An old album is a treasure, but it is also fragile. The photos fade, the pages turn yellow, and sometimes there is only one copy of a moment that cannot be recreated. The good news is that you do not need a scanner or a photo shop: a regular phone, a window and a little patience are enough to get good copies. Here is what works, from the first photo to the organized folder.
What do I need to prepare before I start scanning?
Preparation takes a few minutes and saves a lot of retakes.
- Clean the phone lens. A fingerprint on the lens is a common reason for a soft, hazy photo. A soft, dry cloth is enough.
- Find a flat, light surface. A table by a window is the best place. A dark, even surface behind the photo helps the phone detect the edges.
- Take the photo out of the album, if you can. The clear plastic sleeves in old albums reflect light and blur details. If the photo is stuck to the page, do not pull it hard. It is better to photograph it in place than to tear it.
- Prepare a stack in order. If you know the right order, arrange the photos before shooting. That way the files come out already numbered correctly.
How do I photograph an old photo without reflections and glare?
Light is the most important part. Soft daylight, near a window but not in direct sun, gives natural colors and few shadows.
No flash. The flash creates a white, glaring spot in the center of the photo, especially on glossy paper. Turn it off in the camera settings.
Watch for reflections. Photos printed on glossy paper, and photos behind an album's plastic, reflect the light of the window or the ceiling lamp. If you see a bright spot on the screen, try one of these:
- Move the photo so the window is to its side and not in front of it.
- Turn off the ceiling lamp, which is often the one reflecting.
- Tilt the phone slightly, only until the spot disappears, and then straighten in editing.
Beware of your own shadow. When you stand over the photo, your body and the phone can cast a shadow. Stand so the light comes from the side.
How do I hold the phone so the photo comes out straight and sharp?
This is the order of steps that works best for us, for every photo:
Lay the photo flat. A curled photo can be gently flattened under a heavy book for a few hours before shooting.
Hold the phone parallel to the photo. The phone should be straight above it, not at an angle. If your camera has grid lines, turn them on. They help you see that the edges are straight.
Fill the frame. Move closer until the photo takes up almost the whole screen. It is better to move the phone closer than to use zoom, because zoom lowers quality.
Focus on the faces. Tap the screen where the faces are, so the phone focuses on them.
Hold steady. Rest your elbows on the table or hold the phone with both hands, and shoot two or three times.
Check sharpness. Enlarge the photo on the screen and check the eyes. If they are blurry, shoot again.
Crop and straighten. In your phone's photo editor, crop the edges and fix any tilt if the photo came out crooked.
About tilt and distortion. If the phone was not perfectly parallel, the photo comes out like a trapezoid: one side wider than the other. Most phone photo editors have a perspective tool that straightens the shape back into a rectangle.
Built-in scan mode. Many phones have a built-in document scan mode, inside the camera or in the notes and files apps. It detects the edges of the photo, crops and straightens by itself. This saves time, but note that document mode sometimes boosts the contrast or turns the image black and white. For family photos, choose color mode or photo mode, and check that the tones stay natural.
How do I save and organize the scanned photos?
After you have worked through a whole album, it would be a shame to lose the scans in a crowded gallery.
Back up right away. Copy the scans to a computer or a cloud backup service, and keep another copy as well. A scan that exists only on one phone can disappear with it.
Name files with numbers. Names like 001, 002, 003, or 001-grandma-childhood, keep the photos in order. This matters especially when you upload them to a film or share them, because numbered files stay in the right order. Use leading zeros (001 and not 1), so photo 10 does not appear before photo 2.
Keep the details. If the back of a photo has a name, a year or a place, add it to the file name or to a short list. In a few years there will not always be someone to ask.
Return the original to its place. Put the printed photos back in the album or a box, in a dry, shaded place.
How many photos should I scan, and what do I do with faded or black-and-white photos?
If you are scanning for a film, you do not need to scan the whole album. Every 12 photos make about a minute of film, and you can use from 2 to 100 photos:
| Film length | Number of photos |
|---|---|
| 1 minute | Up to 12 |
| 2 minutes | Up to 24 |
| 3 minutes | Up to 36 |
| 4 minutes | Up to 48 |
| 5 minutes | Up to 60 |
| 6 minutes | Up to 72 |
| 7 minutes | Up to 84 |
| Up to 8 minutes | Up to 100 |
It is worth scanning a bit more than you need, and choosing afterward. Choose photos from different periods, and prefer sharp photos where the faces are clearly visible. For more tips, see the article on organizing family photos.
Black-and-white and faded photos are good to use. There is no need to give them up. You can raise the brightness and contrast slightly in your phone's editor, but without heavy filters that change the photo. An old photo should look old, and that is part of its charm. At GrowingTale, scans of old albums and black-and-white photos work well in a memories film, where each photo gets a few seconds of gentle movement. If you are making a film in memory of someone close, we also wrote about a memorial video of a loved one from photos.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a scanner to get a good result?
No. A regular phone in daylight, with no flash and at a straight angle, gives a result that is good enough for a film and for sharing with the family.
What do I do if I cannot take the photo out of the plastic sleeve?
Shoot through the plastic, move the light source to the side until the reflection disappears, and tilt the phone slightly if needed. Then straighten in editing.
Can I photograph several photos together in one shot?
You can, but each photo will get less detail. It is better to photograph each photo separately, so it fills the frame.
Is a screenshot of an old photo enough?
It is better not to. Screenshots work less well, because they shrink the photo and add margins. Send or save the photo file itself.
The photo is wrinkled or torn at the corner. Is it worth scanning?
Yes. As long as the faces are clearly visible, you can use it. If the tear is at the edge, you can also crop it out in editing.
What do I do with the scans when I am done?
Back them up in at least two places, keep them in one folder with numbers in order, and share them with family members so they have a copy too.
