How To Scan Your Old Photos?

There are many reasons why you may need to scan old photos, with the main one being to preserve them and the other being the need to create a photo book. Photos, in their physical form, are prone to wear and damage. Damaged photos no longer display the original moment or memory that they initially did.

However, scanning helps to convert the physical form of the photos into digital copies, which can be preserved for future referencing or printing at a later date. That aside, scanning old photos is not a walk in the park. You need the photos, a suitable scanner, and a plan on how to go about it. Here is a comprehensive guide on how to scan old photos.

Find the Old Photos to Scan

The first step when it comes to scanning old photos is to locate the photos. Since the pictures are old, they may not be readily available. Most people make the habit is stashing away such photos in different places, making it hard to access them. Therefore, you should take time to locate old pictures. They could be in some boxes in the attic, in some family picture drawer, or within an old album.

If you happen to locate the album, you might have most of the photos you need for the scanning exercise. To make the photo locating work easier, you could seek the help of a family member. They might have a clue about where to find the photos that you need for your project.

Organize Your Preferred Photos

When you finally locate the photos, you have to sort them out and pick out the ones you need for the project. It would also be great to stratify them according to themes and different categories, such as kids, vacations, events, and so on.

Doing this will make it easy to scan them in different batches and process them into several more manageable pieces. Owing to the old nature of the photos, some of them will potentially be damaged. Signs of damage include tears, folds, and stains.

Thus, you should take out any pictures that are damaged or unnecessary for the project. If you are only beginning, it is prudent to work with small batches of about 10-15 pictures. You can go bigger if you are more seasoned. After picking our preferred photos, you will have to order them in a way that highlights a particular subject or tell a certain story.

Select the Right Scanner

There are three alternatives concerning scanning old photos. To begin with, there is the stand-alone scanner. The price of such a scanner range between $100 and $600. Of course, the costlier the scanner, the more efficient it is at scanning photos.

If you plan to scan a lot of negatives, you need a sophisticated scanner. Moving on, there is the home scanner or copier. It does not have as many features as the stand-alone scanner, but it can still get the job done. Nonetheless, the home scanner stands out for its portability in addition to being compact. Finally, you can simply scan the old photos using your phone. It is a super affordable and largely viable alternative. Many apps can allow you to scan photos from your smartphone.

Scan Categorically and Organize them Accordingly

When your scanner is up and running, you will begin the scanning process and carry it out according to your selected categories. To be on the safe side, you should only begin with a few and check out the results before going all in.

If the resolution of the scanned photos is not up to your liking, you might have to find another option. After scanning, you need to get your images organized. There are different free cross-platform organizers, such as Google Photo, that you can utilize for this. Keeping them in a neat and orderly manner makes it easy to store scanned photos and even share them.

Scan Old Photos Like a Pro

Scanning old photos is a major undertaking that demands a little technical know-how as well as an elaborate plan on how to carry out everything. We hope that our plan will make things easier for you and help you scan your old pictures efficiently so that you can create a high-quality photobook in no time.