Why do we take photos?
The simplest answer is that we want to capture moments in time, so that we can revisit them later on. To laugh again at your friend’s antics on a fun day out. To recall the awe you experienced admiring a natural wonder. To once again see the smile of a long-gone loved one.
Photos are magical portals to our memories and emotions.
But they only work when you choose to access those portals, holding the right keys in your hands. When your photos are lost up in the cloud or stuffed into an old shoebox, that’s where the memories stay, too.
Figuring out how to preserve memories in a digital world takes mindful, deliberate steps. Let Mixbook guide you through a simple, yet creative and meaningful approach to memory-keeping through custom photo books.
Why preserving memories matters more than ever
Before the arrival and rapid evolution of digital photo technology, people typically saved their photo film for special occasions. Far fewer memories were preserved, with the rest mostly lost to time.
Today, we freely document everything from morning coffee to midnight musings, testing the limits of vast storage spaces across multiple devices and virtual clouds. In theory, that should translate to an immense amount of memory-keeping. And yet…
According to a 2025 Mixbook survey, nearly half of Americans have more than 1,000 photos saved on their phones, and over one-fifth report feeling overwhelmed or stressed by that number. Nearly 1 in 3 have never printed a single smartphone photo. We capture so many memories, but rarely take the steps to access and enjoy them.
Why we forget (and why that’s normal)
Human memory is never perfect—far from it. Even the big moments that should be extra memorable fade and distort over time. This is one of the main motivations for taking photos. The power of a snapshot to preserve our memories is unrivaled. It’s also backed up by science.
According to Dr. Christie Chung, Cognitive Psychologist and Provost at Palo Alto University, “There's this entire term in psychology called flashbulb memory because at some point in history, people thought that memory was like a picture. But as we continue to do studies, we realize that it's not true. Memory actually changes. The only thing that is constant is what you capture with a camera.”
Parents immersed in a newborn haze can’t imagine forgetting any detail of their baby’s squishy little face. Once they reach the toddler years, though, it takes a photo—or a baby book full of them—to bring the memories back.
The hidden risk of digital-only memories
Think of an individual photo like it’s one word in the story of your life. A series of photos is like a sentence, and a collection curated around a theme—be it a milestone event, a vacation, or year-in-review—is a delightful storybook.
In the same analogy, your entire collection of digital photos, whether you store it on your phone, computer, or in the cloud, is more like a dictionary. You can define individual words, or moments, one at a time while flipping through the pages, but there’s no clear narrative, and no poetry or prose to enjoy.
Dr. Chung explains, “Storytelling is kind of like giving meaning to episodes. As a cognitive psychologist, I think of this as: When you experience life, it's like different pieces of a puzzle coming at you. You're experiencing every single episode, every single day. But the most important and powerful thing that we as human beings can do is to put that together into a story.”
Creating a photo book is like writing a story, transforming individual moments that you captured on camera into a cohesive narrative. The act of making a book to document your life—choosing the photos, adding captions and accents, and making aesthetic choices—adds so much power to a memory-keeping project.
“When you place meaning towards anything—it could be a list of words, pieces of a puzzle—without meaning they're just broken pieces. But if you're able to put things into a coherent story, it makes remembering so much easier. And it also makes connections so much easier to make with another person or within a network,” says Dr. Chung.
The emotional power of tangible photos
Holding prints or a photo book in your hands offers a very different experience to scrolling on a screen. Comparing digital vs physical photos goes beyond just the different modes of scrolling a screen and holding a print. There are significant emotional differences as well.
Physical photos engage more of your senses, and looking through them engages a slower, more deliberate approach. Hold a book or prints in your hands and you feel their texture, weight, and dimensions. You’ll pause to appreciate each image and the memories it evokes, enjoying the positive psychology of nostalgia. Share the experience with a loved one, holding the book between you, and notice there’s no urge to rush through the pages.
Exploring why printing photos matters, Mixbook CPO David Newhoff explains, “There’s a kind of magic in the physical. A photo book isn’t just a product, it’s a portal... Tangible memories hold emotional weight. They make us feel seen, connected, remembered. And in a time when loneliness is quietly rising all around us, we believe these touchpoints, these love letters to the lives we’ve lived, are more important than ever.”
Print can be an antidote to digital overwhelm; the opposite of endless scrolling through disorganized reels. If that sounds like something you need in your life, embrace the mindful process of making a Mixbook—and welcome the emotional resonance of print into your world.
The 5 types of memories worth preserving
When you’re organizing photos and choosing which ones to preserve in a photo book, you’re really curating memories. The positive ones that make you feel proud, the nostalgic memories that touch you deeply, and the magical moments that stand out for being uniquely yours.
When you’re figuring out how to organize photos that match your memory-keeping ideas, it can be helpful to think about the following different types.
1. Milestones
These are the big, major events that anchor the timeline of your life, and your loved one’s lives as well. Weddings, graduations, welcoming babies, new homes, bucket-list trips, and big birthdays are just a few examples. Milestones also tend to be abundantly photographed by all, making a photo book project a no-brainer.
2. Everyday moments
In a 2025 Mixbook survey exploring gratitude, 68% of Americans said that everyday moments are the memories from the past year they’re most grateful for. Yes, routine happenings like family dinners, playground trips, and at-home hangouts outrank vacations, milestones, and other “big” occasions. If you want your memory book to inspire feelings of gratitude, be sure to feature everyday moments in the photo collection.
3. Relationships
Treasured memories are both very personal and something we share with others. Photos are even more special when they capture the smiling faces of family and friends, and cause you to recall the experiences you shared with them.
This is why relationships are a major inspiration for photo books. That’s why Mixbook has entire categories of themes designed around relationships, from romance to parenthood, and family ties to the best of friendships.
4. Personal growth
Reflecting on personal growth marked by achievements and self-motivated experiences is a valuable exercise. Doesn’t it sound delightful to look through a book of memories that all generate feelings of pride? Whether it’s growth in your career, hobbies, relationships, or health, collecting memories of the journey into a book is a very meaningful project.
Examples include training for (and finishing) a 10K, taking yourself on a trip to Paris, or growing a rose garden from seed to a bounty of blooms. What would your photo book of personal growth include?
5. Family history
A family history photo book isn’t only a gift to yourself, but to your whole family—future generations included. Anyone who has explored their genealogy knows there’s a lot of data to be discovered, and a photo book with fully customizable text and graphic design is a great way to present and preserve it all.
You might also create a celebration of life book, dedicated to the lifetime of a family member who has passed on. It’s a beautiful way to honor their memory.
How to capture meaningful moments intentionally
There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking random phone photos at every opportunity. Sometimes you really want to remember a sandwich, or a shadow that looks a bit like a dinosaur from a certain angle, OK?!
But there’s great value in taking photos more mindfully, with intention. Think about creating weekly memory-keeping rituals with the aim to capture the moments you know you’ll treasure in the future. Just a few examples include:
Your kid’s current obsession
Children tend to go through distinct phases of obsessions, very niche interests, and favorite things. These seem never-ending at the time—why does she only want to wear that one T-shirt?! Can we please hide that book?!
But months or a year from now, your kid will have moved on to something new. He won’t even remember the moons of Jupiter or look twice at his Hot Wheels collection. Capture each fleeting passion while it lasts.
Life’s projects in progress
Regularly take photos of new hobbies, things you’re figuring out, and journeys with unknown endings. All stories have a beginning, middle, and end, and they’re all equally important. Sure, your watercolor paintings will be way more impressive in a few years, but the beginner pieces are where it all began, so take photos throughout.
Memories of your elders
Your parents and grandparents all have countless stories yet to be told, and you might never hear them unless you make it a point to ask. Schedule a time to chat with the elders in your family, prepare some interview questions, and preserve their memories in a legacy project. For a less formal approach, commit to making an effort to draw out their memories whenever you get together.
According to Dr. Chung, “Older generations love stories because it makes sense to them, it helps them remember things. And this is a really good way for us to bridge the generations. A young person just experiencing certain episodes for the first time—it may not make much sense to them. But generations that have been through experiences like that in the past are able to draw on their experiences and offer advice and guidance to the younger generation.”
How to organize thousands of photos without overwhelm
The idea of organizing thousands of photos can definitely feel daunting, but it’s actually pretty straightforward. It all comes down to three key steps: 1. Gather. 2. Curate. 3. File.
Organizing photos promises a big payoff. Not only will you get your old photo archives organized and easy to navigate, you’ll establish a tidy photo storage system for keeping all future pics in order, too. Plus, you’ll remove a big invisible barrier to getting started on creative projects that showcase your memories, like making photo books and home decor prints.
Whether you do it all in one dedicated session or break up the job into smaller tasks, simply work through the following steps:
1. Gather
Gather and centralize all your photos in one master collection. This could be on a computer hard drive, external hard drive, or in cloud storage that syncs to your smartphone or tablet. Go through all your devices and digital storage spaces and move every single photo to the master folder.
Don’t forget to check other digital spaces where you might have more photos, such as your social media accounts, email attachments, SD cards, and old or secondary devices and storage accounts. If you have physical photo prints that have never been digitized, it’s time to do so and add them to your master collection.
2. Curate
Curate the master photo collection. Go through everything and delete all the duds, duplicates, blurry shots, screenshots, and any photos that just don’t really mean much to you. This is the most time-consuming step in organizing your photos, so consider working on one month or year at a time.
While you’re curating the collection, start tagging and favoriting photos. Most photo management apps and software have easy systems for this. Click the heart or star icon on top-tier pics, and add tags for keywords like people’s names, locations, events, or other descriptions.
3. File
Establish a filing system for your photos that makes sense to you, and that will make it easier for you to keep your photos organized long-term. Generally, this means creating subfolders within the master folder.
The easiest approach is to create subfolders by date—years, then months—and additional subfolders for special happenings within certain months. For example, if you attended a wedding in June and took lots of photos, your folder system could look like this: 2025 > June > M&D’s Wedding.
For some photo collections, it makes sense to create thematic folders. Examples include favorite photos of individual friends and family members, and photos associated with a particular hobby or pursuit.
Your filing methods might also include renaming photo files with a consistent format. Most photo management software and apps have renaming tools that can do this automatically.
With a combination of tags and chronologically organized folders, it should be quick and easy to find any photo, even among a collection of thousands.
How to make photo organization a habit
Once your existing photos are organized into a cohesive system, it’ll be so much easier to keep all your future photos organized as well. Set reminders or put it in your calendar to gather, curate, and file new photos monthly. (Quarterly and yearly are fine, too!) You might also choose to print favorite photos whenever these reminders pop up.
Tip: A fun and meaningful way to keep your system on track is by organizing photos for year-in-review photo books as an annual tradition.
How to back up and store photos safely
Protect your memories—and your investment in photo organization—by securely backing up your files. Backups protect your photo collection from potential hazards like equipment failure, human error, natural disasters, and home damage.
Photographers, digital data pros, and people who are just good at this kind of thing typically recommend the 3-2-1 rule. Here’s how it works:
- 3—keep three copies (one original and two backups) of every photo file.
- 2—use two different storage methods (e.g. computer hard drive and external hard drive, or external hard drive and cloud storage).
- 1—store one copy offsite, meaning a location that’s secondary to where you store the original files. Any cloud storage would be considered offsite. Other options include a hard drive at your office or a family member’s home.
Another helpful step is to review the automated backup schedules on your devices. Make sure your auto-backups are going to the correct cloud storage account, that you have sufficient storage space available, and that the backups are taking place regularly.
For tips on safely storing printed photos, check out our comprehensive guide: How to save old photos: The best ways to digitize, restore, and store old prints
Digital vs physical memories—what actually lasts?
While digital has become the norm for taking photos (dedicated film camera fanatics are the exception), physical prints and photo products remain in high demand as a way to enjoy viewing our photos.
There are clear psychological differences between the experiences of on-screen viewing versus holding photos in your hands.
Looking at the pros and cons of physical and digital memories can be helpful in understanding why physical photo products matter, even—or especially—during this era of digital dominance.
Pros & cons of digital photo memories
Here are the major pros and cons of taking, storing, and viewing digital photos.
Pros:
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No physical clutter and virtually unlimited digital storage space
- Minimal financial cost
- Immediate access to your photo memories across devices, wherever you are
- Ease of sharing photos with others, anywhere in the world
- Digital photos are easy to edit and use in creative projects
Cons:
- Photos become digital clutter, which can cause stress and overwhelm
- Core memories can drift as they “disappear” into archives
- Reliving memories through photos becomes overwhelming, rather than inviting
- Shooting endless photos on autopilot makes it harder to pick out the truly special memories
- Digital photos can feel impermanent as they’re easily lost or forgotten due to shifts in technology
Pros & cons of physical photo memories
Photo prints, photo books, home decor, and other physical photo products offer the following key pros and cons.
Pros:
- Tangible formats encourage focused engagement and a multi-sensory experience that amplifies memories
- High-quality papers and print products look and feel luxurious, elevating the viewing experience
- Memories are strengthened during the selection and design process, which is also enjoyable and creative
- Prints alleviate screen fatigue
- Home decor prints bring favorite memories into your living space
- Physical photo products are great for gifting
- Children benefit from physical books over additional screen time
Cons:
- It takes time to select, design, and print physical photo products
- Printed photo products cost money
- Physical products can deteriorate and be lost or damaged
- Print products require some storage space in the home
The good news is, you don’t have to choose between digital or physical photos. Readily embrace both, and you’ll find that the pros amplify each other, while the cons are balanced out. For example, the risk of physical photo products becoming lost or damaged is alleviated by digital backups.
Mixbook encourages you to take a hybrid approach. You can maintain a huge digital photo collection, but enjoy the many benefits of photo books that showcase the most meaningful highlights.
How to create a memory book (step-by-step)
Mixbook makes it remarkably easy to create a memory book. It’s an amazing way to tell your story, preserve your memories, and create a keepsake to treasure forever.
With many hundreds of professionally designed themes plus the intuitive suite of customization tools in Mixbook Studio™, you can transform any collection of special photos into a beautiful, tangible book. Just follow these steps:
1. Choose a theme
Mixbook’s photo book themes are drag-and-drop templates with a professional, cohesive design that ensures your finished book looks its best.
While some Mixbookers like to start with a Blank Canvas and design every element of a photo book from scratch, there are many benefits to choosing a theme. Themes offer suggested layouts, plus backgrounds, text elements, content prompts, and design assets like stickers and decorative photo frames. Everything is fully customizable, so you still have total control over your story.
Consider the story you’re telling in your book as well as your personal preferences for design styles. Start browsing themes by category, such as wedding albums, travel books, family, kids, or coffee table books. Some are designed for specific projects, such as school yearbooks, while other theme categories are more broad, such as the simple and everyday collections.
You can filter results by:
- Customization level (easy, medium, or pro)
- Aesthetic style e.g. whimsical, vintage, trendy, botanical, bohemian, modern
- Color i.e. the dominant color in the design’s palette
- Special features, such as designer collection or quick gifts
For more help picking a theme, check out: A comprehensive guide to choosing the perfect photo book theme
Tip: While browsing themes, use the Favorites tool (click the heart icon) to create a shortlist of themes you love.
2. Select meaningful photos
Choosing which photos from your collection to include in a book is a personal and meaningful process, so don’t rush! Focus on photos that trigger happy emotions, and that contribute to the narrative of your story. Include both must-have favorites—you know the one where your hair and outfit look amazing—and photos that really capture what was going on in the moment.
For a visually and emotionally balanced photo collection, aim to include both posed shots and candids, different perspectives (e.g. closeups and longer-range shots), portraits and landscapes, and varied settings.
For the best results, stick with high-resolution photos only, and avoid blurry or poorly framed shots. For touch-ups, use your preferred photo-editing software before uploading to Mixbook, or try out the editing tools in the pop-up menu in Mixbook Studio™.
Get more tips in our guide: How to Choose Photos for a Photo Book
3. Pay attention to layouts
Mixbook’s themes all come with professionally designed layouts—all you have to do is drag and drop your photos into place, or use the Auto-Layout tool to do it in one click. But, choosing alternative layouts is an easy and effective way to customize your photo book.
Browse the options in the Layouts panel to the left of the studio space. You can filter options by number of photos per page or spread, suggested layouts, theme layouts, and all options.
Consider the visual flow of your book’s pages and spreads. The eye naturally moves across a page from the top-left to the bottom-right, so arrange photos in a way that fits with this focus. Use different photo sizes to communicate the hierarchy of images, emphasizing the best and most important photos at a larger scale. Thumbnail collage layouts are great for compiling lots of smaller scene-setting and background shots.
Don’t underestimate the importance of white space (which isn’t necessarily white, just unfilled). Layouts with ample white space have a calmer, more serene vibe because the photos and other focal elements have “breathing space” around them. Layouts with layered or packed-in visual elements and less white space have a more intense, energetic feel. Play around with different compositions and see how it affects the presentation of your story on the page.
4. Write captions that matter
Some types of photo books, such as cookbooks and family history books, will include significant amounts of text. Some minimalist themes don’t feature any text at all, keeping 100% of the focus on the photos.
Captions and other text elements are optional, but there are many reasons to include them. A caption can provide key details that you want to remember or communicate to those looking at your book, such as names, locations, and dates. You can add context, humor, and additional memories associated with the photos.
Optional text elements in a photo book include:
- Page headers
- Introductory letters or essays
- Short and sweet sayings or quotes
- Informative captions
- Full-length stories
Add captions by editing your theme’s placeholder text, or by using the “Add Text” button in the Text panel to the left of the studio space. This is also where you can choose different fonts, text sizes, colors, and more.
Having trouble writing engaging captions? Try out Mixbook Studio™’s AI-powered Caption Ideas tool.
5. Play with design accents
You can create a truly beautiful photo book with just photos, or photos and minimal text, but designs with other features and aesthetic accents are just as easy to create. Mixbook’s fully customizable design assets include:
- Backgrounds, whether plain or patterned
- Stickers that you can drag and drop, then edit
- Maps with customizable locations, routes, and styles
You have access to hundreds of different backgrounds and stickers, but look first at the backgrounds, stickers, and text options recommended to go with your chosen theme.
6. Print & preserve
After reviewing your design, but before making a final purchase, you need to decide on the size, format, paper, and cover type for your photo book.
Mixbook’s photo books are available in square, portrait, and landscape formats, in sizes ranging from 6x6 to 14x11, with the following cover types:
- Softcover
- Hardcover
- Lay Flat
- Album
You can also choose from the following the types of papers for the inside pages of the book:
- Everyday Semi-Gloss
- Signature Matte
- Signature Lustre
- Premium Lustre
- Premium Matte
To make a decision, consider pricing, the purpose of the book, and personal preferences. All options offer the finest papers and highest print quality—just a couple of the features raved about by the New York Times, which calls Mixbook “The Best Photo Service.”
For more, check out our comprehensive guide: How to Choose the Best Size, Cover and Paper Types for a Photo Book.
Building a family memory system
Mixbook is built on the belief that memories are for celebrating. But it’s not just about preserving the stories in your past. We want Mixbookers to capture the best moments in life while they’re happening—and even as you’re looking forward to them in the future.
Here are some tips for setting up an easy and creative “family memory system,” which can be customized around your own unique life:
- A 30-day memory plan: Set aside a few moments each month (add it to your family calendar) to review and organize photos taken in the past 30 days. Tag favorites and create albums for key collections that inspire photo book projects.
- Annual family yearbook tradition: That quiet period between the holiday season and new year is the perfect time to put together a family year-in-review book. Make a commitment to this annual tradition and you’ll have a profound collection of memories to treasure.
- Create a legacy archive: Whether it’s your own personal lifetime of achievements and milestones, or your well-researched family history, transforming photos and stories into a legacy book is a remarkable achievement. Break the project up into smaller parts and schedule times to work on them regularly.
- Minimalist memory-keeping: If you’re short on time or just really value efficiency, take a minimalist approach to memory-keeping. Examples include choosing one photo a week from your archives, scheduling “photo shoot Sundays,” or saving favorite pics directly from your own social media feeds.
FAQs about preserving your memories
Here are answers to your most frequently asked questions about memory-keeping with Mixbook.
What is the best way to preserve memories long term?
We believe the best way to preserve memories for the purpose of enjoying them—reliving happy moments and sharing your stories with others—is to make custom photo books. If you’re concerned about saving photos for preservation purposes—ensuring they don’t get lost—the best approach is to follow the 1-2-3 rule: Keep three copies of every photo, using two different storage methods, one of which is offsite.
How do I organize thousands of digital photos?
Organizing thousands of digital photos is less overwhelming if you break it down into three basic steps: gather, curate, and file. You don’t have to do all three at once. First, gather every photo, from every storage space, into a single master collection. Next, curate the collection by going through and deleting non-keepers, favoriting, and tagging with keywords. Finally, organize the collection into subfolders by date or category.
Are digital photos safe enough?
Keeping all your photos in a digital format is safe if you follow the 1-2-3 rule (keep three copies of every photo, using two different storage methods, one of which is offsite). It’s smart to set up an organization system that works for you, schedule automated backups, and to set aside some time each month to update your photo files.
Is printing photos still worth it?
Absolutely! There is great value in printing photos, whether it’s as classic prints, home decor prints, or in custom photo books. Holding tangible keepsakes in your hands is a multi-sensory experience that helps you access memories and emotions in a deeper way than simply scrolling through photos on a screen.
How do I create a family memory book?
Browse Mixbook’s family and family history collections of photo book themes for inspiration. Consider what type of book you most want to create, and if you want to capture memories from a particular time frame, such as a year-in-review book or baby book. Upload the photos you want to include, then create your book in Mixbook Studio™.
What memories should I preserve?
For the most rewarding photo book project, preserve the memories associated with happy, positive emotions, plus any moments you never want to forget. Preserve the pictures that always make you smile. The photos that bring whole elaborate stories to mind, taking you down a “rabbit hole” of memories.
When you’re taking photos, remember to capture everyday moments as well as big milestones. Parents of young children should preserve the fleeting memories that disappear fast—each phase and every stage of growth.
How often should I print my photos?
It’s a totally personal decision, but we recommend reviewing all your new photos monthly and printing the best of them perhaps three or four times per year.
An example schedule could be creating and printing the following:
- an annual family year-in-review book at the end of each year
- a special album for any milestones each year (e.g. weddings, graduations, big anniversaries)
- a nice gift book for a loved one (e.g. for Mother’s or Father’s Day or a birthday)
- and a travel book after taking a vacation
How about making a “just because” book of favorites, too?
What is the 3-2-1 backup method?
The 3-2-1 backup method describes an approach to storing digital photos (or other important files) for secure preservation against loss or damage. The rule is: Keep three copies of every photo (an original and two backups), using two different storage methods (e.g. computer hard drive and cloud storage), one of which is offsite (e.g. cloud storage or an external hard drive kept at your sister’s house).
How do I preserve family history?
Documenting and preserving your family’s history can mean different things. It could mean conducting genealogical research into your ancestral past, which can be preserved for future generations in a family history book. Or, preserving the stories of your family’s elders while they’re still here, perhaps through interviews or casual conversation.
There’s also great value in preserving your own family unit’s history as it’s happening. Take photos of your day-to-day life, adventures, and milestone moments. Preserve and showcase the stories in photo books that you’ll enjoy today and pass down to younger generations in the future.
What’s the difference between digital & physical memory-keeping?
Digital memory-keeping means storing photos and memorabilia in digital formats, such as camera reels on your phone, files on your computer, or in social media feeds. If you only use digital memory-keeping methods, you’ll also view those photos entirely on screen.
Physical memory-keeping means using printed photos, photo books, and other tangible items to preserve your stories. You can enjoy them and relive your memories by holding them in your hands and sharing with others in person.
The two are not mutually exclusive! We recommend that you store your master collection of photos digitally, but print the highlights to enjoy as physical keepsakes.
Discover what memory-keeping means to you
At Mixbook, we understand that memory-keeping looks different for everyone. Some love to document their day-to-day life, whether to share it with others or create private archives. Many enjoy photography as an artform. Others embrace the responsibility of being memory-keepers for their whole family, future generations included.
We want you to know, above all else—your memories matter. Unleash your creativity and bring them to life with Mixbook.
