Digitization and Photography

As part of your event planning, you will need to consider how many stations you will need to quickly and effeciently accomodate your expected number of contributors. If your event is on the smaller side, you may need only 2 stations:

  • Artifacts (Text, Images, 3D Objects)
  • Video If your event is larger, you may want to consider creating separate stations for Text, Images, and Objects as appropriate. Contributors may also have objects which would require visits to multiple stations.

Video Digitization

Start here if the contributor has a video to contribute, even if they have other objects. Once the contributor finishes the narration interview, the guide should check to see whether the video digitization has been completed. - If it has NOT been completed, the guide should take the contributor to the next station (if applicable) while the digitization is in progress. - If it HAS been completed, the video should be returned to the contributor and the guide should confirm that the IDs match and accompany the contributor to the next station (if applicable).

Photography / Born-Digital Photos / Oral History Accompaniment Photos & Images

There are three types of photography you may encounter (in order of expected frequency):

  1. Photographing a physical object (letter, hat, etc.)
  2. Transferring a born-digital photo from a phone or tablet
  3. Photographing a contributor who has only an oral history to contribute (without an artifact) or selecting an existing image that represents the story to be shared

Taking Artifact Photos

The guide should hand over their sticker along with the corresponding object (held by the contributor) to the photographer. The guide will prompt the contributor to hand the photographer the object which corresponds to the ID listed on the sticker. The guide should wait with the contributor while the object is being photographed. The photographer will:

  1. Verify that the short-hand description on the Object ID sticker matches the object.
  2. Take an initial photo with both the object and the Object ID sticker in frame. This will serve as a reference photo.
  3. Place the Object ID sticker on the lightbox frame or near the text/image stand so that the sticker is not visible in subsequent photos.
  4. Arrange and photograph the object from as many points as necessary without any interveneing photographs.
  5. Remove the object and place it on an empty spot on the table with its corresponding sticker in front of it.
  6. Repeat Steps 1-4 for each object.
  7. Once all the photos have been taken, the guide will help the contributor to collect their objects and accompany them to the next station (if applicable).

Transferring Born-Digital Photos

If the photographers are busy, the guide can manage this on their own either in the photography station or outside the station, if it is busy or crowded. The photographer/guide should:

  1. Work with the contributor to select a born-digital photo from the contributor’s photo library.
  2. Help the contributor navigate to the [Born-Digital Photo Submission Form][BDFormLink].
    • Assist the contributor in entering their Object ID into the Object ID field
    • Assist the contributor in uploading the photo in their library to the form

[BDFormLink]:

Oral History Accompaniment Photos / Born-Digital Representative Images

The guide should ask the contributor if they would like a portrait of themselves or a born-digital photo of a location, object, or other content relevant to their oral history.

Select Born-Digital Image/Photo for Oral History

The guide should help the contributor to:

  1. Select a born-digital photo from the contributor’s photo library OR select a photo of a location, object, or other content relevant to their oral history. If the contributor selects this:
    • use the built-in brownser on the contributor’s phone to search for an image which is not copyrighted.
    • inform the contributor that you may have to change the photo if it is under copyright, but that they photo they choose will help you stay true to their original intent.
    • press-and-hold the photo in question, and save it to the contributor’s photo library.
  2. Help the contributor navigate to the [Born-Digital Photo Submission Form][BDFormLink].
    • assist the contributor in entering their Object ID into the Object ID field
    • assist the contributor in uploading the photo in their library to the born-digital form
  3. Once photography is complete, the guide should accompany the contriubutor to the Oral History Station.

Portrait Photos

If the contributor opts for a portrait of themselves, the photographer should take an initial photo of them with the Object ID sticker in frame to serve as a reference photo.

After taking the reference photo:

  1. Pass the Object ID sticker to the guide
  2. Switch the camera to “portrait” mode
  3. Ask the subject to stand in front of a reasonably neutral or minimally cluttered background with shoulders slightly angled and head facing the camera.
  4. Take 3-5 photos
  5. Ask the contributor to select one photo, and delete the rest
  6. Once finished, the guide should accompany the contributor to the Oral History Station

Uploading the Photos

As time permits between photo shoots and/or the end of your event, be sure to upload all photos to your digital storage platform of choice.

Additionally, if using a cell-phone camera, make sure to track storage capacity on any cell-phones used. Not everyone will have unlimited storage on their phones, so you may need to periodically stop to upload images, even if there is a line of people waiting for photos. You can explain to the contributor and guide that you need a moment to upload.

Verify that all the images have uploaded in full before deleting any images from your device, especially when doing so to make additional space.