Permanently protecting your precious photographs is probably reason enough for sending them to a photo scanning service. Its the responsible thing to do. You can share complete copies with your family members and it stops your images from the everyday deterioration that will eventually ruin your photographs. But once the work has been done you can have fun with them.

Your newly digitized images can be used along with the digital pictures you already have to create all kinds of photo specialties and novelties. You can download free software, and in some cases without even creating a password, use photos stored on your computer to create photo books, t-shirts, and calendars.

When a South Florida girls high school soccer team recently used an online photo specialty company to put the picture of an injured team leader on t-shirts for the entire team there wasn’t a dry eye on the field. This affordable gesture was truly a moment to remember.

One small company had all of their employees bring in a few meaningful photos of themselves. They then created personalized photo mugs for each person using an online company. The mugs hanging on the rack in the lunch room showed the wonderful diversity of the group. Individuals showed themselves as children, in funny outfits, playing sports, or engaging in their favorite past time. The mugs were the subject of endless conversations and seemed to bring the group closer as people’s differences and similarities were discovered.

Impressed by the slideshow display that the funeral parlor had put together for a family member’s funeral service, one family had the digitized photos made into photobooks for all of the relatives and friends. The photos tied people’s memories together in a way that brought everyone closer together and expressed what it means to be a family in a way that words fell short of doing.

A group of guys in Maine used photo books to immortalize themselves and permanently record their Memorial Day fishing trip to Lobster Lake. Their advice was to hold the fish as close to the camera as possible so that it looks bigger. As time goes by and memories fade those photo books will become an important part of their life stories.

One cheerleading squad recently put together a photobook that included images of all of their activities and photos of the different teams that they cheered for. They made them available to anyone who was interested and they immediately became a hit with players, families, and fans. These inexpensive keepsakes did not replace the yearbook, but the cheering squad enjoyed complete editorial control. Someone even suggested using them as a fund raiser in the future.

Make sure to use a photo specialty provider that provides an automatic layout feature. This will allow you to preview unlimited layouts and easily rotate pictures in and out of your pages or items. Better providers allow you to use a photo as the background of a page, and you can preview quickly right from your computer without waiting to send and receive over the internet, a huge time saver.

Digitizing your photos is the right thing to do. It preserves them and makes them easy to copy. The fun begins when you choose a great photo specialty company and start creating personalized keepsakes to share with your family and friends. New software makes it easy to become a creative genius, and the low prices will make you look even smarter.