Leaving your legacy with your photos, videos, and other memories will help your descendants appreciate your life and your family’s story.
When we think of “family trees” we often think of looking back decades and centuries to find out who came before us, like my husband Gerald who “met” a relative from the early 1800s through researching our family.
We discover what their lives were like in the old days and photos you might have can help their stories come to life in your imagination.
Did you know that you’re part of your family tree that reaches into the future?
Imagine 60 or 70 years from now that a great-grandchild wants to dig into your family tree and discovers you.
What will they see and hear?
Imagine a descendant 200 years from now holding a photo of Gerald. It could happen. ☺️
Whether you’re a young mom or dad or are a seasoned citizen and have too many gray hairs to count, you can create your legacy as part of your Personal Photo Plan.
How do you know if the future memories you’re leaving will have an interest?
Let’s think through these general categories:
- Your home and where you live
- Job and career
- Hobbies and what you do for fun
Home and living
What are the memories you have regarding your home and community that are important to keep and make sure they’re passed along?
Your home or apartment doesn’t have to be gorgeous and sprawling because we’re focused on what it means to you. It can be small and cozy.
What images do you have showing everyday life?
Where you buy groceries and take a walk or how you care for your place may seem boring, but for someone looking into your life several decades from now then it could be quite interesting.
Career
You may feel that your job isn’t too exciting but you can describe an image of what you do and any special memories.
This is a photo of a friend of mine and photo coach Patti LaMarr who worked for the phone company. In the 1970s, the company was training women to work as linemen and Patti gave it a shot.
You can see that she writes about it here in the margin.
Scroll to the end of this post and link to Patti’s recent story about losing her home in the devastating Eaton Fire (Altadena, Los Angeles County) but saving her memories.
Sports and hobbies
Golfing has been a longtime passion for me and here I am after a hole-in-one in 2022.
My great-great grandchildren might get a kick seeing the golf course fashion of the day. It looks normal to us now, but will it look funny in another 100 years or so?
How will golfers dress in the future?
Think it through:
What do you want future generations to know about you and how you lived?
Do you have a handful of photos and videos that show this part of your legacy?
You don’t need to have too many.
Let’s make it happen
I’ve been a photo coach since 1995 and my mission has always been helping my clients tell their family stories and preserve or safeguard their most meaningful memories.
My principles have stayed the same even though the tools have changed in the digital age.
The best tool I’ve found for saving memories to leave your legacy in photos and videos is FOREVER®.
Look at what you can do:
Save all your older and newest memories in one safe, digital home.
Digitize older images, videos, audio tapes, slide shows and more
Store them permanently.
How permanent?
FOREVER® is designed to last for a lifetime, plus 100 years. Guaranteed.
Let’s talk and I’ll be glad to share how the company can make a guarantee that’s unique in the industry.
Create printed photo books and other gifts all year long.
We still enjoy print. FOREVER® can seamlessly turn your images stored in your account into printed photo books and gifts. And look how much space you can save.
Research your family’s history. If you need help getting started or run into roadblocks, then FOREVER®’s professional genealogists can help you with a plan or locate hard to find records that may be centuries old.
Chronicle your family’s story.
FOREVER®’s digital layout gives you the space to describe a photo or video in a few lines or write a book-length chapter.
There’s much more you can do that I’ll share with you one-on-one like:
Share images with groups.
Setting permissions about who is allowed to see your digital albums. You may have a “Friends” album that your friends can see, but you may have certain family albums that only yourself and a few others may access.
How to have your account managed after you pass.
But first, what are your photo needs?
Is clutter a problem?
Do you feel overwhelmed by the number of digital images and videos you have and wonder how to keep them safe?
Let me know and we’ll see the best ways to help you.
A good first step is completing this short Photo Questionnaire found in the upper banner of my website.
Then you’ll schedule a 1:1 appt. with me so I can present your Personalized Photo Plan.
Or feel free to contact me by phone or email and let’s chat:
Ph: (626) 323-8553
Email: melody@safeguardyourmemories.com
I’d like you to meet my friend and photo coaching colleague Patti LaMarr who I mentioned above. She lost her home but saved her memories.
Her Home Burned, But Her Photos, Videos, and Other Memories Were Always Safe