
At the beginning of the Lebanese war, this family had to flee their home in a rush; they threw all their photos in small suitcases and hid them in a warehouse before they fled the country. Thirty years later, the eldest of the family discovered those suitcases and asked me to help him get those memories back to life.
When I’m asked what I do for a living, I answer “I’m in the family connection business. I get your family photos organized so you’re able to share the stories they hold with loved ones and pass them over safely to future generations.”
The person I’m addressing spontaneously starts talking about his photos and how he would love to get them organized. Then come the practical questions: “But how will you be able to do the work if you don’t know my family?” new clients ask me anxiously. “I will have to sit with you for hours and I don’t have the time for this!” they worry. The burden of what seems like an overwhelming project start to take over again.
So, how to overcome the anxiousness of starting a photo organizing project?
It’s easy: just lay back and enjoy the ride!
Photo-organizing is a personal and intimate business.
During first assessment meetings, clients rarely talk about photo organization. They start by telling stories: people that matter, places they cherish, trips that changed them, etc. I listen carefully because I know it’s those people and these stories that matter and I’ll find them again in the photos. The trust-building process between me and the client starts with storytelling.
I then follow-up with a more systematic questionnaire where I ask my clients about the key people in the family, milestone dates such as birth dates, weddings, graduations, places they’ve lived in, their contribution to community and social services, their political involvement, etc…
The person I’m addressing spontaneously starts talking about his photos and how he would love to get them organized. Then come the practical questions: “But how will you be able to do the work if you don’t know my family?” new clients ask me anxiously. “I will have to sit with you for hours and I don’t have the time for this!” they worry. The burden of what seems like an overwhelming project start to take over again.
So, how to overcome the anxiousness of starting a photo organizing project?
It’s easy: just lay back and enjoy the ride!
Photo-organizing is a personal and intimate business.
During first assessment meetings, clients rarely talk about photo organization. They start by telling stories: people that matter, places they cherish, trips that changed them, etc. I listen carefully because I know it’s those people and these stories that matter and I’ll find them again in the photos. The trust-building process between me and the client starts with storytelling.
I then follow-up with a more systematic questionnaire where I ask my clients about the key people in the family, milestone dates such as birth dates, weddings, graduations, places they’ve lived in, their contribution to community and social services, their political involvement, etc…

This is the basic working kit of a photo organizer. A photo organization project involves a lot of archeological and detective work in order to find hints and clues that help identify the people, places and events. I use sticky notes on the back of photos I have questions about. Dates and events can be written on the back of a photo with a photo safe pencil. The internet helps tremendously when you need to identify landmark places and buildings and I always wear gloves while manipulating the photos!
It is discouraging to look through your own photos when they are stacked in a storage box like this but not to me! Armed with the initial information I’ve been given, I start going through the stacks of photos and themes start to emerge: family vacations, summer houses, ski trips, graduations, weddings, birthdays, etc… I make sure to reorganize the photos according to the themes, and then go through them once again to separate poor-quality and duplicated images.
Now I’m able to show my client an overview of his entire collection, classified in themes and only then are we able to make decisions together about what photographs to keep and display, what albums we want to create, and what we can archive and backup.
Armed with my detective hat, I look for additional clues that help me identify the situations occurring in each photograph.
Now I’m able to show my client an overview of his entire collection, classified in themes and only then are we able to make decisions together about what photographs to keep and display, what albums we want to create, and what we can archive and backup.
Armed with my detective hat, I look for additional clues that help me identify the situations occurring in each photograph.

In this example, my client wanted to remember where he took a specific group of friends to dinner back in 2003. Looking closely at the tableware, I was able to distinguish those blue elephant designs and voiced it to my client; he jumped up of his chair and said: “Yes we took them to the Asian restaurant the “Blue Elephant!”
Photographs are among the most prized possessions we have, nothing connects us to our history like a photo. But they also cause a lot of stress and anxiety for people that don't have the time or the patience to organize them into books or boxes. Working with a photo-organizer helps envision the final result, and break down this project into small, easy and manageable tasks. As I progress with my clients and get their photos sorted, I notice that their feelings of anxiety are replaced by the satisfaction of knowing that their memories can be enjoyed and are safeguarded.
So round up your family, their photos, book your free consultation session with us, and start preserving a lifetime of memories.
So round up your family, their photos, book your free consultation session with us, and start preserving a lifetime of memories.