We have moved completely into the digital world. 

 

Our phones have thousands of photographs on them.  We never look at the vast majority of those photos after we have posted our favorites to Facebook or Instagram.  And then there are all the photos we have either taken ourselves, prior to the advent of digital photography, or inherited from our family.  

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Don't loose your history to time...

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Let us integrate your photographs (both digital and printed), slides, old movies, VCR tapes, and saved memorabilia into the the digital world.  We will digitize anything you would like to keep safe... literally anything.  And then.... we can create a means for you and your family to access everything. 

 

A Family Cloud

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Our most popular option; a Family Website.  All of your images, videos, movies, slides, albums and memorabilia are creatively displayed in your personal family website.  Once we have completed designing and uploading all of your desired digitized materials we will eventually turn your website over to you....  NOT TO PANIC if you do not have any world wide web experience.  WE hold your hand every step of the way, and of course we can always stay on as and administrator on your website.  We will help you, or purchase on your behalf, a domain name for your website.  We will connect your website to your newly purchased (or pre-existing) domain name (URL address.)  As well, as set up and purchase the Platform your site will run from.  We work with a designated Platform that is very easy to learn after the site has been created by us.

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We can stay on and continue to add future material to your website or teach you how to add future materials.  Or a combination of the two.  Our goal is to create a family gathering site.

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Below are a few thoughts to help you gather you memories together.

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1.  Pull together all of the boxes, envelopes, albums and CD's that you believe you would like digitize and or organize/archive.  If you have the time and energy to sort through these boxes - separate the images that you would like to digitize.   For the albums, I use colored dots (you can purchase at any office store) to identify the photos I would like to digitize.  Do not throw away any of the out takes until you are completely certain you are willing to part with them.  I suggest waiting at least six months... or until we have delivered your Family website or whatever means you have chosen to archive your digitized materials.  I make this suggestion just in case you walk down memory lane and realize there are no pictures of your favorite  "Auntie Bess" .  You just may be able to find one in your out takes. It may not be the greatest photograph, but it still captures "Auntie Bess."

 

** Suggestion:  If the photographs are in their original envelopes, keep your chosen pictures in that envelope.  Number each envelope starting with the number #2.  You can then take a regular envelope numbering it as well with #2, and put your out takes into this envelope.   We take it a step further when we are doing this process, and write the number of pictures that are found in each envelope.  If there are negatives in the envelope - leave them.

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Many people find it overwhelming to go through boxes and envelopes of printed photograph.  We are happy to sort through your photographs.  We select the photographs that are worthy of digitizing.  We try to keep a sense of organization even if we are working from boxes of single collected pictures.

 

2.  If you have been lucky enough to have had someone in your family painstakingly write any information about each photographs - we are happy to transfer that information into your chosen form or archiving.

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Starting in the 70's some places that developed and printed pictures did put a date stamp on the back of each photograph.  Please note, this is the date the photographs were developed NOT taken.  The envelopes that photographs came in were often stamped with a date as well.  Our goal is to provide you with as much information about your images as we can determine.

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3.  Movies are a bit different.  Unless you have a means to play your old VCR, Mini DV or Super 8 films you are most likely going to have to digitize them in order to discover their contents.  Some people identified their movies on the outside of the cassette or cassette cover, but please don't feel bad if this is something you never did.  90% of our clients have no idea what is on the majority of their 'movies'.  We do not watch your movies while they are being digitized, so not to fret.  Unless we are in a restoration situation or you have asked us to edit your movies, we never see your filmed memories.

 

Please be careful if you are sorting through film based movies.  Your first thought may be to hold the negative up to the light and determine the who, what , where.  Unfortunately, a bit of time has passed since those were developed and the film could easily either break or worse disintegrate.  We have professionals who deal in restoration who know how best to handle your delicate film memories.

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4.  Digital photographs - we will eventually want to download all of your digital photographs to either Drop Box or a remote drive.  Again, if you have the time and energy, sort through the masses and define your keepers.  We are always happy to sort for you.  Digital photos have meta data defining time, date and sometime place.  Please not we are happy to come to your home or Zoom walk you through how to download your digital photographs.

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5.  Things to think about:

    A.  Why do you want to digitize all this material?  (ie to be able to see and share your memories or just to archive your memories or both?)

    B.  Who is going to see the final version?

    C.  How do I want to display all of my digitized material:  Family Website, DropBox folders, Digital Slideshows, Short movie(s), Photo Books (these are printed books)

    D.  Do I want to create an archive (spreadsheet) with each photo and tag words to look up certain photos or people.  We can discuss this in more detail. 

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**We are developing a software upgrade that will eventually incorporate this directly into the website galleries.  You will be able to put tag words in the search bar of your Family website and all your pictures of  "Susie's Birthdays" will come up.  We are close.

   

    E.  We will require you to purchase (we can purchase for you) or provide us with a portable drive.  This is so your materials are in two locations... on the Cloud and on a drive.

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Pricing

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Hourly Rates:

$55 and hour (this includes sorting, archiving, uploading, designing website, restoring, connecting.)

$65 and hour on site. (this includes drive time if over twenty minutes)

Digitizing Materials (Pricing for Digitizing)

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Other Expenses:

1.  Cost of Ancillary Drive

2.  Cost of URL site (Domain Name).  There is a yearly, every two years or every three year subscription renewal fee.  All depends on what you choose.

3.  Cost of hosting site (We use Wix to create your site. Wix is very user friendly if you choose to add materials yourself to your site - which is encouraged.).  Once you take over your site you are responsible for the cost of the Platform (WIX).  You may move your site to another Platform if you so choose.

4. P&M set up fee for purchasing and connecting Domain.  $250.

5. P&M Admin Fee if we keep your site on our account:  Cost from Provider(s) plus a 2% Admin fee from P&M yearly.  (Platform and Domain Name)

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