Seems like we were just gearing up for Thanksgiving and now we’ve said goodbye to 2017 and hello to a new year.

As the family photographer you are tasked with maintaining your families history. It is a labor of love that many of us enjoy. So when January arrives it generally means it’s time for your equipment’s annual Clean & Check maintenance.

Clean and Check

The first, and most critical, is to have annual equipment maintenance completed. This means cameras and lenses go in for cleaning and a mechanical check-up.  Best time to do this is every January or before you go on vacation.  We do a plethora of Clean and Checks that are done on a first in first done basis, so don’t wait until the last moment. It’s probably a good idea to get your computer a diagnostic and some optimization maintenance too.

So what should you bring to your camera’s physical and what do we clean and check?

1.  Your DSLR – so we can Clean and Check your camera’s sensor, focusing screen, rear  viewfinder and check the security of the lens mount.
2.  All of your lenses – so we can properly Clean and Check the front and rear elements.

Edit Recent Images

The second is more laborious, but a bit more fun. Importing, meta taging and filing all the family photo image files taken at all the family gatherings from Thanksgiving through the New Year.

Back-Up

Once completed, make sure you back-up your image files.  For safety you should keep your files in three separate places, including a removable drive and cloud storage offered by Google Photos, Apple iCloud (5GB Free), Microsoft OneDrive (1T free with Office365 subscription), and even Amazon (5GB Free) offers unlimited storage with an Amazon Prime subscription)

Make Enlargements & Gifts

Aside from organizing the images this is when you should consider what you would like to make with your photos.  Enlargements for your wall?  Maybe a Gallery Wrap or a wall collection of images?  Perhaps make a family album/yearbook celebrating your family during 2017. Then of course gifts, such as mugs, puzzles and enlargements for other family members.

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