All guide articles

Guide· 5 min read

Sort family photos — a pragmatic step-by-step guide

Most families have photos in drawers, on hard drives, in old albums — never systematically. Anyone who sorts them once gives the family a legacy. Here is a pragmatic guide.

Step 1: gather, not sort

First phase: bring all photos to one place. Empty drawers, photograph albums, export from the hard drive. Do not sort — just bring them together. One to two hours, no more.

Step 2: quick first selection

Go through the photos and sort them into three piles: Important, Maybe, No. Important means clear people and a clear occasion. No means duplicates, blurry shots, unimportant ones. Maybe is everything else.

Step 3: names, places, years — before no one is left

  • For each Important photo: who is in it, where was it taken, approximate year
  • Send it via WhatsApp to your mother, father or grandparent — ask: who is this?
  • Save the reply as a voice message attached to the photo
  • This automatically creates labelled memories

Step 4: migrate to an archive

In Aile Hafızası you connect photos with voice messages — names, places, years and stories are not lost. Sort by topic, not by date: weddings, village house, migration, Bayram. This creates a readable archive.

What you should not do

  • Scan every photo individually — far too time-consuming
  • Wait for perfect sorting — better to start now
  • Leave it for later — the people who know the names are not getting younger

Ready to capture your own family memory?

Three free questions — no credit card, no account password.