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CLAN CALENDARS

Genealogists construct family histories, diagram family trees and uncover family lore with passion and purpose.

While pursuing the past, why not create a clan calendar, so you can share and enjoy what you have discovered for the future? A family photo calendar can make a wonderful genealogical gift for your relatives as well.

SELECT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS

As you assemble your family history, you will likely uncover many fascinating photographs from past generations in your heritage. Undoubtedly, if you are a genealogy enthusiast, you will enjoy poring over these pictures and identifying your ancestors and their surroundings. Which photos merit inclusion in your clan calendar?

You may research the backgrounds of your old family photographs to create captions for them. When and where was each photo composed? Who are the people posing in the photograph? Under what circumstances was the picture taken? Did the photo mark an important family occasion?

Sorting through your piles of family photographs, you will need to select a special assortment of images for your photo calendar of your ancestors. Perhaps you will focus on one line of your family tree. Maybe you will place your pictures in chronological order. Possibly, you will choose to create a jumbled collage of family photos, representing multiple generations.

Whatever system you select, you will organize your chosen photographs into twelve sections, one for each month in your photo calendar year.

EDIT YOUR PHOTOS

If you wish to preserve your ancestral photo calendar for posterity, and if you plan to share copies with other relatives, then you will want to compose it on a computer.

First, you need to find a way to put your chosen photographs into your computer system. You can scan the images yourself, or you can have a photo developing shop do this for you.

Because computer scanners can be quite economical, you will likely find it much handier and cheaper to do this yourself. Also, as a genealogist, you will probably want to scan images regularly, not just for your family photo calendar.

Once your photographs are safely stored on your computer, you can begin to edit them. Use simple photo editing software to resize, reshape and adjust the focus and color of your photos.

Many genealogy enthusiasts choose to convert all their images to antique sepia tones (brown-tones) when they make family photo calendars or displays. This makes old and new photos seem to match and coordinate well. Others use black-and-white for all

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