A box of old photos and papers can feel daunting to digitise. Taken one step at a time, though, it becomes a satisfying project that protects your family's memories and makes them easy to share.
Step 1: Sort before you scan
Lay everything out and group it: by family branch, by person or by decade. Set aside anything fragile or damaged for extra care. Sorting first saves you from renaming hundreds of files later.
Step 2: Choose your equipment
- A flatbed scanner gives the best quality for photographs and documents and is gentle on originals.
- A phone or camera works well for bound books, large documents and items too fragile to place on glass. Use even daylight, avoid flash and keep the camera parallel to the item.
Step 3: Use sensible settings
- Scan photographs at a high resolution so you can enlarge details later.
- Scan small photos at an even higher resolution, as you may want to print them larger.
- Save master copies in a lossless format, and create smaller copies for sharing by email.
- Scan both sides of any photo or document with writing on the back.
Step 4: Name files consistently
Use a naming pattern that includes the surname, first name, year and a short description, such as NAIR_Suresh_1958_Wedding.jpg. Our post on organising your research explains this approach.
Step 5: Record what you know
Keep a simple spreadsheet or document listing each file with who is pictured, where, when and who owns the original. If a relative identifies someone, add it straight away.
Tip: Work in small batches, such as one envelope or one album page at a time. Short sessions are easier to fit into a busy week and less likely to lead to mistakes.
Step 6: Back up and share
Store your digital archive on at least two devices plus one off-site copy, such as a cloud service. Then share it: a shared folder for relatives or a printed photo book can spark new memories and bring more photos out of other people's cupboards.
Look after the originals
Digitising does not replace the originals. Return them to safe, archival storage once scanned, as explained in our guide to caring for old photographs.
