5 creative ways to take advantage of your vacation photos

The digital era brought, among other things, a huge increase in the sheer amount of pictures everyone takes during the holidays. Years ago, you were limited to a couple of rolls of film, or had to buy your own postcards from wherever you went. Now, a standard DSLR can help you take a few thousands of photos relying on one memory card. Ever more, most smartphones take great pictures, and it’s not rare to come back with 500 snapshots after a few days on holiday. The real question is not how many pictures you take. It’s what you do with them afterwards.

Image source: besttravelphotos.tumblr.com

We’ve all found ourselves in the situation that we have thousands and thousands of pictures on our computers or phones, but never really take advantage of them. We don’t use them to decorate our home, to improve our level of comfort or to remind us of great trips. For those of you who have this problem, we’ve come up with a list of 5 great ideas you can try to take advantage of the pictures you have from your travels.

Here is the list:

  1. Print them in large scale

Don’t limit yourself to printing small versions, 10x15cm, of your favourite photos. If the resolution of this picture is good, try getting large versions of them printed, either on photographic paper or on canvas. These can then be used to decorate your home with unique pictures, rather than store-bought standard art. An example of this canvas printing from the Canvas Factory is below:

Image Source: Thecanvasfactory.com.au

  1. Use them to create and decorate objects around the house

Print a large amount of photos and stick them on your closet door. You’ll remember the great times you had on your holidays every time you get dressed. You can also decorate other objects from your home, like book cases, wall clocks or doors to make the entire place look more unique and show more of your personality.

  1. Create your own postcards

If you enjoy sending out postcards to your family and friends, why not send them pictures you took yourself, rather than generic ones you’ve bought for 1$? Making a postcard out of a photo is an easy task for any photo store, and doesn’t cost much at all. This gesture will surely impress the recipients.

  1. Create fridge magnets

This is one of the easiest, yet overlooked ideas. Instead of buying fridge magnets, use your photos to make your own, inscribe them, and then put them up on your fridge. You’ll fill the entire space after a few trips and can always see all the cool places you’ve visited every time you enter the kitchen.

  1. Organize them in hard-copy albums

This really isn’t a very creative idea, but people often overlook it and you have to remember the old faithful ideas are exactly that for a reason. The feeling of photographic paper in your hands is just as great as it was 20 or 30 years ago, and printed pictures tend to have a longer lifespan that digital ones. Do you really want to lose all your pictures due to a hard drive malfunction or if your social media accounts get hacked? A photo album is an inexpensive way of keeping these memories alive for as long as you live.

Image credit: Pinterest Travel

We hope we helped you with some ideas regarding what you can do with your vacation photos. There are much more things that can be tried, things different from the standard uploads on your Facebook, Instagram or Picasa accounts. Set your creativity free, and if you implement any of the ideas above (or others), please don’t hesitate to share the result with us!