Contrariwise: In Praise of Photo Albums

In the early 2000s, my wife and I took a digital photography class. Within the first few minutes, the instructor dropped a liberating bit of philosophy: Since we were no longer bound by 24-shot rolls of film, we could take as many pictures as we want at all times. Gone were the frustrations of jockeying for the perfect snap and worrying about “wasting” a picture. With a digital camera, we could fire that shutter like a machine gun and then find the perfect shot among the crowd.

However, so many people today have taken that to an extreme. We take pictures of everything all the time, and after the pic gets snapped or posted, it just sort of fades from our memory. We’re on to the next thing, the next photo op, and if that previous perfect pic pops up in our Timeline Memories or a suggested montage, we’ll look, but we rarely allow ourselves to breathe with that personal record. That’s why photo albums are still great, if not essential, serving as both tool and treasure.

I’ll grant that some may be concerned about the cost of getting started. If you’re worried about blowing through an egregious amount of ink and photo paper printing your photos at home, well, you’re right. That’s a pricy and time-consuming endeavor. Fortunately, online services like Snapfish and Winkflash (who can also create physical albums for you) and real-world options like your local Walgreen’s or Walmart Photo Center can handle the printing, and they all cost a lot less than the DIY approach.

Maybe you already like this idea, but wonder where you can still find photo albums. The answer: practically everywhere. They’re a frequent sale item at craft stores, and the ubiquitous Target lists approximately 234 options for photo albums on its website, everything from coffee table tomes to albums the size of a college composition book. You’re not restricted by availability; in fact, any collection concept that you want to manifest (from baby’s first to vacation to the best dinners you’ve ever had) probably already has a themed album ready to accommodate it.

And here’s another key attraction to the photo album: The act of creating one is its own source of enjoyment. We all fall victim to aimless scrolling on our phones, whether it’s headlines or socials, but that constant movement doesn’t necessarily deliver real connection. Combing through your photos and deciding which memories you want to preserve connects you to your past and reminds you of what you’ve been through, who is important, and how far you’ve come.

A photo album also grants you an unanticipated benefit: the ability to slow down. So much of modern life is focused on all the things that we need to do in a day. We need to complete this project. We need to make this appointment. We need to pick up this order or plan dinner or do laundry and on and on. Organizing, and later revisiting, a photo album is an invitation to breathe. You get to just be and re-experience moments that matter, moments that were important enough for you to preserve. It might not seem like a big deal, but taking time to take time … that’s a gift.

This article is featured in the July/August 2025 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.