Label Family Photos



It has happened countless times, you have a box with treasured family photos covering many decades and there are no names for the individuals in the photos, no location or time frame. If only your ancestors had labeled those photos!!

Well, don’t you be guilty of that lack of labeling. If you scan all your photos and have them labeled that method, if you are keeping or someone is keeping the original photos, they still need to be labeled.

If you don’t know all the names and dates, put a close guess followed by a question mark. If you believe the photo is from a specific surname on the family tree, place that name and maybe even related branches.

Please to help everyone, never place an identification of a person as ‘grandmother’. The question becomes, which grandmother, on the mother’s side or father’s side. even if you don’t know the grandmother’s full name, at least place which side of the family she is from. 

What happens if a descendant gets a box of photos and doesn’t have any labels on them, they could be put in an antique store or worst yet … the trash. Start with your own photos, ones you have collected, label each one the best you can. Do not use a ballpoint pen, it will dent the other side. An acid-free ink pen is better or a small label that you have written the information on and then placed at the lower bottom edge of the back of the photo.

Help preserve the vintage photos by labeling them or getting help to place names from other relatives and do make sure you label your own photos for future generations. 

Photos: Group of girls on vacation in 1951; 1940s modern lady; 1920s portrait; and young man in 1937.

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

Sort and Organize

Label Scanned Images

Adding Information

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