Who Gets The Photos?

Both parents can have a complete set of the family photos, or an edited version if you prefer, by taking advantage of a scanner and color printer. In the past, when two spouses could not agree on who got the photographs, judges often ordered one party to make a duplicate set or make the negatives available for reprints. Not many people keep the negatives, especially of photos taken years ago, and paying to have reprints from a hard-copy photo can be quite expensive. Modern technology provides a simple, reasonably inexpensive alternative. Good flat scanners sell for about $70 - $100, and basic color printers cost $150 or less. Epson printers are often used by graphic artists and photographers. Amazingly high quality "photos" can even be printed on regular paper.

For new photos that you might want to share with your ex or ex-in-laws, a digital camera is handy. The Sony^© digital cameras store the pictures on regular 3 1/2" floppy disks (without expensive accessories) so you can take the disk right from the camera, pop it in your home PC, and voila - instant photos that can be printed out, e-mailed, or posted to a family website.

Because good digital cameras are still cost several hundred dollars, a less expensive alternative is to request the photos be put onto a CD. Walgreens and other places that process film will do this if you make the request when dropping off the firm. The cost is about $10 per roll of 24 shots. You can then make innumerable prints on a color printer or do anything else you wish, such as making an electronic photo album.

Thinking about photographs while in the midst of a divorce may be very low on your priorities list, but if you ask people what things they would grab if their house were on fire, I bet many would have the family photo albums high on the list. This tells me that photographs really do mean a lot to people, so finding ways to share the photos post divorce is a good idea.