The end of the school year is almost approaching and with that comes the realization that we have a lot of our child’s artwork, projects and papers that we want to keep… and the tip is simply to TAKE PICTURES!
But you ask…what do I do with the originals? That is certainly a personal preference. You should consider what works for your family and what makes the best sense for you. For me, is simply taking pictures and tossing the original. Yes, I put them in the trash. It is very rare for us to go over a certain drawing or doodle they made again. Once in a while, they make pieces that I want to keep. Otherwise, they all go to the trash because now I have a picture that will be forever preserved for their album.
Here is what I do:
– I separate the artwork by child.
– I look for a spot where there is natural light coming in.
– Choose a simple background. I use a wood table and placed it in front of our sliding door, but a white sheet or a board would work too.
– In your camera or phone settings, turn off the flash. Natural light works best. I usually open the windows and door, place the item on the table and “click”.
– Position yourself above the item and frame it. Shoot straight down.
– Have your child hold the item or some. You are capturing them at the age they created the artwork which gives it a more personalized result.
– If you have similar items that aren’t too big, you could photograph them in one picture.
I have been making it a priority to not let this get very overwhelming. I don’t have a lot of space in my house for storage and honestly they really don’t go back and look at those again. Making an album with those pictures of their artwork creates a simple way to go back and revisit them whenever they want.
