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Every year, over 2 million weddings take place in the USA alone. This is one of the most important days of your lives, so you want to remember it forever. To ensure this happens, most people will have some wedding photos and/or videos taken of their big day.
While many may capture their wedding videos and photos digitally, others still like to use film and other methods. However, if you do this, you need to be careful with how you store your wedding photos. If not, they could deteriorate over time and you could lose these precious memories forever.
Thankfully, there are some tips on how to best store your wedding videos and photos to ensure they can last forever.
Digitize Them
If you decide to capture your wedding photos and videos via non-digital methods, it is a good idea to get digital copies made. This ensures you will always have a copy, even if you lose or destroy your physical ones.
There are companies out there who can convert film reels to digital, and will make sure your videos look great and can now be emailed, posted and stored digitally. This makes them much easier to share and show, without having to physically take them anywhere.
These can be stored on your computer, on a phone, on a USB stick or other places. An increasingly popular place to keep important videos, photos and documents is on the cloud. There are many benefits of cloud storage, and they are a perfect place to ensure your wedding day content is safe.
Be Careful with Light
If you decide against digitizing, or you simply want to keep the originals in good shape, one of the most important things to think about is lighting. If you keep photos and videos in places that get too much light, it can ruin how they look incredibly quickly. They can fade and light can distort and damage the tape or discs.
For best results, keep your photos and videos in a dark place where they are hidden from external light sources like the sun or another light source that is too bright. While the basement might seem like a logical choice, you want to avoid places with high levels of humidity, as well.
Watch Out for Extreme Temperatures
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The temperature where you store your photos and videos is another thing to think about. If they are kept in an area that is too hot, it can speed up how quickly they will wear. Colors can distort and eventually the photos will become blurry.
While extreme cold isn’t as bad for them as extreme heat, keeping them in places that are too cold should also be avoided. For best results, keep them somewhere where the temperature is neutral. It doesn’t need to be perfectly temperature controlled, but avoid areas that fluctuate too much or are too close to a heating or cooling source.
Keep Them Shielded From the Elements
Other things like dust, dirt, debris and even pests can lead to the deterioration of your wedding photos and videos. As a result, store them in a box, bag or container that can be sealed from these potential concerns. Most plastic totes or similar containers can work fine, and be sure to store them in a way so that the boxes won’t fall or be knocked over.
If you simply leave your wedding photos in an open box in your basement, don’t be shocked to see them covered in dust and other debris relatively quickly. Also, when moving these videos and photos it is important to keep them away from things that could scratch and rip them, too.
Your wedding videos and photos are incredibly special memories. Be sure to do all you can to store and preserve them to ensure they can last forever.