Orginal Photos or Copies of Photos?

Hi everyone I think I asked this question before but don't rememeber. If I did I'm sorry for the repet of the same questions.
Anyways, I been scrapbooking most of my orginal pictures into my layouts. Because I enjoy using the actual photos. That why you see photo corners in some but others are put in place by acid free glue dots. All my paper are acid free and my page protectors are archival quality acid and legien free pvc free and somethimes it says photo safe. I saw couple people's layout in the gallery section. I decided to ask if they use the orignal photo but most said no they use copies of the photo. I just wonder if I'm doing most of my photos damage by using the orginal one even though all my products are acid lignin free, archival quality, pvc free. I don't want to have to copy and have more and more extra double photos. I know it sounds like a silly question. But since I'm still new to scrapbooking. I want to make sure my photos are being protected. Becuase I really enjoy the photos I have. But don't want them to be stuck in boxes or some everyday normal photo album. I decided to be creative with them and show it off with some nice color paper etc. Especially with my family heritage albums with the people who came before me are long gone. I don't want them to be forgotten even if I don't know them personally they are the reason me and my family are here today.

Justie

It's an ongoing debate Justie.

One school of thought is that if your antique, irreplaceable photos were mouldering away in a damp box or acid-laden "magnetic albums" {shudder} in the garage or attic anyway, then displaying them beautifully in dry, acid-free, lignin-free albums has to be better. Another says that the precious family heirlooms should be stored in proper containers to protect them, and not messed about with, to preserve history.

I think a compromise is to scan everything anyway, so that you have a record on the computer if anything should happen to the originals. (That's what I'm working on at the moment.) Then you have the choice between scrapping prints from the scans, or scrapping the originals.

I haven't scrapped any original, vintage, heirloom photos even though I only use acid-free, lignin-free products. I haven't even tried scrapping vintage style yet - I'm kinda scared!

I scrap original photos all the time, but as mentioned, I scan them first so I have a digital back-up and can make more copies if necessary

When I order prints I usually order 2 of every print I know I am going to want to scrap. One gets scrapped, and the other gets placed in a photo box for safe keeping. I do this for two reasons:
1. what if the photo gets damaged on the layout?
2. what if I need that photo for something not scrapbook related and it's stuck to a layout? I would have to destroy the layout to get the pic back. And even if I'm okay w/ the destroying the layout, what if the pic was altered in some way...still may not be useable.

If I come across a pic I want to scrap that I didn't make doubles of, I usually just print those ones at home. Or if I know I will be making an order soon and can wait a bit I will order another copy.

I also have all my recent (w/in the last 5 years?) pics stored online at the place where I order my prints from...and in an external hardrive. (But it's not very organized, LOL!)

FYI - Unfortunately I didn't start the above process until about a year ago so there are some pics I've scrapped that I have no extra hard copy of. As I come across those I order another pic, if I can. Some pics I only had hard copies of and back in the day, before I new any better, I scrapped them.

It kinda stresses me out at times that I don't have any extras of those, but I try to remember that it's not worth stressing about.

To be honest the whole organizing of pics stresses me out... I think I have my stuff pretty organized but I always feel like I'm missing something...

I feel the same way and I think if you are using photo corners, you won't regret using the originals. I also scan the photo and make a copy of it. I am doing this for all of my family history photos.

Having said that, sometimes I restore old photos, crop differently and print them to a larger size. Some of my very best photos are out of my mother's baby book. They are tiny wallet size and have to be cleaned up. So, in some cases, I might scrap both a cleaned up copy and the original with photo corners.

I'm like you, I don't want to store them all away but having said that again....Some of the older ones are in the cardboard folders from the early 1900's or earlier. No way I am messing with trying to take them out. I'm leaving them that way and scraping a copy.

I've spent some good money on acid free photo boxes for all of them. I have emptied about 25 photo albums and have 5 or 6 more to do. THAT I am not enjoying.

One of my cousins recently passed away, she was 91. I borrowed two albums and scanned the photos I wanted. I'm not keeping originals but I pretty happy to have scans to share with family members.

Justie; I'm using original photos with photo corners. I also scan them first.

I haven't done this yet but I plan on putting all of my mom's older pics (from 1930's to 40's) in archival holders and incorporate them in a Heritage Album I'm building. They won't get looked at or appreciated if hidden in a box. Again, will scan them. I started journaling my memories of the family members in the pics; the good and the bad.

When it comes to important photos that were printed from negatives (or polaroids), I think it is better to scan the original and use a reprint.

There are a few other reasons scrapbooks put original photos at risk.
The sheer weight of an album can damage photos.
Embellishments can dent through several pages and damage photos.
People looking through your album can inadvertently damage photos.

If something is truly one–of-kind and valuable to you I would recommend tucking the original away in a safe place. When you put it in an album (or even a picture frame) you put it at risk. Only you can gauge if seeing the original outweighs the risk it may be damaged.

I scrap the originals and scan a back-up. I have photos in boxes and no one ever looks at them, not even me.

I guess if I had some older really irreplaceable photos I might think twice about it but right now I scrap originals. I have an external drive where I store scans of them.

Thanks ladies for your comments. I have scaned all my grandmas old vitnages photos. I even scan all my grandma's photos from 40s and 50s. So, just in case someone wants a copy I can print one for them. Before I scrapped them. Most of these old vitnage photos were found in old file cabinet in a folder. I think if they can survive in old folder and even surivie when they were first printed and frame by other family memebers. I think they can survive in 12x12 album. I wanted to show it off in a nice background and with other family photos. I think the old oringal vitnage photos add some character to my page then just copies.

Plus my albums I'm doing now is very simple layout I don't add any bulky embellishments to my page maybe some but not alot of bulk. Thanks for letting me know how you scrap your pictures. I think I'll leave some of the vitnages photos I already scrape as is.