What to do with a shoebox of old photographs

The shoebox is usually under a bed or on top of a wardrobe, and it has been there since somebody died or somebody moved. People bring the whole thing in and ask what to do with it. The honest answer is that most of it does not need anything doing, and a small part of it needs quite a lot.

Sort before you spend

Sort before you spend. Go through it once and make three piles: ones you would put on a wall, ones you want kept safely but not displayed, and ones that are only in there because nobody threw them out. The third pile is usually the biggest and that is fine.

Scan the middle pile

The middle pile is the one to scan. Once a photograph exists as a file it can be copied, shared with family and printed again, and it stops mattering that the original is fading in a box. Negatives and slides scan better than prints, so if you have the negatives, bring those instead.

Spend properly on the few

The first pile is worth spending on, and worth spending properly. A good photograph printed small and stuck in a clip frame is a waste of a good photograph. Pick two or three and have them done at a size that means something.

What can and cannot be repaired

Damaged ones can usually be repaired, within reason. Tears, water marks, fading and the creases from being folded into a wallet are all routine. What cannot be rebuilt is detail that was never captured, so a face that is out of focus stays out of focus no matter what anybody tells you.

If the box turns out to hold more than you expected, there is no need to do it all at once. People tend to start with one album for a parent or a birthday and come back for the rest later.