Preserving Photos and Video Tributes

Photos and video are often the most immediate, emotional way families preserve someone’s memory — and gathering them is usually easier with help.

How do I collect photos from extended family?

Reaching out to extended family and friends - through a group text, email, or shared cloud folder - often surfaces photos no single person had access to. This is one of the simplest and most valuable steps, since memories are rarely all in one place.

Do I need special software to make a video tribute?

Not necessarily - many funeral homes offer video tribute creation as part of their standard services, combining photos (and sometimes video clips) with music into a slideshow-style tribute. Simple consumer apps can also do this if you’d prefer to create it yourself.

Should a video tribute be shown at the service, or is it just for keeping?

Both are common - some families show it during a visitation or service, others create it purely as a keepsake to share and rewatch afterward, and some do both. There’s no requirement to display it publicly if you’d rather keep it private.

What’s the best way to preserve physical photos long-term?

Digitizing older physical photos - scanning them or photographing them clearly - protects against damage or loss over time, while still letting the physical originals be kept, shared, or distributed among family members. Going forward, it’s also worth thinking about what you photograph, not just how you preserve it - see The Last Photograph for a short reflection on why so many photos end up capturing occasions rather than the people in them.

This project can be as simple or involved as feels manageable — there’s no timeline requiring it to be finished quickly.