I always take heaps of pictures, when on a holiday, but what to do with them?

In today’s post I give you some tips on what to do with your travel pictures, as there are too many fond memories attached to them, to just save them on a USB which is lying around the house somewhere gathering dust!

1. Save and file

 

 

• First things first… save all your pictures on your computer! All of them… that means the ones you took with your smartphone too… and your partner’s phone… and perhaps the kids have taken pictures as well? Or other people you’ve travelled with? Ask them for a copy of their pics as well as they probably have some pictures with you in them as opposed to the pictures you’ve taken yourself!
• Save your pictures on two places: I always save them on my computer, but also on an external hard disk to make sure not to lose them.
• Make files and subfiles: I usually make a file per day and if we have done several things that day, I make subfiles (e.g. on the first day of our England trip last year in July, we visited Stonehenge and Salisbury, well I have made 2 subfiles ‘Stonehenge’ and ‘Salisbury’).
• Save and file straight after coming back from your holiday!!

2. Make a selection

 

 

If, like me, you end up with hundreds of pictures of your holiday, there are bound to be more bad pictures than good ones I’m afraid…

Immediately make a selection ‘ok’ and ‘not ok’. You could delete the ‘not ok’ I suppose. I must say that I don’t always delete them, but I actually should as they take up too much space on my computer!

3. Edit

 

 

I edit my best pictures. I crop them when needed, I put them straight (as I tend to tilt my camera a bit when taking pictures!), I improve the colours a bit and sometimes I lose a zit here or there.

4. Make an album

 

 

I always make an album from my holiday pictures. I love browsing through our albums and it always takes me back to those beautiful places we have visited.

I make the albums online. There are several possibilities. Once you get used to working with the software, things can go really quickly.

I love making an album. It’s like I’m reliving that holiday all over again!!

5. Share on social media

 

 

Do you have some stunning pics?! Why not share them on social media and let everyone enjoy them?! It might give them inspiration for their next trips… Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest,… take your pick!

6. Make a personal gift

 

 

When exchanging gifts during the festive season, I often give presents I made myself with one (or more) of my pictures. I think it makes the present very personal.

And these days there are is such a variety of hings to make: a calendar, a phone case, a mug, a bag, a set of cards, a jigsaw, nametags, a pillow, keychains, a lunchbox,… there really are ideas for all sorts of people!

7. Other things you could do with your pictures

 

 

• If you want to lengthen that holiday feeling at work, you could make something to liven up your workplace: a mouse pad, a diary, a pen holder,…
• Use one of your stunning pics as a desktop picture or screensaver.
• It’s always a fun idea to have an enlargment of a beautiful holiday picture. I’ve got some pictures of olives and garlic hanging in my kitchen. They were taken on a lovely local market somewhere in the Provence.
• You can use your pictures to liven up a party: balloons with your picture on them, napkins, banners,…
• etc!!!

What do you do with your travel pictures? Do you make an album or are you just leaving them on your computer? Let me know in the comments!

Love, Kathleen

Here’s a calendar I made with some travel pictures.

 

Quite spectacular… Hampton Court Palace on a very hot and sunny day!