Where to begin—a brief overview
Use
this overview to help you decide what type of family history project you want
to undertake—the Format—and establish a Style. Since most projects involve some photo editing
there’s a section on that as well as one on photo preservation.
Whatever
format and style you choose, the key to a well-done project is
o-r-g-a-n-i-z-a-t-i-o-n. If you are organized, it will also make the project
easier to do.
Get a 3-ring binder
Label
the binder and put only family history related things in it—transcribed
interviews, video log sheets, historic research, etc.
This will be your project
guide and will help keep you on track. Get pocket dividers so you have sections
for a plan outline, genealogy, interviews, photographs, community and national
history research.
List what you know. This
will be the first entry in your family history notebook. Make a list of all your
family members. Go back as far as you can.
Leave
space under each person’s name to write any details about them you can remember.
Do you know where they were born or buried, what was their relationship to
others, or what was their profession?
Make
note of the stories you know about each individual. Another detail to include
is whether or not you have a photograph of that person.
List what you have. This
is also a good time to think about what resources you have or plan to get—things
like a digital video camera or genealogy program. Don’t forget to include your
array of skills when you are taking your resource survey.
Photographs
taken before the invention of the digital camera deteriorate over time. They
become scratched, faded, and lose their color. You now have a two-fold goal
(1) produce a new retouched photo and (2) preserve the original photo from
further destruction.
Equipment: Flatbed scanner, photo editing program or on-line
service, acid-free and lignin free storage supplies.
Choose a style
Putting
your family history together is an art form. Like any artist, you need to find
your style. Style is the overall look and theme of the project. Will your style
be simple elegance or down-home folksy. Perhaps a particular ethnic theme is
more appropriate for your family and project format.
Other
considerations when choosing a style are color scheme, font selection, graphics
layout and rhythm. Follow the Free Rules of Graphic
Design Tutorial and you will end up with a professional looking
family history project.
Choose a format
In what form are you going
to put your family history.
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