Scrapbook journaling with names, dates and your memories
Scrapbook journaling records what a photo cannot show: who was there, when it happened and what you remember. Write those details yourself and distinguish memory from confirmed fact.
Add the details a photograph leaves out. Check names and dates first, then write what you remember about the moment.
Place the pictures before deciding how much to write. Leave more space for an unfamiliar document than for a photo that only needs a date.
Try this in your own scrapbook
Arrange your photos on the pages of a digital scrapbook in your browser.
Check names and dates
Find the date from a ticket, diary or original photo file if you can. Name people from left to right when that makes a group photograph easier to follow.
Mark an uncertain year as approximate. Keep that uncertainty when you place the date on the page.
Write what happened outside the frame
What happened just before or after the photograph? Think about an event the image does not show, such as missing the train or an unexpected guest arriving.
Choose a detail that explains the occasion. You can omit a description of something the reader can already see.
Put the writing beside its photograph
Put the account near the photo or keepsake it describes. On a busy spread, use a small number to match each piece with its explanation.
If several people describe an event, keep their names beside their own accounts. They do not need to agree on every recollection.
Steps
Find the basic facts
Check the original photo date and the names of the people shown. Keep any uncertain detail separate from the facts you can verify.
Choose a memory the photo leaves out
Think about what happened around the photograph, then choose one detail to write about in your own words.
Fit the account to the page
Set the writing beside its photograph. If it fills the page, move the longer account to the facing sheet rather than shrinking the lettering.
Read the page with the photos in place
Ask whether each piece of writing adds information. Remove repeated descriptions and keep names and dates easy to find.
Questions
What should I write in scrapbook journaling?
Record the people, date, place and a detail you remember beyond the photograph. Use your own words rather than a supplied caption or message.
How long does scrapbook journaling need to be?
Use enough space to make the photograph or keepsake understandable. A date may be enough for one image, while an unfamiliar letter may need a separate account.
Can people remember the same event differently?
Keep each account with its writer's name. Check disputed dates or names against documents, while leaving personal recollections attributed to their writers.