How I Found Photos of My Loved One Without Digging Through 100,000 Files

When you're trying to find photos of someone you love, especially after they've passed away it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. I wasn’t looking to organize every picture I’d ever taken. I just wanted a handful of meaningful images that captured who they were.

But with tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of photos across phones, cloud backups, and old hard drives, I didn’t know where to start.

Going through photos can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re looking for just the right ones.

Start With What’s Smart, Not Manual

What helped me wasn’t scrolling endlessly. It was using what my phone and computer already knew.

When I was on my laptop, I used Google Photos’ “People & Pets” feature. It automatically groups photos by faces, which allowed me to click on my grandfather’s face and and instantly filter to the ones he appeared in.

From there, I selected all the photos and downloaded them. I wasn’t trying to find the perfect image, I just wanted the ones that reminded me of him. Inside A Life Portrait, I clicked Add Photos and chose some of my favorites from that batch. It took care of the rest.

On a Phone, It’s Just as Simple

If you’re on an iPhone, it's just as simple. While in A Life Portrait, click Add Photos, then choose: Photo Library > Collections > People & Pets.

Apple uses the same face recognition to help you quickly filter photos, whether they’re stored on your device or in the cloud.

Android phones like Google’s Pixel offer a similar feature. While in A Life Portrait, click Add Photos, then Three Dots Menu > Browse > Photos (app) > Photos > the Person's Image will filter the photos. You can even choose Only Them to further narrow things down.

This let me skip all the screenshots, receipts, food pics -- all the clutter -- and get straight to what I was looking for. From there, I could select and upload only the best moments directly into the portrait without having to scroll for hours.

Use the Tools, Then Curate the Photos

If you're feeling overwhelmed by thousands of photos, start by narrowing your focus to just the person you're honoring. You don’t need to upload everything or organize your entire library. Use built-in tools like facial recognition to quickly surface the memories that matter most.

A Life Portrait will organize the rest for you by turning your photos into a heartfelt tribute filled with memories, timelines, and video.

This approach helps you curate your favorites quickly and keeps the process simple, meaningful, and cost-effective. When you're ready to preserve those moments in a lasting way, we’re here to help.

Try A Life Portrait

Podcast about Finding Photos