Photo Albums

There is nothing more precious than your memories. Leafing through old photographs is one of the great pleasures in life. Keeping digital pictures is a great thing to do but it is not even vaguely the same experience to click through a file. You might be looking at formal staged images of your relatives, long before you were born in a home that you only know through remembrance by older relatives. You might be showing your spouse the long-held baby pictures of yourself, tiny, chubby and grinning. Whatever the pictures you are looking at, you want them to be safe and kept in the best condition possible, for you and the generations to come.

You might want to commemorate your wedding day. If there is any moment to choose a larger, more ornate album, this is it. A sleek white volume to contain everything from your engagement party to your save the dates, your invitation cards. You could group the photos according to when they happened during the special day or according to who they show. Whatever order you choose, keeping your photos safe from excess sunlight and preserved in style is the priority.

A baby album is a perfect way to capture those fleeting moments while your little bundle of joy is small and treasure them. You might go for an option with a sweet illustration of a Beatrix Potter character, an inset picture of your baby or spray of congratulatory balloons. Heavyweight parchment pages or convenient self-adhesive leaves will house your beautiful first handprints, footprints and their coming home outfit.

As they get older, store those memories safely in a thick leather-bound family album. Track their progress through holidays, visits to family and first days at nursery. Larger albums can fit up to several hundred photos in one volume and in some varieties, you can show several photos in the cover to make it even more personal. Many albums come in several colours, you could go for a versatile black, glossy navy or suit your whimsical side with a lovely shade of lilac.

For travel albums you might choose a thematic option like a map print cover. If you go on a trip and find you just had too many things that needed to be captured on film, then some albums have the option to add more pages in the snap binding. This style of expandable album is perfect as a gift. Where you can’t know how many photos your friend or relative might need to store in a special album, so an album they can expand themselves is an ideal choice.

Smaller albums can offer the convenience of ready-made cellophane fronted pages that let you simply slot your photos into place and then move on to the next page. They don’t require adhesive, photo corners or careful placing of your photographs.

If you prefer fabric to a leather-look exterior then a linen cover could be a great choice for you. They come in a range of colours from natural stone beige to richer, burgundy shades and they wear well and become soft over the years.

If you go for an option which does not have self-adhesive pages then don’t forget your photo stickers and photograph corners in a plain black or a transparent plastic. They will keep your pictures firmly in place while the album is sitting in your bookcase.

Photo albums stay with your family for generations, so make yours beautiful and ordered. Your loved ones and visitors will thank you as well as the fact that a well bound volume is an ornament all by itself.