Finding the pictures might feel like a chore. Here’s how to make it a gift.
We’re not going to pretend the intake process is nothing. It takes time. You have to find the photos, pick the right ones, and get them uploaded — and if you’re a caregiver, time is the one thing you don’t have extra of. The good news? You may already have more of what you need than you think. Photos on your phone, pictures shared on Facebook, images tucked away in an old email — they all count. And for the ones still sitting in a shoebox, getting them ready is easier than it used to be.
But here’s what we’ve seen happen when families slow down long enough to do this together: the photo hunt stops being a task and starts being something else entirely.
It becomes the first memory you make while preserving the rest.
Start With a Box, Not a Plan
Most families have “the box” — a shoebox, a drawer, a plastic bin stuffed with old photographs. Maybe it’s in the closet. Maybe it’s been in the garage for years.
Pull it out.
Don’t sort it first. Don’t organize it. Just set it on the table in front of your mom, your dad, your grandparent — whoever this is all for — and watch what happens.
Old photographs have a kind of magic. The moment someone sees a face they haven’t thought about in forty years, they start talking. Stories come out that you’ve never heard. Names you’ve never known. Places that meant something long before you were born.
That’s not a side effect of this process. That’s the point.
Let Them Choose
When it comes time to pick which photos will go into the coloring book, don’t make that decision alone. Let your loved one help.
Ask them: Which ones do you love most? Who is that? Where were you?
You might be surprised. The picture you’d skip over — a blurry shot of a backyard barbecue from 1971 — might be the one that lights them up. Research on reminiscence therapy shows that personal, meaningful images are far more powerful for people with memory loss than generic ones.¹ The photos they choose will likely mean more to color later, too.
If they can’t pick easily, narrow it down for them. Lay out five or six and ask, “Which ones should we use?” Keep it simple and low-pressure. This isn’t a test. It’s a conversation.
Make It a Family Project
This doesn’t have to fall on one person. In fact, it works better when it doesn’t.
If you have siblings, cousins, or grown kids, bring them in. Someone can sit with mom and go through the photos while someone else handles the scanning. A grandchild who’s good with technology can help with uploads. Someone else can write down the stories as they come up — the names, the dates, the little details your loved one shares while flipping through the pictures.
Divide the work. Share the moment.
And if you’re doing this long-distance? Photos can be mailed. Stories can be shared over a video call while someone else holds up the pictures. There’s more than one way to be part of this.
Getting Your Photos Ready to Send
Not everyone has a scanner tucked in a closet, and that’s completely okay.
Already have digital photos?
Check your phone’s photo library, Google Photos, iCloud, Facebook, or old email attachments before you do anything else. If your family has been snapping pictures for years, the ones you need may already be waiting for you in digital form.
Use your smartphone.
For printed photos, the simplest tool is already in your pocket. Lay the photo flat on a table in good light and take a picture of it with your camera app. For even better results, the free Microsoft Lens app (iPhone and Android) straightens edges, sharpens detail, and saves a clean image ready to upload. Google PhotoScan is another free option that cuts down on glare from glossy prints.
Use a flatbed scanner.
If someone in the family has one, a flatbed scanner produces the cleanest results — especially for older or fragile photos. Many all-in-one home printers include a scanner. It’s worth asking around before buying anything new.
Visit a local print or office store.
Places like FedEx Office, Staples, and many local print shops offer self-serve or assisted scanning for a small fee per page. Some locations will put the scans on a USB drive for you to take home.
Use a mail-in scanning service.
If you have a large batch of photos and don’t want to deal with any of it yourself, services like ScanMyPhotos or Legacybox will digitize your whole collection and send you the files. It takes more time and costs more, but for some families it’s worth every penny.
Still not sure which route is right for you? Reach out at hello@lineagelines.com and we’ll help you figure out the easiest path forward.
About the Scanning — We’ve Got You
We know scanning can feel like the most technical, frustrating part of the whole thing. Not everyone has a scanner. Not everyone wants to deal with one.
That’s why we’re actively looking at ways to take that off your plate. We want to make it as easy as possible to get your photos to us — whether that means you scanning them yourself, uploading phone photos, or something else entirely. If scanning feels like a wall right now, reach out to us at hello@lineagelines.com and tell us where you’re stuck. We’d rather find a solution with you than have you give up before you’ve started.
(This is something we care about getting right. Your feedback helps us figure out what support to offer next.)
The Waiting Is Part of It
After you send your photos, there’s a window of time before your book arrives.
We know waiting can feel hard when you’re a caregiver and everything feels urgent. But here’s a reframe worth trying: that waiting period is actually something to look forward to.
You’ve already given your loved one something — the conversation, the afternoon, the stories that came out of that box of photos. The book is coming. Something made just for them, with pictures from their own life, is on its way.
You can tell them that. You can build a little anticipation together.
“Remember those pictures we looked at? They’re being turned into a coloring book, just for you. It’s going to be here soon.”
That sentence alone can be a real comfort. Something to look forward to is not a small thing when days can blur together.
It Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect
The photos don’t have to be pristine. The process doesn’t have to be fast. You don’t have to get it all done in one sitting.
What matters is that you started. That someone sat down with someone they love and looked at a life together. That’s already something.
The coloring book is what comes after. But the afternoon you spent finding the pictures? That belongs to you both, no matter what.
Ready to get started? Visit lineagelines.com or reach out at hello@lineagelines.com. We’re here to help you through every step.
¹ Cotelli, M., Manenti, R., & Zanetti, O. (2012). Reminiscence therapy in dementia: A review. Maturitas, 72(3), 203–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2012.04.008
