How do you share your trip memories with others?
 

When you go on the trip, take the pics (digital, regular camera) of all the sights, events, people, memories, then you get home and want to share with ALL your friends and family, how do you do that? Sort the pictures and put in a photo album? Scrapbook? Slideshow?

We are going to Paris this April for the first time and I want to do this right...so trying to figure out the best way to "preserve" the memories (pictures, postcards, memorablia) and then how to share them and have the people see the wonderment of our trip? Any ideas here? What do you do?

I wish everyone who asked a question on this forum would then write how the trip/recommendations turned out. Don't make a separate post, just add it onto the post that asked the question.

Heavens, I hate to disillusion you, but most of the people you know will not want to know more about yout trip than you can tell them in five or ten minutes.

Believe me, I speak from experience. I have friends who have spent a great deal of time in the places that I have visited, I even have some friends who have lived in the places that I have visited, and at the end of ten minutes I can hear their minds switching off.

I agree with Eloise, Heavens. Usually the only people who are really interested are those who are planning a trip to the same place.

Absolutely. I once travelled for a year round the world (in the 70s). When I got back there were 2 questions, both unanswerable: what was the weather like? Did you have good food? Since then, I take a few pictures and only show them (in the album) if people pretty much twist my arm. Which isn't often. I enjoy looking at them though.O:)

I haven't shared photos with many people because quite frankly, they are just of places. Places that most of my friends haven't ever been and have no interest in visiting. If they show an interest in visiting, I flash a couple of the more superb pictures and then point them to my trip reports here. If they get bored, they can shut it off. If, after that, they really want to know- then I break out the photos and ask them to set aside a few hours of their life. :)

That's why people are so addicted to travel boards like this one. Like minded people want to hear about their trips. I only talk about and show pictures when asked. Otherwise, I post tips and photos on Virtual Tourist and if my friends are interested I direct them there.

We just put our digital photos on CDs. We can look at them at our leisure and rarely has anyone else seemed REALLY interested.
As much as we love to travel, unless its a compelling destination, we probably would pass on other's trip photos.

Built a website (now needs updating) last year to cover our RTW. http://home.comcast.net/~gardyloo

I agree with the above posts, no-one is really interested beyond the polite "Did you have a good time?" Unless they are travelling to the same place and want more info. I am interested in looking at other people's photos as it often spurs me on to research a new place for our next holiday if the photos pique my interest.

Do the memories for yourself only, if others ask then great show them. I do photos in an album and a scrapbook. The scrapbook has my diary written out with corresponding photos and tickets, maps, brochures etc. I enjoy looking at these scrapbooks time and time again. They are also useful reference points for answering questions on this forum.

Don't set yourself up for a disappointing fall by thinking everyone will be hanging on your every photo - been there done that - they are not interested!! (Unless they are a fodorite of course!!)

I always scrapbook my pictures into an album. I have about 6 scrapbooks of just vacations. People DO like to look at mine since I make them very creative with colored paper and other things.

Do whatever pleases YOU. I agree with the other posters most are not interested and may tolerate looking. I have friends who show their slides at every party(yawn) from most.

You guys are funny. Yea, why is that? I love to hear about other people's travels. I find it fascinating. Not hours of it, but an overview. Oh well. That is why we have Fodors.

I know that many of you take rolls and rolls of film when you go. What do you do with the pictures? Just put them in an album and enjoy for yourselves?

Gardyloo, that is quite a lot of work. Amazing. I love the big grid. You did a great job with the journal. Thanks for sharing.

I make DVD's with my pictures set to music and with some captions. If someone want to see them I just hand them a DVD. The music adds a lot; it's not just pictures.
I arrange them in shows by regions or cities; Cinque Terre, Rome, Amalfi Coast, etc. A fair number of people are interested in going to Italy and really want to see some of the pictures. Several have taken trips after seeing how beautiful it is.

You know those skinny little plastic photo books you can get for about a $1?

Cull your photos and choose about 20 (at the most) and put them in one of those little books.

That's all that 99% of the people you know are interested in seeing. Believe us. It's true.

I definitely agrees with Starrsville and the others who said most folks will ask a polite question about your trip and what you did, but don't want to hear more than about five minutes of overview. More folks like looking at photos and will breeze through them in maybe five minutes. I think one of those small simple photo books is good, also, and that's what I do. Definitely edit the pictures down to the best and only a couple dozen.

People who really travel a lot themselves are a little more interested, so maybe double that time to ten minutes or so and they may want to see a few dozen photos. If anyone is totally fascinated and wants you to talk on and on about every meal, etc., they will surely let you know.

I don't have a digital camera, just regular snapshots, so I just take the best of them (12-24) or put them in one of those simple photo books. I have friends that have digital cameras and just take them, but that isn't really very convenient for showing off, and isn't that convenient if you are just visiting someone and want to show them a few shots.

I know lots of people like digital cameras, but recently my friend went to Jamaica and I wanted to see her photos, so we had this big expedition to have to leave her living room and guests to go into her office, turn on the computer, etc.

Most of the photos I take I do take for myself, yes. I never take photos with the idea of showing them off to others, only for myself.

I agree with all the other posters - most people don't care!

We have lived overseas for the past 5 years, and I went home the first summer with 2 scrapbooks full of photos of our life and travels. Like SUNSHINE 1223 - I am a scrapbooker - so my albums are full of the best of the photos, pretty paper and embellishments, and journaling. I was so excited to share our new life with people - assuming they would be as fascinated as we were. With the exception of the grandmothers and maybe 3 friends - no on else was really interested.

So - here's what I do now...

I still make the scrapbooks because that is primarily for me and my family - and because I'm obsessed! The only people who ask to see them - other than fellow scrappers - are my friends and neighbors who are considering where to go for the next school break.

I also take a bunch of the best photos and upload them to an album on KodakGallery. I can edit the photos and add journaling to them. Then I send "an invitation" to view the album to a few family members and friends. Then, if anyone else asks to see the photos - I just send them an invitation. This also makes it easy to pick my favorites of the bunch and send them to the grandmothers.

It's sad - but now when we go home in the summer, I don't talk about where we live or where we have gone UNLESS someone asks.

Also - I have a digital camera and my husband has a regular camera. I have everything - his film and my memory sticks - put on a CD and then made into prints. Then I put ALL of the photos onto the computer so I can upload the ones I want to KodakGallery or whatever.

Have fun! Paris is wonderful!

I put the photos that I think have the most commercial value on my site, here:

http://www.jimtardio.com

Most of the other keepers I place on a DVD with some music, and make a 35-45 minute show.

I have, however, seen some great and very interesting scrap books. One woman who travels with me made a great scrap book containing photos, match books, business cards, ticket stubs...whatever she came across on the trip. Presented all together it makes a very personal and desciptive diary of the trip.

But, like others have said, most folks don't really care unless they are planning a trip themselves.

As others have said, make some sort of website/scrapbook or presentation BUT do so for yourself, not for others.

On my most recent holiday (Sicily) I kept a diary. I bought a cheap notebook at the airport, and spent 20 minutes in the evening or morning writing up the previous 24 hours trip. When I returned home, I wrote up a "page a day" website.
I am very glad I did, for as I wrote up each day, I remembered a lot of trivial details that added to my holiday memories. When I reread the pages aome 3 months later, I was able to recall the days quite vividly.

I have seen some people create wonderful holiday "slideshows" using Powerpoint or openoffice which allow you to create quite good photoalbums including bits of video, scanned images,photos, text etc.