I'm posting this in the Tree House rather than photos because it is a suggestion post.
On one branch of the family, I have tons of photos - Mom & Grandma preserved the photos and many hang on the living room wall of my Mother. As I post some of these photos to Facebook, 2nd and 3rd cousins are amazed to see them - they are new for them, never seen before. It never occurred to me that they would be new to anyone else as I grew up my whole life seeing the ancestors on the wall.
I don't think that my Great-Grandmother one day wrote out her will and said, "All of my photos will be handed to my grand-daughter, only for her use, to be kept and only enjoyed by her." Usually, we have a photo because a loved one died and we inherited them - not always, but this is often the case. For siblings who move out of state, their children and grandchildren, in time, lose contact and don't enjoy these family treasures.
I see so many "private photo" entries on Ancestry and I wonder if some descendant is hoarding a box of photos like that gold ring on "Lord of the Rings."
"My precious photos..."
What would your Great-Grandmother want, that you keep all the photos in your own home? never to be shared with her other children and grandchildren, specifically, your 2nd, 3rd, 4th cousins on the internet?
What happens to you if your house burns down? Imagine right now that you lost your computer, hard drive, and home. Do you have a backup of Granny's pics? And if you do have backups, what if you die suddenly, does the rest of the family know where to find them? Do they care? Often, we have 2 or 3 generations who just don't care and the work of previous generations gets flushed at a yard sale after a funeral. A quick look at old photos for sale on eBay can show you what happens to so many...
The best thing you can do with the family photos of your near-distant and distant relatives (deceased grandparents or older) is to scan them and share them on the internet.
I imagine, if your ancestors were looking over your shoulder right now while you're on your computer, they would want their other descendants to enjoy those photos too. Share them, and share them liberally. I have seen, in other discussions on the net that people are worried about ownership rights and pay sites "selling" your photos after a cousin uploads them to Ancestry. I say, "so what," if you put them on your own website, on Wikitree, and other open sites, they will be available to your distant cousins.
Imagine in 100 years, photos you transfer to your 3rd cousin, may come back to your grandchildren, from their 5th cousins (the grandchildren of your 3rd cousins) should your "branch" of the family lose them.
You won't live forever - the reason for Wikitree is to document your ancestry for future generations - what better way to do that than to share your photos?
Something to think about ;-)