Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Bledsoe.
Hi Stephanie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I come from a long line of “savers.” My grandmother and great grandmother saved every letter that my great uncle Thomas sent home during World War II. The receipt and owner’s manual to the first window AC unit purchased the summer after I was born was tucked away in the cedar chest with the family Bible. So it came as no surprise that as a teen I kept a scrapbook filled with ticket stubs, event programs and special photos of friends.
Fast forward to 1997 when a friend invited me to a Creative Memories scrapbooking class. I was instantly in love! The archival quality of their scrapbooks meant no more yellowing, crumbling pages, and now I had a whole group of friends to get together with and scrapbook. Soon thereafter I began hosting a scrapbook circle each month, and in October I became an official Creative Memories Advisor, and I’ve been helping people and businesses organize and backup their photos, videos and documents ever since.
With the shift into the digital age of photography and a camera in your pocket thanks to smart phones, the number of photos and videos taken has grown exponentially. People are overwhelmed. They have digital photos scattered across multiple phones, computer hard drives, thumb drives, SD cards, various websites, literally everywhere. My business focus began to shift from traditional scrapbooking to working with clients to create a personal photo management/backup plan.
Today I enjoy helping people transform their overwhelming number of photos into an organized collection of memories. We digitize their older memories that are trapped on old media formats so they can view, enjoy and securely share those with friends and family. We backup the photos and videos on their phones. We develop a system that makes it easy for them to maintain the influx of new photos they continue to take. We group all of this into a private, permanent digital home that can be easily passed down to the next generation.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Currently I still work a full-time job in healthcare IT in addition to being Your Photo Fairy. While a challenge, with the convenience of technology I’m able to support clients with recorded trainings, virtual workshops and 1:1 sessions via Zoom. The flexibility of being able to watch a recorded training when it works best for them or following along with the ability to pause or rewind a workshop training tip while working on their photo project has been well received by clients.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Your Photo Fairy?
I chose the name Your Photo Fairy after a traditional scrapbooking client once said, “I don’t need a fairy godmother; I need a photo fairy!”
As I embraced the persona of being Your Photo Fairy, I quickly realized that everyone needs a photo management plan. The new parents snapping photos constantly. The empty nesters downsizing. Those with memories trapped on media formats that have become obsolete or have deteriorated so badly they can no longer be enjoyed.
People don’t need just a place to back up the hundreds of thousands of photos, but a system to manage new photos being taken every week. The old photo albums and scrapbooks, slides, negatives and reels of 8mm film videos they’ve inherited.
People are drowning in photos and are paralyzed because they don’t know where to begin tackling the overwhelm. Being able to pass down those photos to the next generation is no longer as simple as handing over the family photo albums. Multiple moves, downsizing and decluttering leaves these physical items in jeopardy of being lost forever. If you actually read the terms and conditions of service for your cloud storage services, you may be shocked to find what you have agreed to allow that company to do with your precious photos that you thought were safe.
My mission is to help individuals, families and businesses save and share their stories and history. Everyone has a story to tell. It’s those stories that tie one generation to the next. In this digital world, that is all too easily erased. I fear for the future generations that do not know their history. Our collective history. By preserving our photos/videos, and more importantly telling the stories behind those photos, future generations will learn from our mistakes. They will know what we valued. What we enjoyed doing. And they will see themselves in those stories thus connecting the generations. That is my mission. One person, one business, one family at a time. Save the photos/videos and document the stories. Without the stories, those photos lose their meaning and the history is lost with them.
To accomplish this seemingly insurmountable task, I like to spend time asking questions to learn what memorable moments are most special to them; the ones they would be devastated if lost. We focus on that project first. I’m as much a coach and encourager as a photo organizer. Clients have a choice of the level of assistance that I provide as Your Photo Fairy.
“Teach/Show Me” allows clients to complete projects by watching recorded trainings or attending virtual or in-person workshops. where I answer questions, teach and assist. “Help Me” do it is a hybrid where I work 1:1 with you to do the initial setup and get you started, and you take it from there now that you have a simple system. And then sometimes clients just want Your Photo Fairy to “Do It for Me!” I do the heavy lifting and get your “stuff” organized. I do still need your help as all of the people in photos are strangers to me. Once organized and no longer overwhelmed, clients are then able to maintain the system we’ve developed together.
As Your Photo Fairy, I really just want to help people with their next project that involves photos, whatever that might be. In addition to digitization, organization and cloud backup services, I also offer printed photos, photobooks, canvas and metal prints, cards, calendars, drinkware, planners/notebooks, home decor and more that can showcase your favorite photos and make quick and easy gifts. Seeing your favorite photos around the house puts a smile on your face. I like seeing those smiles.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Organizing photos is a lot like shoveling snow while it’s snowing. It’s not a one and done thing unless you are never taking another photo. Give yourself grace and remember that it’s a marathon. Spending just 1 hour a week working on your photo collection will keep you making progress.
Pricing:
- 1 hour Personal Photo Plan consultation – FREE
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yourphotofairy.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourphotofairy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/159090224698134
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sbledsoe-yourphotofairy/
