memory in your hands. Viewing photos on paper is a completely different experience to viewing them on a screen. And in my opinion, a more valuable one.

Speaking with the lovely Naomi Hattaway of 8th & Home Realty yesterday, I found out a very important set of her family's photos, from a period of time they were living abroad, are stuck on a hard drive that's dead. That hard drive is the ONLY place these photos are stored. They're not in the cloud and they were never printed. We discussed the possibility of some IT genius working a miracle and retrieving her images from the drive, but if that's not possible, those images are lost forever. If her family had actively printed those photos as they were taking them, they'd at least have hard copies of the images that could be scanned and digitized today.

Many of us worry about the physical space these prints take up, the potential clutter they can bring into your home. But when stored properly, your prints don't have to take up a lot of space. Through an APPO member like me, you can purchase a large Legacy Box that holds up to 2,400 4x6 photos. If you printed 100 of your favorite photos from each year, it would take 24 YEARS to fill it up!

In the spirit of inspiring you to get printing, here are two cool apps that make printing photos straight from your phone foolproof. How's THAT for convenience???

Groovebook was featured on SharkTank and was recently acquired by Shutterfly for $14.5 million. From their app, you can upload up to 100 of your favorite photos every month and for only $2.99, they will send you a book with glossy prints that are perforated so you can tear them out if you choose. You can select multiple copies of the same image if you want prints to share. The books are mailed monthly (you can cancel your subscription at any time) and you can also order additional books if you want to share an entire book of prints with family and friends.

Free Prints is another app that allows you to print up to 85 4x6 photos each month for FREE! The only cost to you is shipping (starting at $1.99). There is a charge for additional copies of your image (think duplicates or triplicates) and also for sizes other than 4x6, but the pricing is extremely reasonable and I was quite pleased with the quality of the prints I received.

So give these apps a try and let me know what you think! Also, comment below and tell me whether or not your family has been printing your digital images. As always, if you have any additional questions, please contact me any time!

Alex Beadon threw out a tough challenge for Day 6 of her #FeelGoodBlogging challenge. We were asked to be vulnerable and share something about ourselves that might push us out of our comfort zones, but would ultimately allow our readers to learn even more about us. So let's dive in!

I was always a hard-working, dedicated student. Pretty much all straight A's from the get-go and by high school, was on a path towards all Honors and AP courses. That is, until my sophomore year. I was placed in the Honors English class and after turning in one of our first writing assignments our teacher announced to us that only a handful of us were "A" students, a few more were "B's" and the majority of us would be "C" & "D" students, according to her [highly subjective] opinion. At least that's my recollection of her speech. And you can imagine, for a girl who always strived for A's, this terrified me. But here's the thing about me, most definitely as a teenager, and even sometimes to this day: that rather than rising to her challenge, and BELIEVING IN MYSELF that I could get an A in her class, I shrunk in fear that I would get my first C or D. This had me in a state of panic, so much so that I arranged a meeting with her, my guidance counselor and my parents. The outcome of which was the decision to drop out of her class and return back to the non-Honors English class. That switch began a snowball effect that eroded my self-confidence, the belief in my intelligence and my academic abilities and by the time I graduated from high school, I was in NO Honors classes. I didn't even want to go to college, but wanted to pursue dance full-time.

Thankfully, my parents wouldn't hear of it and I did head off to James Madison University in August of 1990. It was there that I first encountered the notion that maybe my sophomore year Honors English teacher only had one opinion about my writing skills, not a hard fact. After turning in an essay about "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," my college English professor called me to his office. I was terrified. I thought I was in for a lecture on my poor writing skills. Instead, he said to me, matter-of-factly, "Megan, this is the most well-written Freshman essay I've ever read." Can you guess my reply? "That can't be true. My high school English teacher told me I couldn't write well." I was shocked to say the least. And thankfully, he was very encouraging. But it has literally taken me decades to erase the doubt that ONE teacher planted in my mind and in which I so readily believed. I would give anything to go back to my carefree days as a young girl, when the world was my oyster and I hadn't given anyone else the power to erode my confidence.

Two things have occurred since then that have helped me start believing in my writing abilities again... first, in starting my own business and associated blog, I am regularly amazed at my own posts, how easily the words flow out of me and in a clear and coherent manner, no less. Second, I found out this year that my high school English teacher had passed away and I thought, a la Elsa, "OK. It's time to LET IT GO." I've allowed her opinion to eat away at my confidence for far too long. It's time to release her hold on me and move forward with the knowledge that I can, in fact, not only write, but write well.

We all have negative self-talk that erodes our confidence, instills guilt and makes us generally feel lousy. So today, try a dose of self-love. Try BELIEVING IN YOURSELF. Because the only opinion of you that truly matters in the end, is your own.

It's only mid-October and already I'm swimming in my daughter's Kindergarden art projects. I'd imagine any of you with school-age children are in the same boat. I also imagine there are some of you who aren't overly sentimental and are comfortable tossing them away after a while. But for most of us, we want to hold on to every bit & piece of our children's childhoods, for them to look back on as they grow older, maybe even to show their OWN children some day. But if we were to actually keep every piece of paper and project they bring home over their school years, we'd need to rent a storage unit to store it all. So I'm here with a helpful tip for you. Design and print a book of your child's art. I did this for my daughter's preschool years and am preparing to create another of her more recent artwork. 

It's actually a quite simple process. Gather all the artwork you deem special, AKA "Keepers," then either scan if small enough, or photograph if larger and/or three-dimensional. Upload all the images to a folder on your computer (I called mine "Caitlin's Art") then upload them to your favorite digital photo book site. For the one pictured here, I used Shutterfly's 12x12 size with lay flat pages. You can decide to arrange your book chronologically, by season or school year (you can combine several years as I did) or you can arrange by category. Perhaps they had phase of drawing rainbows, self-portraits, etc. You can group those images all together to visually SEE the progression of their skills. You can leave the book as simple as images alone, or provide captions when necessary to explain a project. Or even have your child tell you a story about the image and include the entire text on the following page.

Once your book is completed, ordered and received, your child will LOVE "reading" it with you. They will feel a sense of pride that you cared enough about their art to turn it into a book, which will in turn increase their self-confidence. As they grow, they will also enjoy being able to pull a book down off the shelf that houses their art in one simple package vs. digging through bins and bins of original art. Once you feel comfortable that your artwork images are backed up in several locations, you can take that final step of throwing away the originals. Maybe not ALL of them, but enough that your house isn't overflowing with children's artwork.

If you've enjoyed reading my #FeelGoodBlogging challenge posts so far, I invite you to sign up for my monthly newsletter subscription list. Once you join, you'll receive access to my exclusive ABC's of Photo Organizing video!

For Day 4 of Alex Beadon's #FeelGoodBlogging challenge, she's taking a page out of one of my favorite magazines, US Weekly. Each month there's one celebrity sharing 25 things you didn't know about them. Thankfully, Alex only asked us to share 10. Hope you enjoy getting to know your friendly photo organizer a little better! Feel free to comment below and tell me if we have anything in common! :)

I talk to SO MANY PEOPLE who take hundreds, if not thousands, of photos on their phones and then have NO CLUE what to do with them. So I've created a nifty, printable PDF with my "8 Steps To Photo Bliss!" So click image below, download the PDF, then print and follow these steps once a month to get your photos under control and to help you start ENJOYING your photos again. Hooray!

My father passed along his love of photography to me at an early age. He was definitely our family historian, documenting every important event throughout the years. I began taking photography seriously in middle school when I signed up for a class where we got to use classic manual cameras, develop our own film in the dark room and also process our own prints. I absolutely LOVED every minute of my time in that lab and watching the magic appear as my prints developed. Although I pursued other interests in college, including dance and archaeology, and dabbled in many different jobs post-college, my love of photography stood the test of time.

When planning my wedding seven years ago, I knew I wanted to hire a solid photographer who would give me full digital rights to use the photos as I wished post-wedding. Don Mears and his wife, Lindsay, did a stellar job to say the least! While a traditional wedding album was included in the package, I wanted to make digital wedding albums to give our parents as a gift. I did a bit of research and learned of My Publisher and I've been using them for various photo book projects ever since. I cherish my traditional album from Don & Lindsay, (it is absolutely gorgeous!) but it remains safely tucked away in its storage box most of the time, while my digital album is out and about for anyone to flip through any time. And let's get back to the gifts... it's an understatement to say that both sets of parents LOVE their books. It's a stunning documentation of our special day and we all still flip through and cherish the memories of that sunny September day seven years ago. Seeing the joy this gift brought to our families made me want to give more. Photo gifts are unique, personal and truly priceless; they share our memories and tell our stories.

Fast forward to 2012, after I'd been a stay-at-home mom for three years and was looking to return to the workforce. I had so many business ideas during my time at home, but one kept coming back to me. Photo books. And yet, I couldn't see how making photo books could be a profitable business. So I signed up to attend Tory Johnson's Spark & Hustle conference that summer, hoping to get some inspiration for starting my own business. It was there I ran into Coach Jenn Lee, who I'd exchanged e-mails with earlier in the year. I was excited to introduce myself and to thank her for offering business advice to me (that I failed to follow up on!) The first business I told her I was considering was a career as a Virtual Assistant, after all, much of my corporate experience was in executive assistance. But then I mentioned photo books. And her face lit up. And apparently so did mine. She immediately pounced and could see that making photo books was my passion. And ironically enough, she'd been hired by the recently formed Association of Personal Photo Organizers (APPO) to provide some coaching support. So she asked if I'd ever heard of them. "No," was my simple answer. Within a week, an employee of APPO called me to follow up on the interest I'd shown Coach Jenn. Two weeks later, I joined APPO. Three months after that, I'd completed their certification program and had officially launched Picture This Photo Solutions, LLC. It's been a whirlwind ever since!

Many are confused by my varied background in dance, then archaeology and now photo organizing, but I find a connection between all three. For one, I was never a "cubicle" person, even though I toiled away in one for many, many years. That's the dancer in me. Wanting to be up and moving around. And two, I've always had a deep love for history beginning with day trips to Colonial Williamsburg as a young girl and being absolutely fascinated by the "living" history represented there. It truly was like stepping into the past. So pursuing archaeology made a lot of sense to me. And it's also quite a physical activity when working in the field. But what does photo organizing have to do with any of this? Every person has a story to tell. And those stories are often buried in their boxes of photos. And as mentioned in yesterday's post, there are many treasures to be found at the bottom of those boxes. So photo organizing gives me the opportunity to be up and moving around, helping my clients sort through their photos, while also hearing fascinating stories about their lives and, like icing on the cake, I get to HELP people, which is another lifelong passion of mine. To sum it up, photo organizing takes everything I love and wraps it up into a nice, neat career that fulfills every passion of mine while making a difference in my clients' lives.

Clearly, 2014 has NOT been the "Year of the Blog" for me, but I'm hopeful that this week's FREE blogging challenge from Alex Beadon helps me get back on track with my business blog, so here goes!

Challenge #1: A Simple Introduction

Who am I? 
I'm a certified personal photo organizer who is passionate about helping my clients organize, protect and ENJOY their precious photo memories. A few fun facts about me: I have a Master's degree in anthropology/archaeology and have worked on several historical sites in Virginia, including spending a year at James Madison's Montpelier. I find a strong connection between my archaeological background and my photo organizing career. There are many treasures to be found at the bottom of my clients' photo boxes, including Civil War-era tin-types!

Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging as a form of networking, to put myself out there so that future clients could get to know me, to share my photo organizing expertise and to interact with my blog readers.

Who is your blog for?
My blog is for anyone with a passion for photography, but who struggles to find time to enjoy the photos they take. I share photo organizing tips, fun photo gift ideas and other photo-related topics that can help you on your photo organizing journey. I have a particular fondness for working with baby boomers & retirees and hope that my blog is helpful as they begin to ponder their life's legacy.

What's something I've been working on lately that I'm REALLY proud of?
Recently, I completed two different slideshow projects: one for a returning client and one for a brand-new client. One was a surprise for a 60th birthday party, the other premiered at my client's son's wedding reception. Both clients told me the slideshows were the hit of the parties. I take great pride in creating a product that is so well-received and brings so much joy to so many people.

What’s the ONE MESSAGE that you hope people take away from your blog?
I hope people find that I'm down-to-earth, accessible and full of helpful knowledge with regards to their photo collections.

It’s safe to say many of us have experienced the following: grieving a lost loved one, tasked with cleaning out their home and coming across a photo collection piled into dusty cardboard boxes. So what do we DO with these photos?

First, determine the best family member to take ownership. I have a client who found out from a sibling that her grandmother’s boxes of photos were out on the curb waiting for the trash truck to pick them up. Her father, for whatever reason, felt no emotional connection to the thousands of photos his mother left behind. However, those photos were extremely meaningful to this woman’s grandchildren. So they were rescued from the curb and ended up at my client’s house where, even though she knew she wanted them, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with them (more on that in the steps below.) So if you’re tasked with clearing out a home and have no desire to keep the photos yourself, ask your family who’s interested in taking them. I can guarantee you that photo collection is valuable to somebody.

Second, take your time. Sometimes the grief is too raw and painful to dive right in and start an organizing project. I had a client hold on to her sibling’s photos for years before she initiated work with me. And even then, there were moments of breathtaking pain as she sorted through her sister’s memories. But there can also be moments of sheer joy. Another client who stored her mother’s photos for years was surprised to see baby pictures of herself that she’d never seen before. So, store them well, in enclosed boxes to keep the dust at bay, in a temperature-controlled area either in your house or at a storage facility. They’ve lasted this many years, so another few months or years won’t damage them beyond repair.

And third, when it’s time, enjoy the organizing process. You’ll find it easier simply because they aren’t YOUR photos. You won’t recognize half the people in the pictures, so you can either pass them along to another family member who might or you can throw them away with minimal guilt. Also, it’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know your loved one better, to see through their eyes what they felt was important enough to document on film. One of my clients found dozens of pictures her grandmother took of flower arrangements. At the start, she wanted to keep them, but as the process moved along, and we found more and more of them, she realized she could toss most of them. Still, she found humor in the photos and was able to learn a little bit more about the grandmother she’d lost. It’s always difficult to lose a loved one, but the photo legacy they leave behind can be a great source of comfort as you move through your grieving journey.

As tempting as these Groupon and Living Social offers might appear, you are trusting these companies with your precious memories. You ship your photos, home movies, slides or negatives away, trust the provider to handle them with care and return them safely back to you. Oftentimes, my clients are stressed just imagining shipping these items away; however, did you know that many of these companies further outsource your memories? Sometimes even to foreign shores? A quick scan of Yelp reviews for these companies are enough to keep me away from their tempting offers.

While I know the price is right, your memories are one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, so isn't it more valuable to place them into hands you can trust?

If high-speed scanning and/or slide, negative, and home movie conversions are what you're looking for, trust me, your certified photo organizer, when I recommend you avoid those Groupon deals and stick with a highly reputable company such as Fotobridge. I have personally met the owner and am looking forward to seeing her again at the APPO Conference this week. I know that once your memories arrive at their New Jersey facility, that is where they stay. I know your memories are handled with kid gloves from the minute they arrive. I know they have NEVER lost anyone's memories. And I know, while you might never see their services discounted on Groupon, you will NEVER be disappointed with the quality and level of service you'll receive when working with them.

So give the gift of scanning this Valentine's Day. Any orders* placed using the code McCourt01 will receive an extra set of JPG DVDs at NO COST. Hooray! It's no Groupon, but you can rest assured your precious memories will be in the best hands!

*Code expires Tuesday, February 18th

We all lead busy lives… so busy that even the things we enjoy the most get put off not just by days, but possibly by months, maybe even years. And like many of my clients, I am very often too busy to ENJOY my photos. But 2014 is the year we’re changing all that, right???

I am embarrassed to say that in the summer of 2013, I ordered a phenomenal new photo product called WeMontage, a customized, removable photo collage wallpaper. I was SO excited, I couldn’t WAIT for the package to arrive. At the time, the smallest size you could order was a 4’ x 6’ panel, so that’s what I ordered. And even though I’d marked out the dimensions on my wall, it wasn’t until the package arrived that I realized just how large that really is. But back to my embarrassment. So my beautiful WeMontage wallpaper arrived in August 2013 and can you guess when we got around to hanging it? January. 2014. Seriously. When I think about it, that’s just ridiculous. But the truth is, it was TOTALLY worth the wait. I now have this stunning collage of my family with larger-than-life photos proudly displayed on a wall that is the focal point for guests entering my home. I have received so many compliments on the product and it has inspired me to share my ideas for its application with practically everyone I meet.

Throughout the entire process, I have gotten to know WeMontage’s owner, James Oliver, and he is simply fabulous. He is so pumped about his product and will bend over backwards to please his clients. He is uber-responsive and so very helpful every step of the way. He listened and responded to feedback from clients wishing for smaller sizes and now offers a 2' x 3' poster-size, too. I envision his product in yoga studios with images of serene landscapes, in gymnastics facilities with images of all the young team gymnasts, in dorm rooms (what a great graduation gift!), in schools, in offices, and of course, in our homes.

So if you’re looking for a creative, one-of-a-kind way to display photos in your home or business, check out WeMontage today. If you'd like assistance creating your own, I would be thrilled to help and can offer you 10% off the retail price through the month of February. Contact me today and let’s get started helping YOU enjoy YOUR photos again this year!