A sponsored post for KODAK MOMENTS
You know what I miss?
Photo albums! Filled to the brim with memories, all in order, with daggy hand written commentary. It’s one of the girls favourite things to do, go through all our old albums and laugh at how we looked, see houses that they never lived in, holidays they didn’t go on and constantly ask “Was I born here yet? Was I in your tummy here Mum?”
8 months pregnant Beth playing Backgammon with her husband on summer holidays BECAUSE YOU COULD DO THAT WHEN YOU DIDN’T HAVE CHILDREN. Ha! I thought I was tired! Bwahahahaha.
The first family home we had in Newtown…
Memories from the hospital when Daisy was born…
Daisy’s first year of her life…
And then? Well then it just stops. 2008 and it stopped. Maybe it was kids and family life, somehow I think it had to do with the invention of the smart phone and social media and all that SHARING. We saw everything (which was wonderful) but we stopped preserving it.
And don’t get me started on these. Photos in frames!
I think this was the last one I have done…when Harper was about 8 months old. Why did I/we stop?
I have made an effort since then to try and do a “highlights package” in the form of a photo book every year capturing all the big ticket items: birthdays and holidays that are very precious to me and definitely what I would grab if the house were burning down, but they are just that…the highlights. The best shots. The perfect moments.
Remember the days of going to the chemist or photo shop to get your prints? There might be 20% that were keepers? The rest out of focus, or the ground or just plain crap. There should be room for those imperfect moments too I reckon.
While I take literally thousands of photos every year, I never print them. Ever. ALL of our moments now look like this. VIRTUAL. THIS SHOULD BE IN A FRAME. Not just a screen saver on my phone.
I want to change this. I want to bring back making an effort to print as I go so I don’t get so overwhelmed at the end of the year putting together a book that seems like SUCH a big job that I never get round to it at all. Cough. 2015 is still not done and it’s October. Cough. I want to be able to get them done without having to go instore and line up and wait. I know, I want it all.
But fear not! I have a solution!
Kodak Alaris have created a fabulous app to do just that. A one stop shop to order, print & pay for your photos to be safely delivered from ALL of the places: your camera roll & your social media accounts. You can make photo books, you can create presents, and you can create “special moments” with your friends and family in a secure and private place without any ads.
I downloaded the free Kodak Moments app (available free from Google Play or the iTunes App Store) and was able to quickly navigate my way through it to order some old school 6×4 style prints with a few clicks.
I chose from my camera roll (hello Maggie spam!)…
My Instagram account…
And albums on my personal Facebook page…
And you know what? I am going to start up a photo album with daggy Mum descriptions of what is going on. I’m going to print some larger ones and whack them in a frame and get them on the wall. I’m going to get them in the girls rooms so that they have physical memories that they will have with them for life. I’m going to create the odd Christmas present for the rellies. I’m going to give photos of kids with friends in frames as birthday presents. I’m going OLD SCHOOL and I am very happy about it too.
There’s also the ability to create a safe and secure space to share your photos with friends and family (similar to what our family does with the iCloud sharing account that I have written about before) that all the kids in our extended family comment on and love.
The best things for me though? It’s easy to do on my phone (aka sitting on the floor while the baby goes to sleep or while I am “mindfully parenting” at the park). A couple of clicks and it was ordered, paid for (through Paypal) and delivered a few days later. The ease to connect to ALL the places I keep photos: my camera roll and all social media channels. The ease of this will mean I will do it again. We want more than we ever did before and we want it now. This did that for me.
So I’ve started. It’s a long way to go back and try and fill albums from years and years that I have missed, but it’s a start. Soon enough the girls will be able to get those albums and books out on the couch and remember their own versions and laugh at my daggy commentary.
Kodak Alaris have a great special deal for BabyMac readers too! You can get $10 off your first order when you spend $20 or more (active from the 12th October until the 30th November 2016) just by entering the code MAC10 on your first order. You can download the app from Google Play here or iTunes here.
Deliver to home only
Suitable to all products
Order before discount must be $20 or more including freight
$10 discount will be deducted once the promo code is added at checkout
Have you been looking for a way to print photos easily?
When did you stop printing photos?
Don’t you think the daggy handwritten comments are missing from our mothering repertoire?
I printed photos for the Big Sister’s album and our walls but the Little Sister doesn’t feature much around the house. Poor little darling, I’m probably giving her a complex!
PS. My current kitchen looks much the same as your first home in Newtown.
I don’t have one snap of Mags printed at home I don’t think – well not anymore!
Don’t under estimate how precious all of those photos sitting on social media are, my 24yo niece took her own life last year, she was the Queen of selfies, selfies with everyone, all the time – those seemingly “throwaway” kind of photos are so so precious now, completely changed my mind about “oversharing”!
… and a plug for Project Life – it is in app form too, quick easy way of putting together albums 🙂
I am the original over sharer Lisa! I’m glad they have bought you some comfort in your loss x
We had this exact conversation about printing photos this week, precious memories left in a device. I got married for the first time this year at 52. I have a zillion beautiful photos on devices from the 2 semi pro photographers that came and took pics for us. My sister in law did do an amazing wedding book for us, but have I printed a single pic? Oh one shitty one off the home printer that is on the side of the fridge…. I even bought some cute frames to put pics in….hopeless.
But NOW…. so timely.
Thanks Beth, always love reading your blog.
Lesa
PS. Its beach weather here on the mid north coast, but I will NEVER be able to grow clematis & daphne. Guess you just can’t have everything.
Get printing Lesa!
Fantastic! Thank you, there seem to be a few apps like this at the moment, but this suits, as I love that you can do all the things, printing photos, or book, at the same place!
I am a photographer, and I am ALWAYS telling my clients that buying a USB of files is not the way to go, it’s a nice backup, but you dont put a USB on the wall.
PRINT your photos!
So important to print!
I love this so much. I have been doing a photo book a year, but I agree – I’d love to bring back old school albums and prints! Definitely something I’m going to keep in mind x
Good one Kez 🙂
Oh This is AWESOME!!!!! I have so many gorgeous photos on my phone but can’t be stuffed to print them myself!!! Oh Im loving this!! Thanks Beth!!
Great Amanda!
YES YES YES!
I was only yesterday thinking about how much I love looking at the photo albums at my parent’s place (still). And how we don’t have ANY albums at home. Shocking. Scattered photos in boxes, and then mostly stored photos on a hard drive.
This must change.
Thank you for sharing this!! xx
I love looking through old albums too – such a trip down memory lane!
Hi Beth
I came across ‘chatbooks’ a USA photo album app this morning.
Have you seen? Have you compared?
It looks amazing, and they ship to Australia.
I am aware that your post is sponsored by Kodak- but would love for you to tell me how they compare in format and price.
Many thanks
N x
I haven’t compared – will check them out thanks Nat
I have ordered 8 books of 60 photos- al my Instagram photos. Shall report in on the quality when they arrive.
I’ll be interested to see how the books turn out – thanks Natalie!
I have been just thinking about this this week that I don’t have a baby album book for Maggie or Phoebe. I’m definitely going to change this!! Thanks for the discount code. Off to download the app now.
Great – happy printing!
This is cool. Thanks for the info and inspiration Beth.
Pleasure Annette x
I love this! Every year it’s part of my Christmas to do list to print the best of photos and give our friends the snaps we have of them also. I think it’s a lovely slow down moment too where you get to remember the year gone by. I’m old school and have piles of photos and on rainy days we pull them out! Perfectly timed this app is going to make this task SO much quicker xx
Great!
I’ll definitely being getting onto this. Thanks for the tip lovely
You’re welcome!
Brilliant I have been looking for something like this.
Great – hope you are happy with them!
OMG – I need this so bad – so many photos need to be published/printed. Oh my maternity leave – like the days before my eldest was born – I put together our honeymoon photos in an album…and that was the last I have made. I don’t have a photo album for any of my child… AND I HAVE THREE NOW 🙁
You have your hands well and truly full!