Let’s face it. As moms we have thousands of photos. On our phones, laptops, burned onto cd’s, or even stored on hard drives. How could we ever organize such a multitude of photos? I had the same problem. That’s why I’ve curated a list of 10 resources that make photo organization for moms a snap! (See what I did there?)
These 10 resources can get your photo organization game on the right track. They each have different uses and strengths depending on how you’d like to organize your photos, whether in the cloud or in print, so you can enjoy flipping through happy memories.
I found these when I had a storage bin full of childhood photos to scan and organize. I had lots of childhood albums and stacks of loose photos to declutter and sort through.
Hence, I searched for apps and websites that would simplify scanning, organizing, and storing a plethora of photos.
These resources may help you to organize YOUR plethora of photos as well! Full disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. It’s my own research that I did to find ways to simplify photo organization for moms.
1 | Google Photos
This is my go-to app for photos. Now, if you’re an iPhone or Apple user, I can’t testify concerning the iPhotos photo storage. I’ve always had an Android so I can’t even attest to the differences or nuances between Google photos and iPhotos. But I can say that Google Photos provides the perfect photo organization for moms.
Launched back in 2015, Google Photos is a free tool that allows you to store, organize, and share photos. It offers free unlimited photo storage with the photos being slightly compressed. If you desire full resolution photo storage, there is a small fee beyond the 15gb storage limit.
Your photos are secure and private by default (unless you intentionally share them of course). It’s a fast and easy way to backup all of your photos in the cloud as well as sync them among different devices.
Here are the 3 things that I love most about Google Photos:
- The advanced search function. I’ve been able to type in a random word and it will search the images that are a picture of that word. It’s very intuitive and is a great time saver.
- The reminders of times past with prompts like “Remember this day?” or “Revisit the moment” and “8 years ago…” It’s always fun to look back at memories and remember when. For some reason I didn’t always love this feature on certain social media platforms, but I love it on Google Photos.
- How it automatically creates collages and video montages of a special day or time. It will automatically recognize a series of photos that you took and turn it into a fun collage for you. Or it will recognize that you took a lot of pictures on a particular day and location (for example, Disneyland) and create a video montage for you of the highlights of that day and suggest an album for that day like “Day at Disneyland” or something of the sort. Pretty sweet, right? It’s created awesome videos of my kids from the day they were born up until present day entitled “They Grow Up So Fast” complete with heart-warming music that just makes my eyes water by the time I’m done watching it. I didn’t even have to scour all of my photos to make one myself!
2 | PhotoScan
PhotoScan is connected to Google Photos so you can back up your photos automatically into your Google photos storage, if that’s what you use.
The main downside is that it only scans one photo at a time.
A benefit though, is that you can take advantage of the video-maker that’s included in Google Photos.
You could compile all your old photos into one awesome video as a sort of slideshow compilation – video snapshots of birthdays through the years, a video of a family vacation, a “peek into the past” video montage of old family photos – the possibilities are endless!
Compiling your old photos into creative videos complete with music through Google Photos makes your pictures easier to curate and more enjoyable to look through.
As their video explains, it’s not just taking a photo of a photo.
3 | Photomyne
I used this app when I had a huge storage bin full of old photos to sort through and digitize. At the time, I wasn’t familiar with PhotoScan by Google and so I used it in a similar way. I wanted to scan childhood memorabilia and childhood pictures (like Polaroids) that couldn’t easily be scanned with my Doxie Go Scanner.
This app does a WHOLE LOT MORE than just allow you to scan your old photos. You can enhance the photos with colorization, sharpening faces, and even face animation! There are also cool curation features that allow you to tag people, locations, and dates, or – get this – add text and audio!
Which makes this a good choice for organizing old family photos so the family member can record an audio message explaining the significance of the picture and the memory associated with it.
There are tons of ways to access and share the photos as well, so you can’t go wrong with this one.
4 | Qeepsake
The selling point on this app is that it offers stress-free photo organization for moms on the fly. It was designed for busy moms who want to capture spontaneous moments as a keepsake.
Qeepsake will text you with questions to answer, and your answers are recorded in the app for you to turn into a memory book for your child. That said, there are 3 pricing tiers. So, accessibility and features are limited to the pricing plan that you choose.
It’s intended to grow with your child, so it’s not just for new moms. Beyond the baby and toddler years, you can continue to record videos, photos, and memories within Qeepsake and print a yearly memory book for your kids.
However, I would imagine that the pricing plan you choose would carry with you and determine how useful the subscription really is to you.
5 | Chatbooks
If you need an easy yet affordable way to curate and print your memories, look no further than Chatbooks. Starting at $10, it allows you to print a 30-page photo book every month!
30 pages for just $10 is a great deal. Plus, their app has over 100k 5-star reviews!
Make a custom family album of this year’s highlights in one book. It’s definitely photo organization for moms, simplified.
6 | Photo Squared
Ever wondered how to create the perfect gallery wall full of beautiful family photos with ease? The purpose of Photo Squared is to make that family gallery wall a breeze. It allows you to create square tiles with your photos of choice.
They print them on a foam-core board in 8” x 8” size and include 4 adhesives on the back so you can easily attach them to the wall.
I’ve not personally used this service myself, but they have good reviews and look affordable. Their app can be downloaded on both Apple and Android devices.
7 | Mixtiles
Similar to Photo Squared, Mixtiles will also create an easy-to-hang instant gallery wall for you using square photo tiles. They can also be moved around on the wall since they have adhesive backing.
One main difference between Mixtiles and Photo Squared is that Mixtiles come in either black or white frames and the adhesive strips are on the frame.
To up your gallery wall game, Mixtiles offers artwork for you to order in lieu of your personal photos.
8 | Artifact Uprising
A bit on the pricier side, Artifact Uprising is a service that will turn your photos into photo books, prints, gifts, and more from your phone.
It’s basically a slightly more luxe and much more expensive version of Shutterfly. Although their products are truly beautiful and made with materials that are carefully sourced.
The kicker is that the app for it is only available for iPhones from the Apple store.
9 | Legacybox
Legacybox is your one-stop-shop for everything related to digitizing old photos and videos. Whether it’s VHS tapes, film reels, or photo negatives, they’ve got you covered. Their products are offered at various price points starting at $27 so it’s more affordable.
It’s a good deal considering the fact that they cover shipping and handling as well as all the steps in between. They send you a box with instructions of exactly what to do. Labels are included and you’re supposed to label each item or set of photos that you want them to digitize. They do all the work for you and then send your items back in the box to you along with the digital flash drives or DVD’s to accompany your hard copies.
It’s perfect for anyone who has a garage or storage unit full of old photos, film reels, and videos and wants everything done for them.
10 | Shutterfly
If you download the Shutterfly app to your phone, you can enjoy a few main benefits. The app offers flash sales or deals on particular photo products (sometimes seasonal) or consistent savings that are always available.
One of those savings benefits is the Free Instant Book a Month. This allows you to create a free 6×6 hardcover book each month and just pay shipping and handling.
Another savings benefit that the app offers is Unlimited Free Prints (in sizes 4×6 or 4×4). I will say that the idea of unlimited free prints is misleading because you pay shipping and handling. However, every time I use it, I notice that the shipping and handling is about $10 more or less. I feel like for the size of the package of photos, that would basically cover the printing cost.
It’s that old marketing tactic of something being “free – just pay shipping” but the shipping is a lot more than you would expect for the size or weight of the item. I haven’t tried the Free Instant Book a Month, but I would assume it would be similar.
Nevertheless, I personally have found it super simple to order photos via Shutterfly while I’m at the park with my kids and have a bit of downtime. When it comes to easy photo organization for moms, this one is a no-brainer!
Photo Organization for Moms
Whew! Who knew there were so many fantastic options of different kinds of photo organization for moms?! After writing about these 10 options, I’m excited to try out some new ones, or at least try out more of the features of ones that I already have and use. Which one of these will you try for your next photo organization project?
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