This is where most people get stuck.

They think the first step is to buy a scanner, digitize every photo, and organize it all perfectly.

That's a recipe for never starting.

Instead, begin with a much simpler question:

Which photos would I be sad to lose?

That batch of photos is your starting point.

Before you digitize anything, gather what you already have.

Check:

• •Your phone's camera roll
• •Your laptop or external drives
• •Emails from relatives
• •Old shared folders or cloud accounts

Most people discover they already have a surprising amount of family history digitized—it's just scattered.

Bringing those photos into one place creates momentum. Organization can come later. Gathering is what unlocks progress.

Not all photos carry the same weight.

Irreplaceable photos often include:

• ✓The only photos of certain people
• ✓Images tied to stories you still remember
• ✓Moments that feel emotionally significant, even if they're imperfect

Nice-to-have photos can wait.

You don't need to digitize every blurry group shot to preserve what matters. Focus first on what would truly be lost if it disappeared.

When you do scan photos, think sustainability, not speed.

A realistic approach:

• •Scan a handful at a time
• •Do it when you have energy, not obligation
• •Capture the backs of photos if there's handwriting
• •Don't worry about naming everything perfectly

Progress beats completeness.

Family archives are built over years, not weekends.

A photo without context loses meaning faster than people expect.

If you can answer even one of these, write it down:

• Who is this?
• Where was it taken?
• Why did it matter?
• Who always told the story about this moment?

You don't need polished captions. A sentence is enough. Even uncertainty is valuable.

"Possibly taken in the early 70s. I think that's Aunt Ruth on the left."

That kind of note can save future generations hours—and preserve details that won't be recoverable later.

This is an underrated risk.

When old family photos live:

• In one house
• With one person
• In one filing system

They're vulnerable—to loss, to misinterpretation, and to simply being forgotten.

Family history lasts longer when it's shared.

That doesn't mean public. It means accessible to the people who care about it.

Once photos are digitized, the biggest question becomes: where should they live?

Social media isn't designed for preservation. Phones get replaced. Hard drives fail. Random folders get abandoned.

What most families actually need is:

• ✓One shared place
• ✓Private by default
• ✓Designed for memory, not performance
• ✓Easy for more than one person to contribute to

This is the gap Heritable was built to fill.

Heritable gives families a private, shared space for photos, videos, documents, and stories—so old family photos don't just get scanned, but understood. It's built for long-term clarity, shared stewardship, and continuity across generations.

You don't need to move everything at once. Even a small beginning changes the trajectory.

You don't have to solve this immediately.

Once photos are digitized and safely stored, families often find it easier to:

• •Share originals among relatives
• •Store them more thoughtfully
• •Let go of duplicates
• •Make peace with what doesn't need to be kept

Digitization buys you time—and reduces pressure.