May is National Photography Month, and there’s no better time to look for great ways to share your favorite photographs with loved ones near and far. You don’t need to wait until your family and friends come for a visit to your assisted living apartment to display the snaps you love best.
Instead, get started today with a fun new project or on an app you can easily master with just a little practice. It’s time to start gathering all of your favorite photos and sharing them with everyone who will also love them.
1. Design a Custom Print Photo Book
Do you have a group of favorite family photographs — or perhaps photos from an event or trip you shared with friends or loved ones — that would be enjoyed by many people?
You can use free software offered by online photo retailer Shutterfly or national chains like Walmart to put your pictures in photobook format and order as many copies as you need to give to all of your family or friends.
Although these photobooks tend to be very cost-effective, you may find that it’s out of your budget to buy one for everyone. No worries — you can share a link to the book you created so friends and family can order their own if desired.
2. Create an Online Shareable Photo Collection
Those same retailers you just considered for a printed photo book? They also offer great ways to share collections of photographs online. Shutterfly offers an especially robust way of sharing photo albums with friends — and you can set privacy on albums so they're only visible to specific people with whom you share the link.
Want to be a bit more visible with the photographs you want to share? This may be the case if you have specifically taken photos meant for public display, like nature shots or shots from famous destinations. If so, consider making a public album on Facebook or Pinterest that you can share. Your friends and followers can reshare those pieces of personal art with their own friends and followers
3. Host a Private Photo Showing for Your Family
Have awesome photos to share with your friends and family? Perhaps you've collected generations’ worth of priceless family photography or shot hundreds of great shots on your last great vacation. Whatever the theme, add even more class to your snaps by actually hosting a private photo showing during your next family gathering or reunion. Can you imagine how excited your loved ones would be to see an entire room dedicated to blow-ups of your treasured memories, spread out throughout the space like a professional exhibition?
4. Create a Personal Photo-of-the-Month Club
Spread the wealth of memories over time and maintain ongoing correspondence with those you love most by sending a special shot out each month with a personalized letter. You can use this opportunity to share the same shot with multiple members of your family or community of friends or personalize the photos you share to the recipient. Your loved ones can build a special collection of photographs over time while giving you the opportunity to share the backstory of each shot in that month’s letter.
No matter which route you take to share your photography with your loved ones, get started on a plan this May during National Photography Month. If you need help with local resources here in Grand Junction, your staff at Grand Villa can help point you along the right path.
