Now more than ever I am aware of how much life is contained in each day. I want to preserve bits and pieces of this life, not only for me to remember my son in the different stages of his growth (and he is almost seven months already – can you believe how fast time passes?) but for him to have a view into his own past when he gets older.

I am not a scrapbooker, and with an active baby I certainly don’t have much time to spare, so here are five easy tips for how to get started with a simple, classic photo album that will be a family treasure for years to come.

1.
Don’t skimp on the supplies. Buy a blank album with high quality paper and a good pen. The simple, tactile experience of writing by hand – something I know I do far too rarely in these digital days – is a pleasure in itself. If you use glue, get an archival quality type – your negatives and digital files are most likely lost when it’s your great-grandchildren viewing the album.

2.
On the topic of writing: take care to include names and dates – again, invaluable to your great-grandchildren – but don’t limit yourself to that. Little notes and stories in the margins will make the images come alive years from now.

3.
Take advantage of how versatile digital photography is and print your images in whatever size or format fits them best – I’m particularly fond of the square format. A simple service like PicMonkey can be used to make collages to print.

4.
Shoot more than one format! I include Instax Minis Polaroids and 35 mm prints in addition to dSLR and mobile prints, and love the variety this provides.

5.
Don’t limit the album to photographs only. My son’s album additionally includes ultrasound prints, his hospital bracelet and a copy of the invitation to his naming celebration.

Pen, ink and album

My work table