Gathering Physical Photos and Videos

Expert guide to gathering and identifying physical photos, videos, and film

Visual memories come in many formats of prints, slides, negatives, videos tapes, and film reels. In order to organize and preserve them, it's important to identify, handle, and store them properly.

In this course you'll learn archival best practices including:
  • building your physical gathering toolkit
  • identifying, handling, and cleaning dozens of photo formats
  • expert techniques for removing photos from sticky albums
  • pro techniques for flattening curled photos
  • gathering and identifying dozens of formats of video tapes and film reels
  • the best archival products and strategies for longterm preservation
Photo organizing projects can be large and complex, so if you want to be ready for anything then this course is for you.

Who's this course for?

  • Professional photo organizers who handle physical photos for their clients
  • Archivists who want to identify photo formats with confidence and handle them with care
  • Serious photographers who want to preserve and organize their own photos

Course Includes

  • Three and a half hours (3:33) of self-paced video training in 80+ bite-sized lessons
  • Resource Guide including links, references, and my favorite archival storage products (PDF)
  • Five Digital Posters to help you identify different formats of photos, negatives, slides, video tapes, and film reels (PDF, $95 value)
  • Gathering Physical Photos Guide (PDF)
  • Gathering Home Movies Guide (PDF)
  • Remove and Return Form (PDF)
  • Downloadable transcripts for every lesson to use as reference notes (PDF)
  • Access on computer, tablet, or smart phone
  • Immediate access to all lessons with no expiration

Enjoy the the first three lessons for free and check out the course curriculum below.


Get started now!



"This course is an engaging show-and-tell of decades of photo and video formats with the history and context behind them that every professional should know before beginning any digitizing attempt. It’s also packed with practical tips for gathering collections and getting buy-in from family members, plus an impressive collection of archival storage resources and tricks of the trade that make it feel like a guided tour through the toolset and expertise of Adam's entire studio."

- Laura Woolsey, Founder and CEO of Memory Forward

"This course is fantastic. There is so much information on all the formats one may encounter when organizing photos that no other resources are needed. Having everything shown and explained gave me a much greater understanding and knowledge of how to handle everything."

- Kathy Stone, Retired Professional Photo Manager, Kathy's Coaching

“Adam once again brings his solid, clear-to-understand teaching style to another great course. It’s a perfect fundamental course and will be included in our library of training materials.”

- Rachel Jenkins, Founder of Photo Archivers

Your Instructor


Adam Pratt
Adam Pratt

Adam Pratt loves people, photography, and a good story! He’s spent the last 30 years at the intersection of creativity and technology, including 20+ years at Adobe where he worked on the Creative Cloud team. He has experience as a photographer, book author, software trainer, and photo organizer. He’s also the founder of Chaos to Memories where he helps people enjoy their photos again by turning their photo chaos into precious memories they can enjoy and share.


Get started now!



Course Curriculum


  Module 1: Introduction
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Module 2: Photo Prints
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Module 3: Film Negatives
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Module 4: Photographic Slides
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Module 5: Film Reels
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Module 6: Video Tapes and Discs
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Module 7: Handling Best Practices
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Module 8: Next Steps
Available in days
days after you enroll
  Resources
Available in days
days after you enroll

Get started now!



Frequently Asked Questions


I'm a photo organizer and I outsource my scanning, so is this course still relevant to me?
Absolutely! Even if you outsource your scanning you need to know how to identify, handle, clean, and store physical memories for your clients.
I've already taken one of your other courses. Is this the same material or new content?
This course is all about gathering, identifying, handling, cleaning, and preserving dozens of formats of photos, video tapes, and film reels. I don't cover this material in any other courses.
I've been organizing photos for a long time. Will I learn anything new in this course?
This course is comprehensive and covers dozens of formats, including rare items you've probably never seen. If you want to be ready for anything, then this course is for you.

Get started now!