The Ultimate Photo Organizing Gift Guide

Know someone who has “Organize My Photo Collection” on their To Do list for the new year? In this Photo Organizing Gift Guide, you’ll find a round up of photo organizing tools and services slay the chaotic photo collection dragon!

I just had a startling realization today. Christmas is just a few weeks away. Hopefully, you’re farther along in your holiday preparedness and holiday shopping than I am (don’t forget to grab your free gift tracking printable to help with this!).

If you’re scrambling for gift ideas (either for those on your list or for yourself!), I want to help you out over these next few weeks by sharing some cool organization- and home decorating-themed gift ideas. First up, is a round up of awesome photo organization tools.

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THE PHOTO ORGANIZING GIFT GUIDE

 

PRINT PHOTO STORAGE

 

Archival Photo Storage Box –  It’s really difficult to find archival-quality photo storage boxes that are truly photo-safe AND pretty enough to be stored out in the open. This collection of photo storage boxes fits the bill! They come in a variety of different sizes to accommodate any size print photo (or document) collection. And at under $25, they won’t blow your budget.

 

Photo & Craft Keeper – If you’re in need of a print photo storage solution that provides TONS of capacity and is purely functional (there isn’t a need or desire to store photos in a public area of the home), then the Photo & Craft Keeper is a sure winner. I use this storage solution to organize my own print photo collection. I love how those inner compartments allow me to easily organize photos by theme. The handle makes it super easy to transport photos from one location to another. This gift is another one that’s easy on the holiday shopping budget!

Archival Leather Photo Album –  For many people, photo albums are a favorite way to display and enjoy favorite photos. What’s my absolute favorite kind of photo album? The We R Memory Keepers line of leather photo albums. In addition to be being archival quality (which is important for preserving print photos over time), they’re downright gorgeous. They come in a variety of colors (but I have to admit that the Mint color is my favorite!), and are guaranteed to put a smile on your gift recipient’s face when they open it.

 

DIGITAL PHOTO STORAGE

 

Forever Permanent Photo Storage Membership – I really can’t think of a better gift than a permanent photo storage site…a place for your loved ones to archive the family’s most treasured memories that will actually live on, well, forever! And if you’ve decided to make the investment in permanent, archival storage for digital photos, Forever is THE service to choose. You can read all about why I’ve chosen Forever to store my digital photo collection, and all the reasons I recommend it to others. If you’re looking for a truly unique and memorable gift that will bring your loved one happiness for years to come, this would be it.

 

 

WiFi Memory Card – Speaking of unique gifts, how about a WiFi memory card? These give you the super power to automatically transfer digital photos taken with a digital camera to a computer, mobile device or tablet via aWiFi connection. I can’t tell you how handy this is when I’ve used my DSLR camera. No more having to remove a memory card from the camera and plug into my computer. This memory card makes the whole process automatic so that image transfers actually get done in a timely manner (AND you automatically creating a backup of your photos in the process).

 

 

Waterproof Memory Card Storage Case – Most modern-day shutterbugs have a fairly hefty collection of SD “memory” cards that they’ve amassed over the years. These suckers are so darned tiny, and can get easily misplaced. This super rugged storage case is the perfect way to corral and store those cards. BONUS: this storage case is actually waterproof (and it floats!), which could be a true life memory saver when traveling!

 

DIGITAL PHOTO BACK UP

 

Backblaze Cloud Back Up Service – In my opinion, the gift of “peace of mind” is always a winner. Having a proper backup system in place to safeguard your digital life is a must.  With the Backblaze service, your digital photos are automatically backed up to the cloud, as well as the rest of your digital collection (documents, music, videos, etc). It’s easy. It’s secure. When their hard drive crashes, they’ll consider this the best gift they’ve ever received!

 

 

External Hard Drive – The external hard drive (EHD) is typically the backbone of any digital photo backup system. They’ve come down in price big time over the past year, so even 3-4 terabyte EHDs are reasonable and should provide more than enough storage space for even the largest collection of digital photos. They come in such a variety of cool colors too! EHDs do come pre-formatted for Macs OR PCs, so just be sure you’re selecting the appropriate one for your gift recipient.

 

Picture Keeper Photo Backup Solution – Picture Keeper is a USB flash drive device that plugs into a computer and automatically finds and backs up all of the digital photos on the computer. Sweet, right? This gift would be most appreciated by the non-techie person on your shopping list.

BONUS :  Sign up for their deal alerts to save 15% off your entire purchase.

 

MEDIA CONVERSION/FILE TRANSFER TOOLS

 

Electronics Accessories Organizer Roll – Dealing with digital photos involves a lot of “gadgetry” (is that a word?). This organizer provides a central place to keep all of that gadgetry — you know, those SD cards, camera cables, external hard drives & USB cords. I’m loving it so much, it made it on my wish list this year.

 

 

Media Conversion Service – I’m betting that most of the people on your holiday shopping list have a box of outdated media stashed away somewhere in their home. The trouble with outdated media like VHS tapes, mini DVs and slides is that our memories are held hostage on them because we likely no longer have equipment necessary to view the video or images. Imagine how meaningful a gift it would be to bring these memories back to life by transferring them to an up-to-date medium for viewing?

There’s plenty of companies that provide media conversion services both locally as well as online. I’ve used several of them and my favorite is Forever. I love how their mix-and-match packages that include 3 way shipping, conversion, and transfer costs make the whole process so simple. Better yet, you can simple purchase a Forever gift certificate in any denomination and let your loved one handle the logistics.

 

 

 

PHOTO ORGANIZING GIFT “STOCKING STUFFERS”

 

Memory Card Reader – When I worked with photo organizing clients, this memory card reader was one of the staples in my photo organizing tool bag. It makes the process of migrating digital photos from memory cards to the digital hub a breeze. It’s small and inexpensive, so it makes a great stocking stuffer.

 

 

Photo Duplicate Finder App – Deleting duplicates is a major task in the digital photo organization process. For the cost of a pizza, you can make someone’s job INFINITELY easier by purchasing the Photo Sweeper app (if they’re a Mac user that is). This is the de-duping software that’s most commonly used by pro photo organizers. Why not purchase an itunes gift card  and include the web address for downloading the Photo Sweeper app? This is truly an “out of the box” gift idea!

 

 

That’s it! So which gift do you have your eye on? I hope this photo organizing gift guide helps you to shop for that aspiring photo organizer in your life (or perhaps it’s you?)

Still have shopping to do?