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Is a Digital Picture Worth a 1,000 Words?

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Ward County Notary Services 607851

Every time I get/set up a new computer I transfer my family pictures to it. Recently I was "gathering" all the pictures I have on all my various computers to put on one Western Digital 3 terabyte external hard drive. In doing so I noticed that some of my pictures had become distorted for one reason or another.

(the photos below are not mine)

I run my anti-virus daily so I know that was not the problem. Evidently it was just some glitch in the system.

We have three desktops at home, I have two at work, and each of us have a laptop, a tablet, and of course a phone. Trying to make sure I have every picture from every device while not having a lot of duplicates can be quite a task.

This leads me to a question: Does anyone print their pictures anymore? Another question: How do you store them if you do? Every photo album I have has lost it's magic of holding the print in place and when you pick one (album) up 20 pictures fall out.

I've recently started to print pictures again but now that I am I'm wondering what to do with them. Thus far I'm filling up bulletin boards with them. I find the photo paper at thrift stores for next to nothing and I've been enjoying printing prints as large as 8 X 10 as well as 3 X 5 and 4 X 6. It's fun and it's an excuse to look at decades of photos.... but what am I going to do with them?

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Comments (21)

Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

I do have a digital photo frame and I love it as well Kathy Streib . I used to have several at my Brokerage and had home tours on them. Clients loved them. I have found, unfortunately the digital frames have a fairly short life span.

Nov 30, 2021 06:45 PM
Endre Barath, Jr.
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties - Beverly Hills, CA
Realtor - Los Angeles Home Sales 310.486.1002

Bob since about seven or eight years ago I have not printed pictures all in different folders and files and also I have  Carbonite so even if everything crashes or gets distorted Carbonite brings it back as new, Endre

Nov 30, 2021 10:58 PM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Good morning Bob -  I have pictures for earlier days all over and need to get them organized.  I don't think I have computer printed one in a long time but I have made a book or two using Shutterfly.

Dec 01, 2021 04:15 AM
Brian England
Ambrose Realty Management LLC - Gilbert, AZ
MBA, GRI, REALTOR® Real Estate in East Valley AZ

Those distorted pictures actually look kind of cool and I am sure a lot of people would think they are works of art.

Dec 01, 2021 04:50 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

Good morning, Bob... I've got tons of photo albums... my own, my mother's, and my grandmother's. I've always preferred to look at photos in albums. I've really not taken a ton of digital pictures so don't have the same problem you do in maintaining and sorting them... and because they are not "visible" the same way as photo albums I tend to forget about them. I often print photos and put them in frames... lots of framed pictures all around my home.

Dec 01, 2021 05:47 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

That's a good idea Endre Barath, Jr. and I did have that service, or a simulair one, and I should reinstate it.

Dec 01, 2021 06:00 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

Good morning Grant Schneider . I won't use Shutterfly since they were purchased by Lifetouch BUT I have been thinking about Memory Box that I hear advertised all the time (and right now they are advertising 60% off).

Dec 01, 2021 06:02 AM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

I've been working on slowly digitizing my photos, so I don't print out any anymore. I was thinking, though of making some big prints from a few of them and hanging them on the wall.

Dec 01, 2021 06:03 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

They do look cool Brian England but if it's the only copy of a treasured photo it's not so cool 🤥.

Dec 01, 2021 06:03 AM
Brian England

True, that is not so cool.

Dec 01, 2021 06:06 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

I love photo albums Nina Hollander, Broker but as I had mentioned mine need some major work. I hate to tape the pictures in so I can't read the back but then again I could label the pictures. Is there a brand of photo album you use?

Dec 01, 2021 06:06 AM
Nina Hollander, Broker

Bob "RealMan" Timm I have albums with tissue paper between the pages... but I haven't purchased an album in 20+ years. Most of my "recent" album purchases were done in Paris... that tells you how long ago it was as we haven't lived in Paris since 1991. I don't own a camera and so don't take pictures. And when it might be good to take pictures is usually not a time I have a phone in hand. Very few new pictures in my life in the past two decades.

Dec 01, 2021 06:16 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

I am framing some now as well Kat Palmiotti . It's really been fun going through them and reliving those moments.

Dec 01, 2021 06:07 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Bob - it may be easy for one to become overwhelmed at the many aspects of picture-taking, sharing and storing.  I keep things simple - less "stuff" - more enjoying.  Each of us finds the answer that works best for us.  Happy Photo-Filing, Taking, Organizing or . . . 

Dec 01, 2021 06:44 AM
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Good morning Bob,

Ron digitized all our album photos.  They now resdie in acid free museum style envelopes and will be passed on to our relatives...I am not printing anything these days. A

Dec 01, 2021 07:43 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

We have not printed family photographs in many years. We usually share them on Facebook.

As part of our estate planning, we do plan to print photographs of some of our personal property.

Dec 02, 2021 09:56 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

It can be overwhelming Michael Jacobs . I like printed photos because it just seems more permanate. When I die who is going to go through my computers to see my photos? What else might they find... like my love letters to Nina Hollander, Broker 👩‍❤️‍👩

Dec 02, 2021 11:11 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

I like the idea of "acid free" envelopes A so that they will last longer. I know if I were to die today no one would know to (or care to) check through my 4 desktop and several laptop computers for pictures THUS Tina and Timmothy would lose that family history. If there were phot albums lieing about they would surely find thenm and enjoy them. Thanks Ron and Alexandra Seigel .

Dec 02, 2021 11:15 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

That is a good idea Roy Kelley . Let's hope the need for estate purposes is several years down the road.

Dec 02, 2021 11:17 AM
Abby Stiller
TOP SELLING REALTY - Cape Coral, FL
SW Florida (239) 284-8637

Same thing happens to me :( Bob "RealMan" Timm I also have a terabyte but its hard to keep the folders organize. I have created albums in my fb as another way of keeping them online. 

Dec 03, 2021 05:11 PM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

That is a great idea Abby Stiller and I never would have thought of it. Can you store an unlimited amount there?

Dec 03, 2021 06:28 PM
Abby Stiller
TOP SELLING REALTY - Cape Coral, FL
SW Florida (239) 284-8637

Bob "RealMan" Timm yes and you can make them private too. 

Dec 04, 2021 09:57 AM