Old photos are fun to keep and bring to the surface every now and then. Here are some tips for digitizing, repairing and saving your old photos so you can enjoy them for a long time to come.
A lot of people have a lot of old photos from sometimes generations back. In some cases, these photos are damaged or discolored, or maybe you'd like to be able to view them without having to get heavy, dusty albums out of the attic. That's why it's a good idea to scan them in, repair them and store them safely so that the originals can be kept safe. Also read: You can edit all your photos for free with these 20 photo programs.
1. Preparation
Old photos are often dusty. Before scanning them, it's a good idea to gently dust them with a dry microfiber cloth so that the dust particles don't show up on the scans. Photos are also prone to fingerprints, so try to hold them by the edges as much as possible.
Your scanner is also likely to be dusty and perhaps greasy with fingerprints, so clean and dry the plate thoroughly before placing a photo on it.
2. Scan
Most scanners have a photo scanning option, so that the entire photo is scanned without bordering in the result.
You probably don't plan to scan your entire photo collection again. So do it right right away by selecting the highest resolution possible so that you get the highest quality image possible.
3. Fix
A high resolution is also important when you want to edit the photos. Rotate your photos first if they are upside down or on their side.
Make sure the scanned photo is large on your screen and look all over the surface for imperfections that you can touch up. If dust or damage is still visible, you can solve these problems with a photo editing program. This doesn't have to be an expensive suite, but make sure you choose a program that offers good repair options, such as GIMP (free).
4. Color
Zoom all the way out and see if the overall color of the photo looks okay. Old photos are often discolored. In that case, you can often have the image enhanced automatically, but manual adjustment often gives a more faithful result.
5. Save
When you're done editing a photo, save it in the highest possible quality. This takes up more space, but if you've taken the trouble to scan and edit your photo collection, it's actually even more important that you store it properly. After all, this is an archive of all your precious photos.
6. Organize
To quickly find a specific photo or photo series, it is useful to organize your photos in a folder structure that is obvious to you - for example by date, event, location, and so on.
7. Archive
Be sure to store your photos securely so that all your work isn't in vain. An external hard drive is a good option, but I also recommend using one or more cloud services, as a hard drive can break, be stolen, or lost. It is the intention that your digital archive remains available, even if the original photos are lost.
