| Many of us have family photographs and heirlooms | | | | take on. Some ways of doing this include focusing on: |
| packed away in boxes or stored in out-of-the-way | | | | one special person or couple ("Grandma Sophie's |
| storage areas. It is a rewarding task-and much less | | | | Life"); one side of the family tree ("The Watsons: |
| complicated than you might think-to transform piles | | | | The Story of Our Family"); or a specific time frame |
| of photographs and memorabilia into beautiful family | | | | and what daily life was like then for your relatives |
| heritage photo books. The latest online photo book | | | | ("The Watson Family Chronicles: 1915-1935"). |
| technology is extremely easy to use, even for the | | | | After you have decided on the project details, you |
| absolute beginner. | | | | will want to search through the materials you already |
| The beauty of this technique is that you can choose | | | | have available, and begin to sort them by theme, by |
| the level of complexity for your project. In its | | | | family grouping, or by date. If your project is |
| simplest form, a heritage photo book captures and | | | | particularly large, you may want to label individual |
| preserves the photographs themselves, in a format | | | | envelopes, folders, boxes, or clear sandwich bags so |
| that can easily be printed and shared with any | | | | that your sorted photographs and memorabilia can be |
| number of family members. If you have a little more | | | | kept together. If you have a photo labeling pencil, |
| time to invest in the photo book project, you may | | | | you may want to write a short note on the back of |
| want add text to the photo book, transforming a | | | | each photograph, or number the photographs and |
| simple photo book into a digital scrapbook where | | | | then keep a journal or scrap paper nearby to record |
| memorable family stories can be narrated and | | | | information about the images you want to use in the |
| important information written down and preserved. If | | | | photo book. |
| you or another family member want to go even | | | | Next, you can contact family members to see if they |
| further, you might consider taking on the role of | | | | have images or stories they can add to your photo |
| family historian, interviewing relatives and recording | | | | book project. Sending messages over email is |
| your discoveries alongside the images highlighted in | | | | convenient, since it allows your family members from |
| the photo book itself. | | | | far and wide to scan, upload, or attach digital |
| Heritage photo books are also particularly suited to | | | | photographs for you to use. Some may prefer to |
| collaborative projects. If you decide to act as the | | | | send you the original photographs. If this is the case, |
| organizer for a project, you will be the one | | | | you can scan them yourself or bring a batch of |
| organizing, collecting, sorting, scanning, and uploading | | | | photos to a local printing or graphic design store, |
| the project. It will then be up to you whether you | | | | where they can be scanned for you. Make sure to |
| order the completed online photo books as gifts to | | | | keep these organized so that they can be returned |
| give on a special occasion (the holidays, an | | | | to the sender after the project is completed. |
| anniversary, or family reunion, for example), or | | | | Another spin on the family heritage album is to put |
| whether you send the link to the photo book you | | | | together a contemporary version; ask all of your |
| have created and leave the ordering up to your | | | | relatives for recent family photographs, and add |
| relatives. | | | | these to a heritage book or create a new photo |
| The first step in a collaborative photo book project is | | | | book using the same photo-journalistic approach that |
| to decide on the scope of the project you want to | | | | you would take for an heirloom project. |