How to collect old photos and video from family
A practical method for gathering shoeboxes, VHS tapes, and phone footage from relatives who live three states away — without losing the originals.
5 min read
Almost every family already has everything needed for a beautiful memorial film. It is just scattered across four houses, two phones, a shoebox, and a camcorder nobody can find the charger for.
Start with one message, not a project
Send one short note to the family group chat with a deadline and a single ask: three favourite photos each. Three is small enough that people actually do it. You will get twenty back anyway.
Digitizing what's on paper
- Phone scanning apps beat flatbed scanners for speed and are good enough for video.
- Shoot in even daylight, away from windows that reflect onto the glossy surface.
- Take the photo out of the frame if you safely can — glass causes glare.
- Photograph the back too if anything is written there. Handwriting is worth keeping.
Old tape and film
VHS, Hi8, MiniDV, and 8mm film all need a transfer service, and turnaround is usually two to four weeks. Start that before anything else, because it is the one step you cannot rush at the end. Ask the service for the highest-quality digital file they offer, not a compressed web copy.
Keep the originals safe
- Never send anyone your only copy of anything.
- Keep one untouched folder of originals and work only from copies.
- Name files plainly: 1974-wedding-reception.jpg beats IMG_0042.jpg.
- Back it up in two places — one of them not in your house.
When you upload to us, everything goes into private storage tied to your memorial. Uploads resume if your connection drops, and only you and your editor can see them.
Ready to make one for your family?
We guide the interview remotely, edit the footage, and send a print-ready QR code for the headstone. Packages start at $249.
What this looks like
Stories in the shape of the ones we help tell.
These are written examples showing how families typically use each package — not reviews from real customers. We'll publish verified testimonials here as families give us permission to share theirs.
We sat with Dad on a Sunday afternoon and asked him the questions in the guide. Three months later we scanned the plaque at the cemetery and heard him laugh again.
I uploaded everything myself over two evenings. The editing notes told me exactly what to trim, and the QR code arrived ready to hand to the engraver.
Six of us joined video calls from three states. They wove it into one film. At the service we played it, and nobody spoke for a full minute afterward.