I found myself at the end of May in the passenger side of our car, driving home from a farm out in Jefferson County. On my lap was the most cuddly 17-pound, 13-week-old yellow lab puppy. Absolutely adorable. But it wasn’t what I had in mind — he wasn’t a female black lab puppy.
That had been my first choice. But my family fell in love with Milo, and we were driving home with him. Unbeknownst to me, I was beginning a story I’d be telling you now.
Welcome to Live with Mollie, where I bring you stories, news, thoughts, and inspiration to help you on your family’s photo-saving journey. Whether you’re here live or joining on the replay, I welcome your thoughts and questions about saving photos.
We’re all in this together. I want to be a resource for you — a place where you can get some help. Today’s topic: What do photos say about our lives? I’d love to know what your photo collection says about your life. Leave a post in the comments if you like, and I’ll try to take a look before the program’s over. If you have questions, drop them in the chat and we’ll see if we can answer those as well.
On today’s show, we’re going to talk about that question, we’ll talk about Milo, I’ve got some news in the photo-organizing world, and of course I’ll answer a few questions. I also have some announcements, so you might want to stick around.
I had planned for this podcast to be weekly. But it’s funny how life interrupts the plans we make. I see it all the time with people organizing photos: they get a few months of progress, and then life happens — a health issue, a job change, a family event. That’s what happened to me. I’ve been off the mic for four weeks. But I’m back today, and I think I’ll stick on track.
I grew up with female black lab dogs. My mom was concerned about having male dogs, so we always had females. My husband, though, was looking forward to maybe having a yellow lab, so it would match our blond cocker spaniel, Sidney. I conceded on the color — fine, a yellow female lab puppy.
At the end of May, I made arrangements with a farm. I put money down on a brand-new puppy that had just been born. She was so tiny her eyes weren’t even open yet. I knew I’d be excited to bring her home in 7 or 8 weeks. Done deal, right?
But then, as we were leaving, we passed another pen with two slightly older puppies — one black, one yellow. Both were boys. We went in to say hello, and that yellow male puppy tugged at Paul’s shoelaces. We were goners. That dog was coming home with us, no matter what.
I was disappointed. He wasn’t female. He wasn’t black. But you don’t always get what you want.
Six weeks later, with Milo at home, I realized he was the perfect dog — friendly, loyal. I teased Paul, saying, “I didn’t get the dog I wanted.” He looked at me and said, “What’s wrong with Milo? He’s a great dog.” And of course, he was right.
Having a female black lab might have been my 100% perfect situation, but Milo is 95% perfect. And sometimes we don’t get to choose the perfect outcome, yet the outcome is still amazing.
That’s true with our photo collections, too. People worry about “the right way” to do it, and get paralyzed because there are so many bins, boxes, and digital files. That’s why I ask: What do your photos say about your life?
It doesn’t matter exactly how you answer. The important thing is simply to consider it. What do you want your photos to say about your life?
When my friend and I started Pixologie 12 years ago, we loved explaining it like this: Biology is the study of life. Pixologie is the study of your life through your photos. And your story matters.
Over the years, I’ve seen consistent themes in photo collections. Some say, “Life was simpler before screens.” Others say, “We didn’t have a lot, but we had enough.” Some emphasize heritage, or the chaos and joy of raising a family.
For me, photos are reminders that we’ve done a lot in life. They also remind me that you don’t always get what you want. Like the photo I have of Milo tugging Paul’s shoelace — a moment that sealed our fate. Or the photo of my daughter, at six years old, heartbroken over a cat she couldn’t bring home from a petting zoo. Photos teach resilience.
And just as no one in my family felt guilty that I didn’t get the dog I wanted, you shouldn’t feel guilty if your photo collection isn’t perfect. We’ve all inherited messes. Even our parents and grandparents weren’t great organizers. They shoved photos into boxes in basements and garages. Now we’ve got that plus thousands of digital photos.
The takeaway? Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress. Even small steps matter. No one cares if every photo is cropped just right. They care about the story.
Technology is rushing in to help — or complicate — how we manage photos. Apple Photos can already search “puppy” and find all my dog pictures. Facebook (Meta) is rolling out AI that wants access to your photo library. Microsoft is embedding AI into Windows editing tools. These things can be helpful, but they raise privacy concerns. Be cautious.
I’ll answer a quick Apple Photos question I received: you can’t add album descriptions that are visible in shared ways, and that’s okay. For meaningful documentation, platforms like Forever are better.
Finally, I have announcements:
Save Your Photos Month Bootcamp — September 26–27. Virtual, with an option to join us in Milwaukee.
The Great Photo Voyage Cruise — February, with my colleague Krista Quiltchuck. (We’ll be live tonight on YouTube talking about it!)
And — this podcast will move to Tuesdays at 2 PM Central, starting next week.
So I’ll leave you with this: focus on the essence of your photos, not perfection. One step at a time will get you there.
That’s it for today. Have a wonderful Fourth of July, and I’ll see you next week.
