Hello Mathew and let me one of the first to say welcome to the boards. I know that you will find many great people here to help and guide you along the way.
As far as collecting sets you pose some good questions. I think a photo journal would be a good idea but would also recommend writting down where and how much you paid for certain cards. There all always some great stories about odd finds in the strangest places as well as deals that were great along with some that turned out to be not so great. Write them down so you can go back through and relive the entire collecting experience.
As far a display I have often wondered about that. I am not one to just put cards in a book or box without the ability to display some of my favorites. It is very difficult to do a full set but any creative ways would be great to share. There was a thread a while back called "Show off your displays" that might give you some good ideas. There are some amazing ways to display collections in there. Not to brag but a few of the cases I made for display are in there as well. Here is the link:
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...=show+displays
Stay on the boards and it nice to have you,
Drew