Photo Organizing and the Personal Connection
“How can you organize photos for others when you don’t know them very well?”
I hear this question ALL. THE. TIME. And it’s certainly a valid one. As a professional Photo Organizer, I am able to sort and organize my clients’ photos because I spend time gathering information before we even get started. I ask my clients about their family, work, travels, and experiences to help me get acquainted with the photos I will encounter in their collection. As we continue to work together, I often get to know my clients very well as we dive deep into their photo collections and family histories. The memories we unearth can be wonderful, funny, and heartbreaking. I love getting to know my clients and their families, but I also view this part of my job as a privilege and take the privacy of my clients seriously. My goal is for my clients to feel at ease with me getting to know their family stories so I can curate a valuable and functional photo collection for them.
Considering how I get to know my clients on a such a personal level, I thought it might be nice to share a little more about me and my background. So here are 6 fast facts that will help you get to know me a little better.
A little bit about me
1. I have loved photos and album-making for as long as I can remember. As a teen I carried a camera with me everywhere (anyone remember the Kodak 110?!), well before it was standard to have one in your back pocket. Here's me on my 18th birthday, which fell on a Saturday and I still remember choosing to spend most of the day on our front porch working on my high school scrapbooks.
Doing what I love most - working on my albums!
2. I love to meet people and hear their stories. I can strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere. Once, while vacationing with my husband's family, I took out the trash and returned to stunned faces when I announced I had just met someone who knew my father-in-law. I guess only certain kinds of people can strike up a conversation around a dumpster?!
3. While I can talk to just about anyone, in many ways I feel like a strong introvert. I value my alone time, and I much prefer staying home rather than a night out on the town.
4. I met my husband when I was a senior and he was a freshman (!) at The College of William & Mary (I like to think he was more mature for his age rather than me being less mature!). We married 6 years after we met (yet somehow we still look like children in this photo!); fast forward 22 years and now we are parents to two teenagers. The silver lining of 2020 has been getting to spend more time with our children who will be off to college soon!
We were married on the 4th of July, so my husband jokingly calls it “loss of independence day!”
5. I love reading, a good Netflix series, photo projects, crafts, family games, cooking, lemon cake and dark chocolate. I was a picky eater as a child but had come to appreciate different tastes in my adulthood. In my early 40s my body began to reject gluten, dairy and eggs which was a real bummer, but I've learned to adapt. You do what you have to do!
6. I have never had a pet, until now! Even pre-pandemic I was having puppy cravings, but I was too nervous to take the leap. The fact that my husband and kids have been at home eased my doubts, and ultimately they have been great in terms of helping with the new puppy. And now I can completely relate to my clients' photo libraries that are filled with photos of furry friends, as my camera roll is bursting with pictures and videos of sweet little Milo!
Milo joined our family in September, and we are smitten!
I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me as much as I like getting to know my clients!
Have a safe and happy holiday season!
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