Growing up, my grandmother always had a camera in my face. My cousins, siblings, and I would often tease her when we would see her with her large and in charge camera, but we always flipped through the pages excitedly when she had a newly assembled photo album with our memories preserved inside. Having tangible photographs in my hands and reminiscing with my cousins and siblings has kept our childhoods alive and strengthened our familial bonds. But even more importantly, having the albums and seeing grandma put them together made us all feel so incredibly loved.
I’ve taken on grandma’s large and in charge camera habit now that I’m a mother. With every milestone, I make it my sworn duty to preserve the precious memories of my children’s childhoods. My kids often tease me as I teased her. I get eye rolls every now and then. I’m known amongst family and friends as the Camera Lady, which if I’m being honest, I happily accept.
Not only have I taken on the camera habit, but I also make the time to create our own family albums. Whether it’s a yearly album, which I’ve done faithfully in years past using the Layflat Square Photo Book, or monthly albums, which I’ve started doing this year using the Softcover Square Layflat Photo Book.
I fiercely believe that photos should be preserved in albums rather than held hostage on our phones. Yes, held hostage. That’s how strongly I believe photos should be seen, ha! In today’s world, nearly everyone has a camera in their pocket. I refuse to keep my family photos on my phone and make it a priority to sit down for one hour every month to put our photos into an album using Pinhole Press.
My tips for creating these monthly family photo albums are quick and easy, so even the least creative people can get their photos into an album.
Don’t make it complicated
I don’t set any unrealistic expectations. If I only have a few minutes to work on our album that month, I just upload the photos and let Pinhole Press automatically place them into an album for me.
Use collages for extra space
I often run out of space because I’m such an avid picture taker, but with several collage layouts available I’m able to load up the albums with as many photos as I want.
Set a monthly reminder
Since Pinhole Press makes the creating easy, all I need to do is upload the photos. I set a monthly reminder for myself so that I remember to set aside a few moments at the end of each month to upload my family photos.
I look forward to receiving a new album every month and my kids excitedly wait for that familiar packaging to show up on our doorstep. We keep our family albums at the ready in our living room, just like grandma did, for friends and family to flip through. And they always do. The albums are the first thing people touch in my home. My kids regularly flip through them, pointing and exclaiming, “Oh! Remember when we did that!?”.
Having the photo albums fosters a closeness in our family since we are reminded of our experiences, traditions, and trips together with every passing page. It is my hope that my kids feel as loved as I did when I looked through grandma’s albums.
About the Author
Holly Sosa is a Northern Michigan dwelling wife & hockey mom extraordinaire. Her favorite hobby is jammin’ on her planner. You can follow her adventures on HollyMarieSosa.com