How To Store Old Photos So They Will Never Fade

Have you ever taken a precious look through your old photos and thought about all the memories they bring back? To make sure those moments stay forever, we should store them properly — but what are the biggest mistakes people sometimes make when preserving their pictures? In this blog, we share five easy tips to help ensure that treasured mementos don't suffer any avoidable damage!

✍🏻 Written by Dr. Laura Whitman from MemoryCherish

How to store old photos?

Your old photos are a treasure chest full of memories. And yet, if you don’t store them in the right way you may be destroying them without knowing it!

Every day, our team of photo restoration artists receives old photos from our customers that are faded & damaged because they were stored incorrectly. Luckily, we can make them look perfect again, but it’s best if no damage occurs in the first place.

In this blog, we will show you the 5 most common mistakes people make when storing their old photos so you can avoid them and keep your memories looking perfect for years to come!

Mistake 1: Not Storing Old Photos In a Cool, Dry Place

Heat and humidity can cause irreversible damage to photos, turning them yellow or discolored.

To protect your memories from these damages, it is essential to store old photos in a location with low temperature and high relative humidity levels of between 30% – 50%.

how to store old photos

Keeping your photos in a dark place away from direct sunlight or other sources of heat will help ensure their longevity.

It is also important to avoid exposure to extreme changes in temperature and humidity that could cause the colors to fade or distort over time.

Mistake 2: Not Keeping Them Away From Children & Pets

Having copies of your favorite photos can come in handy when you want to share them with family and friends.

They are also great safety nets when kids or pets get a little too close to the originals. You don’t have to worry about torn edges, sticky hands, or drawn-on faces!

store old photos

It’s easy enough to make copies of prints. Once you have the copies, you can use them as decorations around your home, give them away as gifts, or include them in scrapbooks.

No matter how you choose to use them, having copies of your prints will help keep the originals safe from harm and store old photos safely!

Mistake 3: Having Your Photos On Display

Beautiful picture displays make great decorations. We all love them.
However, if you show them off too often, the light can cause the pictures to fade and discolor.

Scanning your photos is a great way to preserve them while also displaying them in your home. Not only will you have an exact digital copy of the photo, but you can also use it to create beautiful prints or artwork for your walls.

store old photos

Plus, scanning images requires minimal effort and cost compared to other preservation methods.

To get started, simply place the image on a scanner and press one button. Most scanners are designed with pre-set settings that allow you to quickly scan an entire page or multiple photos at once. This makes it easy to capture high-quality scans in just a few minutes.

Afterward, all you need to do is save the scanned file on your computer – then share it online or print out copies for display.

Mistake 4: Not Having Digital Scans As a Backup

It’s easy to forget about taking digital copies of our photographs, especially if there’s no imminent danger of them being destroyed.

But in reality, disasters like floods, fires, and hurricanes can happen at any time — and having a digital backup can make all the difference when it comes to keeping your photos safe.

Creating digital copies of your photos is simple and fast. All you need is an internet connection, a smartphone or scanner, and some storage space.

store old photos

You can also use online services like Google Photos or Dropbox that allow you to store old photos securely in the cloud. This ensures that even if something were to happen to your physical photographs, you would still have access to them online.

Mistake 5: Not Getting Your Damaged Photos Restored

If some of your precious memories have already deteriorated, you don’t want to lose them completely. Getting your old photos restored is not as expensive or complicated as you might think, and it’s worth every penny when you see your memories in their original condition again.

You need to save your memories before they fade into oblivion forever. If you don’t, you won’t be able to remember them as well or share them with your children and grandchildren to pass on the family legacy.

store old photos

It is very important to store old photos well, but sometimes damage can happen, even when we are taking care of our pictures. That’s why we created MemoryCherish – the world’s number 1 photo restoration service. We will bring back the colors and details of your old photos so you can enjoy them for years to come

How Do We Fix Your Picture?

Our specialty is the restoration of blurry and old photos!

Our restoration artists will closely examine and enhance your blurry image, remove stains, mold, blur, refine and add more detail and color to each picture.

store old photos

No matter how many photos you want to fix, we won’t stop until they are in the best photo resolution. We can handle any damage on any photograph!

Our commitment to producing stellar quality restoration service has even landed us on news reports by ABC, NBC, and FOX news.

What Do I Need To Do?

First, you need to make your print photos clean and ready for restoration. You can check out how to clean your old pictures here.

Next, you need to carefully make photo scans of them. Then, you upload it here and pick your restoration options.

You place your order, and that’s it!

How Long Does It Take?

We would restore and send a digital copy of your sharpened image back to you by email within 24 hours. If there is anything you would like us to change on your restored image, revisions are allowed on every restoration, completely free!

We also offer nationwide delivery of your enhanced photo prints!

Can I Contact Someone For More Information?

Our customer support is available 24/7 to answer any further questions. You can send us an email at: support@memorycherish.com.

About The Author
Dr. Laura Whitman | MemoryCherish
Dr. Laura Whitman | MemoryCherish

Dr. Laura Whitman is the Head of Education at MemoryCherish, the #1 photo restoration company in the world.

With a PhD in Art History and a specialization in photographic preservation, she brings an unrivaled breadth of knowledge to her role.
Over her 19-year tenure in the field, Dr. Whitman has become a respected authority on topics ranging from photo restoration techniques to historical context and genealogy.

Her work has been recognized by major media outlets such as ABC, NBC, and FOX News, and she has been trusted with collaborations by Adobe. As an educator, she has developed numerous 'how-to' guides and tutorials, making photo restoration accessible to millions.

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