Photo Organising and Scanning
Photo Organising
Sorting your family photos takes time so it’s important to understand your goals. Why are you committing so much time and effort? What do you want to achieve?
For some people, organizing will provide a digital copy to share and view on modern devices. Others want to reduce the size of their collection, add organisation, create a photobook or slideshow as a simple legacy for your family.
Here are the steps that we follow which may help you:
Gather all the physical photos together from boxes and albums. Include the negatives which may be useful for missing or damaged prints.
(Hint: Find a large flat surface to layout your photo collection, that allows you to leave it without packing up. Ensure you have some containers for sorting.)
Curate your prints to remove poor quality, blurry, duplicate or excessive images. Images such as unrecognisable landscapes or unwanted past history such as ex-partners. Poor shots may be your only copy of someone and should be retained. Photo restoration procedures can achieve great results on damaged photos.
Sort items into a logical order such as chronological or grouping by event. You might create a batch for all Christmas family gatherings. This may form your hierarchical grouping for the digital organisation.
Scan the physical photos using high-quality camera scanning or flatbed scanner. Ensure your select quality scan settings and save as TIFF files to allow for any future editing.
Album photos scan better when removed from their page however that is not always possible as some types of plastic sheeting can react with photos over time and they adhere together. You can try dental floss to gently separate them but care must be taken.We take care to ensure removal will not affect the photo. If they are unable to be pried away, we scan the whole page and use software to separate the images. This also has the benefit of recording additional information written on pages.
The scanned images are saved with meaningful filenames and stored in a structured folder hierarchy.
An example would be : 25-12-2005_Christmas_at_Bens.
Photosafe albums are recommended when we want to retain our photos in our albums. Some of the older type albums cause deterioration of the photos due to chemicals in the albums reacting with the photos. That is why we see discoloured photos in old albums. Ensure the albums are labelled as photosafe.
To keep these newly digitized memories safe and organized, many photography enthusiasts opt for a Photo Storage Box. One popular solution is designed to be acid-free, with the capacity to store up to 1,600 photos (6x4) across sixteen storage containers. It offers a convenient and secure way to manage and protect your photo collection.
Photo Scanning
We also scan negatives, slides and memorabilia to convert to digital images. We handle all media with care using gloves and perform a light dust removal per item. All image files are cropped, correctly rotated and auto-colour corrected.
Printed media that can be scanned include
Scanned prints at 600DPI
Photo albums scanned at 600DPI with full pages or individual photos
Scrapbooks and memorabilia scanned at 600DPI
Film media types that can be scanned include
35mm, 126, & 127 slide scanned to digital
35mm, 126, & 127 film scanned to digital
120/220 medium format film scanned to digital
Scanned at 4000DPI
Other formats such as 110 film and large formats can be scanned using our trusted partners.
Enhancing Your Photography Experience
Scanning slides or negatives can unlock higher resolution images and improve their overall condition. Negatives, in particular, offer a larger dynamic range compared to prints, resulting in images with richer colors and greater clarity.
Digitising Photo Albums
When digitising photo albums, the process can be quite challenging due to the size and weight of traditional albums.
Scanning individual photos or full pages on a flat-bed scanner may require a larger scanner, typically A3 or bigger. In the case of large prints or images spread across album pages, stitching together images may be necessary, which is a time-consuming task. Cropping individual photos from scanned full pages results in lower resolution images and adds processing time. Utilising software like Photoshop can aid in this process.
To enhance scanning quality, it is recommended to scan photos separately from the album, though this may be tough due to the various mounting methods used for photos in albums. These methods include slide-in mounts, corner mounts, sticky plastic sheets, or adhesive backing. Removing photos from adhesive mounts can prove damaging and challenging. Techniques like using floss or flat spatulas can be attempted, but sometimes scanning the entire page is the only viable option.
Before attempting to remove stubborn photos, it is wise to complete a scan of the whole page to retain their position and have a backup. Photo album scanning is a meticulous and time-consuming task, leading many to consider seeking assistance from a professional photo organizer.
Reasons to Scan Your Slides or Negatives
Many people store old slides and negatives that hold unseen memories. Without digitising them, these precious images may degrade over time, losing their quality. By scanning these photos, you can revive those forgotten moments and preserve them for the future. Additionally, digitising your negatives might reveal photographs that are missing from your current collection, whether they were shared with others or simply misplaced. Embracing this preservation approach not only safeguards your visual history but also unlocks hidden gems waiting to be rediscovered.
When you digitise your slides or negatives, you secure the ability to back up and share them seamlessly. These digital versions can be utilised to create personalised photo books or flipbooks, displayed in digital photo frames to connect with distant relatives or loved ones. Additionally, digitising enables you to enlarge prints for framing purposes or effortlessly share photos on various social media platforms.
Why Can't I Scan My Photos or Negatives?
Scanning your own photos and negatives is definitely possible, but the quality of the scans may not meet your expectations when using mobile phones or multi-function printers. Images scanned with such equipment often result in lower quality, especially when you intend to enlarge them for prints. Issues like shadows, poor lighting, image blur, and distortion can be more prominent in scans done with these devices.
While there are mobile apps that aim to address these quality concerns, current offerings may not always deliver the desired results. Scanning can also be a time-consuming process, and ideally, you would only want to do it once. Investing in high-quality scanning equipment is crucial to ensure that your photos and negatives are scanned with precision and detail, saving you from the need to purchase such equipment for a one-time project.
Those who have attempted to scan slides and negatives using flatbed scanners or multifunction printers are familiar with the slow and sometimes frustrating process. Additionally, post-processing tasks like cropping, rotating, and enhancing images often require specialized software to achieve the best results.
In summary, while scanning your own photos and negatives is doable, the quality and efficiency of the process greatly depends on the equipment and methods you choose to employ. Consider investing in a photo organiser to preserve your memories with the highest level of detail and accuracy.
Other Media Conversion
Convert old media formats that can no longer be accessed should be converted. Many people have items that cannot be viewed because they no longer have the equipment to play them. Converting old formats will let you relive old memories.
We can convert :
VHS video tapes into MP4 digital
DVD video into MP4 digital
Photo CDs into JPG digital
CD video into MP4 digital
CD audio into MP3 digital
Videos are edited to remove unwanted footage at the lead-in or the trailing end plus additional video editing is available upon request. Other formats can be digitised using our trusted partners.
Ask us how we can convert your old media.
Why convert your VHS tapes or DVDs?
Did you know that VHS tapes were never intended for long-term storage? According to Kodak, VHS tapes, now 25 years old, can degrade by 10-20% over 10 to 25 years. This degradation can be exacerbated by poor storage conditions such as high heat, humidity, and dust, which can promote the growth of mold and metal oxides. These contaminants can cause the tape to deteriorate, leading to dropouts, decreased playback quality, and ultimately tape disintegration.
In comparison, DVDs and CDs tend to fare better in terms of longevity, lasting an average of 50-100 years when properly stored and handled. However, there have been numerous cases where discs were inadequately stored or developed surface scratches from frequent use, resulting in diminished playback quality. Some discs are stored in flimsy plastic sleeves rather than protective cases, further risking damage.
Moreover, the declining availability of working VHS or DVD players is a significant reason why many individuals opt to convert their VHS tapes, DVDs, and CDs to MP4 files. Converting these physical formats to digital allows for easier access and viewing on various modern devices such as TVs, laptops, and mobile devices. This transition not only ensures the preservation of content but also enhances convenience in accessing and enjoying these recordings.
