Short answer: ask everyone, well before the reunion, to send a few photos to one place: a shared album or a collect link that works without an account, with a line saying who is in the photo and which year. Scan or photograph old prints instead of collecting the originals, gather the names while classmates still remember, and show the result on the night.
Last updated: 3 November 2026. The facts about Google Photos and PhotoScan, and the advice on handling prints, were checked on that day on the official pages; the sources are at the bottom.
A school reunion lives on photos. The class photo with the bad haircuts, the school trip, the last day. They are spread over thirty attics and as many phones, and the organiser usually ends up chasing them through group chats and email. A little structure at the start saves a lot of chasing, and gives you something to keep after the night is over.
Six to eight weeks before: one place, one message
- Pick one place to collect. Not the group chat, where photos scroll away, and not your own inbox.
- Write one message with the link, and send it through every channel you have: the reunion invitation, the group chat, email.
- Ask for a little. Three to five photos per person, not their whole archive. Small requests get answered.
- Ask for one line per photo: who is in it and which year or class. That line is worth more than the photo's resolution.
- Remind once, about two weeks before the reunion, with a few of the best photos so far.
Where to collect: the options
| Option | Easy for the sender | Who can see it | Not the best choice when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email to the organiser | Yes, but files are often too large or reduced | Only the organiser | You expect more than a handful of photos, or want everyone to see them |
| Group chat | Very easy | The members of the chat | You want to find the photos again, with names and years |
| Google Photos shared album | Easy on any phone | Anyone with the link can view and add | You need control over who has the link, or want stories with the photos |
| Shared cloud folder | Reasonable, depending on the service | Depends on the sharing settings | Classmates are not used to that service |
| The Memory Palace collect link | Yes: from the browser, no account, name added to each contribution | Anyone with the link can see what was shared there; the rest of your palace stays private | You need a slideshow or video editor; it is not one |
Old prints: copy them, keep the originals
Do not ask people to post their originals to you; prints get lost. Ask them to photograph or scan them at home. Google's PhotoScan app is made for exactly this. Photograph flat, in daylight, without flash, and also photograph the back if something is written on it. If they want to label their own prints, the Library of Congress advises writing lightly on the back, near the edge, with a soft graphite pencil, and never using tape or sticky notes.
On the night: names and voices
The reunion is the best moment to fill in the gaps. Show the photos on a screen or lay out prints on a table and ask people to name who they see. Record the conversation on your phone: the stories that come up while people look at a photo are often better than the photo. Afterwards, add the names to each photo, so the collection still makes sense in twenty years.
Privacy: ask before you post
Not everyone wants their teenage self online. Keep the collection private to the class, and only post publicly the photos that the people in them have agreed to. This is also why one private place works better than a public page.
The Memory Palace, honestly
The Memory Palace is your own 3D memory palace: you hang photos, voice recordings, videos and written stories in rooms you walk through. For a class, you can make one wing with a room per school year or per trip. Each room can have a collect link: you send it to classmates, and they add a photo, a written memory or a voice note from the browser, without an account, with their name. Anyone with the link can see what was shared in that room; the rest of your palace stays private. You can withdraw the link and remove a contribution with one tap. Contributors need to be 16 or older.
- The stories stay with the photos. "That was the bus that broke down in the Ardennes" sits next to the picture.
- Co-organisers can help. Invite them into the wing and let them add too.
- Something to keep. You can print the book of the wing yourself or save it as PDF; each voice note gets a QR code that plays the recording.
What it lacks: it is not a slideshow or video editor, so for the screen on the night you still need presentation software. Anyone with a collect link can see that room's contributions, so share it only with the class. It is encrypted in transit and at rest, but not end-to-end. And it is made by a small team in Leuven, Belgium.
A simple way to start
Write the message today: the date of the reunion, one link, three to five photos per person, one line per photo. For photos where nobody knows the year, the free photo date finder helps you estimate it from clothes, hairstyles and the print itself.
If you want a place for the class that lasts beyond the night, you can start a palace and send the collect link with the invitation.
Read on: where to keep memories with friends privately, keeping the memories of a friendship or a time in your life, how to digitise old photos, and all guides on your own memories.
Sources
- Google Photos Help, share albums (anyone with the link can view and add): support.google.com/photos/answer/6131416
- Google Photos Help, scan photos with PhotoScan: support.google.com/photos/answer/7177983?hl=en
- Library of Congress, care, handling and storage of photographs (limit markings; write on the back near the edge with a soft graphite pencil; no adhesives, sticky notes, paper clips or rubber bands; cool, dry, stable storage): loc.gov/preservation/care/photo.html