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Pictures and Stories

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Salt Lake City, Utah
801.906.0609
your life. in a book.™

Pictures and Stories

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Google's PhotoScan App is a nightmare for your old photos. Here's why.

July 17, 2018 Alison Taylor
Do you care about saving your old photos? Here's why you shouldn't digitize them using Google's PhotoScan app on your cell phone.

Do you care about saving your old photos? Here's why you shouldn't digitize them using Google's PhotoScan app on your cell phone.

Do you care about saving your old photos? Here's why you shouldn't digitize them using Google's PhotoScan app on your cell phone.

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In pictures, genealogy/family history
24 Comments

Can I Use My Phone to Scan Old Photos?

July 11, 2018 Alison Taylor
In a pinch, a phone with a high quality camera can make a fairly good "scan" of an old photo, no special apps needed.

In a pinch, a phone with a high quality camera can make a fairly good "scan" of an old photo, no special apps needed.

In a pinch, you can use your cell phone's camera to get a decent scan of these awesome photos—as long as you follow a few simple tips.

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In pictures
8 Comments

How to Get the Most Out of the Pictures and Stories Blog

July 4, 2018 Alison Taylor
getthemostoutofourblog2.jpg

Hello there! We've been so busy making books that we haven't gotten around to posting many articles lately. But since we've had so many new people join us recently, I thought it might be helpful to give a little refresher course on some great things you can find in our blog.

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In pictures, stories
1 Comment

Book Highlight: Truckin' with C.R. England's Eugene England

July 4, 2018 Alison Taylor
The autobiography of Eugene Knight England of C.R. England Trucking.

The autobiography of Eugene Knight England of C.R. England Trucking.

Working with Gene to bring this oversized coffee-table book, "A Life Blessed," to fruition was a joyful experience.

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In book highlights
3 Comments

Seven Deadly Sins of Digitizing Photos - Live (Sort of) from RootsTech

April 5, 2018 Alison Taylor
7D_001.JPG

Every day, we come across digital images that have been improperly digitized or improperly handled. The damage to these images may be unrecoverable, especially if original prints or slides no longer exist. Learning the best practices for handling digital images is crucial to ensure images will be preserved for the future.

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In pictures
6 Comments

The Power of Listening: an Interview with Humans of New York’s Brandon Stanton

February 22, 2018 Alison Taylor
bstanton.jpg

Brandon Stanton

 

 

Having been fans of Humans of New York nearly since its beginning, we were excited to have the opportunity to interview the celebrated photojournalist Brandon Stanton prior to his coming to Salt Lake City as the keynote speaker for the opening session of next week’s RootsTech family history conference.

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In stories Tags brandon stanton, humans of new york, listening, family history, rootstech
3 Comments

Book Highlight: A Children's Book Tells a Family Pioneer Story

April 26, 2017 Alison Taylor
A charming children's book of a family pioneer story, written and illustrated by a talented member of the family.

A charming children's book of a family pioneer story, written and illustrated by a talented member of the family.

What a great gift to give the children in your family--a story book that tells a story about their own ancestors!

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In pictures, stories, book highlights
2 Comments

Book Highlight: Stories Collected Over a Lifetime

April 19, 2017 Alison Taylor
This lovely book began as a stack of typewritten life stories collected over the years.

This lovely book began as a stack of typewritten life stories collected over the years.

This heartwarming little volume began as a stack of typewritten life stories that Michael Mazzarella had written over the years. His daughter hired us to create a book for him as a birthday surprise, and soon we received a box in the mail containing his stories and about a hundred original photographs.

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In book highlights
6 Comments

Book Highlight: Spicing Up a Genealogical Narrative Report

April 12, 2017 Alison Taylor
This family history book began with a (let's admit it, rather boring) "narrative report" automatically generated by a genealogy program.

This family history book began with a (let's admit it, rather boring) "narrative report" automatically generated by a genealogy program.

This family history book began with a (let's admit it, rather boring) "narrative report" automatically generated by a genealogy program. We added some additional stories, photos, and custom design to bring it to life for the family.

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In book highlights
1 Comment

Use Dropbox to Collaborate on a Family History Book or Project

April 6, 2017 Alison Taylor
Dropbox is one way to work collaboratively on a family history project.

Dropbox is one way to work collaboratively on a family history project.

Now that your family history book is nearly done, your aunt and your sisters have offered to give you feedback and proofread before you send it to the printer. But what's the best way to get it to them, and how do you keep track of feedback? We've found a pretty efficient way to handle proofing with multiple people, so we thought we'd share it with you.

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2 Comments
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  • 2016
    • Oct 31, 2016 3 Steps to Writing a Story About Your Life
  • 2014
    • Mar 17, 2014 Using Documents to Illustrate a Personal or Family History

HERE'S OUR INSTAGRAM FEED

Thanks, London, for making us feel so welcome. We'll see you again someday. #epicfamilyhistorytour #rootstechlondon
Oxford, vertical edition. As much vertical as Instagram will allow, anyway. #theylookbetteronfacebook #epicfamilyhistorytour #rootstechlondon
A beautiful fall day at Oxford, landscape edition. #epicfamilyhistorytour #rootstechlondon
Final day at #rootstechlondon, then rush to the V & A for the last hour before it closes! Then a walk across the Millennium Bridge for a glimpse of the Globe and the city at night, plus a beautiful poetry/video art installation, projected onto St
Long, fun day at #rootstechlondon! 4 presentations down, one to go... Celebrated with dinner at a 500-yr-old pub where Dickens used to hang and which is now owned by Gandalf. #epicfamilyhistorytour
We're here! Tom's up first today, with "Capturing Family Stories in Video Clips" at 14:00. I'm here early to attend the first class, I'm so excited. What a great conclusion to our #epicfamilyhistorytour ! #rootstechlondon #picturesandstorie
Hello, London! So excited for Rootstech. #epicfamilyhistorytour #rootstechlondon #picturesandstories #yourlifeinabook
Our host showed us these amazing travel scrapbooks his mother made in the 1930s and '40s, complete with hand drawn maps and illustrations. We will miss this place! London, here we come...
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RootsTech 2025
Mar 3, 2025
RootsTech 2025
Mar 3, 2025
Mar 3, 2025
Speaking at RootsTech 2024
Feb 28, 2024
Speaking at RootsTech 2024
Feb 28, 2024

We are so excited to be back at RootsTech live this year! Come by and see the Pictures and Stories booth (#1609) and see some of the many new books we’ve helped our clients create. Alison is giving two in-person classes: The Seven Deadly Sins of Building a Digital Archive, and Making a Genealogy Story Book. Hope to see you there!

Feb 28, 2024

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