In short
- Sort first and ask the oldest relatives to name the people in the photos, while they still can.
- A phone app is fast and good enough for sharing. A flatbed scanner at 600 dpi gives the best quality for prints.
- Keep three copies in two places, one of them in the cloud, and store the originals in a cool, dry place.
In this article
Before you scan
- Sort the photos into piles by decade or by branch of the family. You do not need to scan every blurry duplicate.
- Ask the oldest relatives to go through them with you and name the people, places and years. Record the conversation. Their stories are worth as much as the photos.
- Write on the back lightly in pencil, or on a sticky note, never with a pen that can bleed through.
- Clean gently with a soft brush or a microfiber cloth. Do not use water.
Three ways to digitize
With a phone
Free scanning apps use the phone's camera and remove the glare and the edges automatically. It is the fastest way, good for sharing and for photos stuck in old albums. Work in daylight, without flash, with the photo flat on a dark table.
With a flatbed scanner
The best quality at home. Scan prints at 600 dpi, and small photos you want to enlarge at 1200 dpi. Save the best ones as TIFF files for the archive and as JPEG for sharing. Slides and negatives need a film scanner or a flatbed scanner with a film adapter, at 2400 dpi or more. Some public libraries have scanning stations you can use for free.
With a scanning service
If there are thousands of photos, slides or old home movies, a service can do it for you, priced per photo or per box. Choose one that returns the originals, and ask whether they send them abroad. For irreplaceable photos, a local shop where you can bring them in person is safer.
Name and organize the files
A thousand files named IMG_0001 are almost as lost as a box in the attic. Name each file with the year, the people and the event, for example 1972 Rosa and Ernesto wedding. Put them in folders by decade or by person. Most photo programs also let you add a caption, which stays with the file.
Back them up
Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two different kinds of storage, one of them outside the house. For example, the computer, an external drive, and a cloud service. Check the backups once a year.
Store the originals
- In acid-free boxes or albums, not in plastic bags or old magnetic albums.
- In a cool, dry room inside the house, not in the attic, the basement or the garage.
- Away from sunlight, without rubber bands, paper clips or tape.
- Hold photos by the edges, with clean, dry hands.
Share them
Photos are meant to be seen. Send them to the whole family, make a slideshow for the next reunion, print an album for the grandparents. On a page of memories, the scanned photos form an album the whole family adds to, with names, years and stories under each photo, and later it can become a printed book. Here is an example.
Frequently asked questions
What resolution should I scan old photos at?
600 dpi is enough for most prints. Use 1200 dpi for small photos you want to enlarge, and 2400 dpi or more for slides and negatives.
Is it better to scan photos or photograph them with a phone?
A flatbed scanner gives the best quality. A phone app is faster and good enough for sharing, especially for photos stuck in albums.
How should I store old photos after scanning?
In acid-free boxes or albums, in a cool, dry room, not in the attic or basement. Keep at least two digital copies, one of them in the cloud.
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