World photography day

There's a day devoted to nearly everything. That said, there truly should be a day devoted to photos. They are as close as we can come to preserving moments small and momentous—and in my opinion equally important in different ways. Well, today is that day.  In honor of World Photography Day. I'm offering a few tips related to photos.

Backup. Backup. Backup. Do you have backups of all of your favorite photos–even the ones in old photo albums that may not have been digitized? If not, start now! Make sure you have at least two copies, preferably one that lives off-site in case of an emergency. 

The Backup Bootcamp course teaches you how to do this and organize your photos. (It relies on the cloud.) If you prefer localized options, external hard drives are a great solution. If you are feeling overwhelmed and want someone to start the process for you, here is another option for organizing your photos.

Taking better photos. I've always been a big believer in learning. That applies to photography too. I'm currently taking The Magic of Moments through Ali Edwards. For a deeper dive into the combined world of photos and storytelling, also consider Lens of Joy.

Use your photos. Put a photo in a frame. Make a photo book. Start simple. I also love Stacy Julian's Photo Freedom class. I think I first took it in 2007. The more comprehensive paid class is currently on-going and isn't enrolling new students right now. However, this mini self-guided class is available for free and teaches the guiding principles designed to get you using your photos and thinking about them in new ways. It is likely very different from any class you've ever taken on the subject. 

​Stacy loves finding creative ways to use photos. Here are some ideas. Here is one more.

And if you need more reasons to do something with your photos, read this: The Most Published Generation Will Have No Photos in Ten Years by Photographer Mike Yost. Thought it was published in 2015, the article is still very relevant today.