So, you are back from traveling the world and came home with tons of memories … and thousands of pictures. Now what?
If you are anything like me, coming home from a big trip or a semester abroad means coming home panicked about what to do with all of your beautiful shots (I hate having my favorites just sitting there on my computer). Luckily there are tons of things you can do with all of your stellar travel pics which is excellent news … I tend to take hundreds (or even thousands) of pictures when I travel.
Need a little more picture help?
Read this guide about growing your Instagram following.
You’ve probably posted your absolute favorite gems on Instagram already (if you haven’t, do it and tag @ilpadventure if you're an ILP volunteer!). Then, go through and delete the ones you know you won’t use. Yep, get rid of any duplicates, any blurry shots or ones where your eyes are closed … it’ll make your life so much easier. This is my favorite thing to do on my flight home by the way. Finished? Mmmkay, now, we can get started on using your best pictures:
Print 'Em
Seems obvious, right? Just print your pics and use them to decorate your dorm for cheap, or get more creative. One idea I love is printing your photos in all different sizes and pinning them to a big cork board — you can switch out photos if you want, or just leave them be. I also love framing a few gems and arranging them in a cool shape on the wall. Or hang up some string and use clothespins to display your favorite shots.
Currently, I have a huge grid of 4x4 pictures from 20+ countries up on a wall in my bedroom and I'm in love with how it looks. Here are my favorite places to print pictures from:
Get Pictures For Free
I've been able to print 100+ pictures for my room for free, just paying shipping. I've signed up for the email subscription for Parabo Press and Artifact Uprising (my fav!), plus followed them on Instagram. They have pretty frequent deals that let you print 15 pictures, or 20 pictures, or 10 pictures for free, as long as you pay shipping. Score.
I love the matte prints from Artifact Uprising in that 4x4 square.
Send Them As Postcards
Keep your wanderlust going by using your travel pictures as postcards. I love this idea — I've printed a handful of my favorites as postcards which is a really fun way to keep in touch with friends from all over. There are lots of companies who will turn our favorite pictures into postcards, here are a couple:
Or DIY Stationary + Gift Tags
Photos can do way more than just hang on your wall, or can be sent in the mail. I've printed off those 4x4 size and used it as gift tags on presents for an Instagram-worthy Christmas, but have also made my own stationary and thank you cards with some of my pictures
Just grab some plain, generic envelopes and note cards at your local craft store, and glue your pictures to the notecard to make your own stationary. This is a fab. way to use up lots of your pretty nature shots from all the cool temples you saw in Asia or the churches in Europe. You can make tons of these for cheap and even give them away as gifts.
Make A Photo Book
Let your friends browse through your whole semester in Mexico in one book. There are dozens of companies that can print a photo book straight from your Instagram feed, or you can upload select photos and get artsy with the layout. Here are some of the more popular photo books I've used.
Pay Less For Your Book
If you're into getting a photo book for cheap, I'd recommend subscribing to all the email subscriptions for these companies and hopping on their websites frequently. I typically work on a project then just order it when there's a good deal, like 60% off.
I've also seen amazing deals on Groupon for these (I got a Shutterfly book for $5 plus a couple dollars for shipping). If you go with the 8x8 Shutterfly book, you can typically always find a Groupon
Ready to start taking tons of pictures abroad?
Come check out the ILP experience … and start thinking about where in the world you want to adventure with ILP. We have countries all over the world, and are here to help you decide which one of our programs would be the best fit.
