In this blog I’m discussing Legacy Books; what they mean and how the work I do has inspired my own story being told through photos and childhood memorabilia.
I believe that everyone has a story to be told and the way in which I like to tell my clients’ stories is through the creation of beautiful, high quality Legacy Books, or photo books, using photos, accompanied by captions, quotes and memorabilia. These books are a beautiful way of bringing together the important photos and memorabilia that may have been stored in albums, boxes and drawers – and creating a photographic legacy for future generations to enjoy.
Using photos to tell the story of my first 21 years
My childhood and teen photos had already been organised and scanned, but early last year I started working on the next batch of photos – photos from the 1990s when I was in my twenties. Amongst the first few that I organised, curated and scanned were those of my 21st birthday and I came to the realisation that I could now create a legacy piece telling the story of my first 21 years. I used photos as a baby, toddler, child, teenager and young adult to achieve this, and these photos included important milestones such as birthdays, childhood holidays and my first overseas holiday when I was 18. They reflected my journey from a little girl to a young adult and also showed how important my family and friends were to me as I was growing up.
Using captions and text to help tell my story
I wanted to use captions and text in my story book, but only as a way of supporting the story the photos themselves told – to help give context, but to not be a feature. I divided my book into chapters; Baby and Toddler Years, Childhood Years, Teenage Years etc. Each chapter had a title page with dates. In smaller font, I captioned the photos in a ‘story like’ manner.
On the very last page of my book, I included a quote that I’d liked as a child.
This is what I did for my book. Each book is different. For example, I recently did a story book for a client’s 90th birthday and each of her adult children wrote an anecdote about their mum. Each anecdote was included in the relevant chapter title page.
Using memorabilia to tell my story
I am fortunate that quite a lot of memorabilia from my childhood was kept – memorabilia such as drawings, schoolwork, report cards, certificates, letters and travel diaries. These items were all scanned and included in my Legacy Book and they really help to give an insight into my younger years. In particular, scanned pages from my handwritten travel journals gave real meaning to the corresponding travel photos. Not everyone has memorabilia, but even if there are only one or two items, these all help to tell someone’s story. Photos can also be taken of 3D objects such as trophies and school uniforms, to help tell someone’s story.
The end result
I was so pleased with the end result; a beautifully printed and presented legacy piece of my first 21 years; scattered photos and memorabilia brought together to tell my story. This Legacy Book will be kept by my daughters, and if that’s all they keep from my childhood it is more than enough! The printing was done by Momento who always do a beautiful job.
Legacy books are more than photo books. They take hours of gathering and curating photos and memorabilia. Not to mention the scanning and editing of such, and thoughtfully adding text whether it be captions, quotes, anecdotes from family members of a combination of all of these. However, if the time and effort is put in, the end result is a special legacy piece that tells the story of the individual in question.
I encourage everyone to think about creating their own legacy book. It takes time; but the end result is worthwhile. And if you love the idea, but are overwhelmed by the thought, and don’t have the time, please contact me – I’d love to help!
