You have your entire family's LIFE in photos. SOMEWHERE.

Now let's get them all organized in just

One Place.

Join us, and I'll show you how to get all of your fading prints, slides, and negatives into your computer and then combine them with your newer digital camera photographs to make one perfect collection you'll be proud to hand down.

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Scan Like a Pro

From Home

Our online video training course will teach even the most technologically-challenged person the basic steps for scanning their photos and documents. Gain the confidence to make all the right scanning choices.

Featured In

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  • Welcome to Scan Your Entire Life.
     
    I'm Curtis Bisel — the overly serious-looking guy in the photo.
     
    Since August 8th of 2001, I've been working on perfecting a workflow to scan and organize my family's 10,000+ analog photo collection made up of prints, slides, and various negatives.
     
    From this website and my email list, which I encourage you to sign up for, I release insights, tips, and best practices for doing the same with your own photo collection.

Topics Covered Here

Organizing Originals

Bringing all of your original photos together in one place. And if desired, creating a suitable order for them before being scanned.

Scanning Photos

Scanning your original prints, slides and film negatives with a photo scanner and scanning software suited to your own goals.

Storing Originals

Best methods how and where to store your original prints, slides, and film negatives, so they are archival safe.

Organizing Digitals

Learning how to label and organize your digital masters either manually in organized folders, or using the best photo managing software for your needs.

Restoring Digitals

Learning the easiest ways to bring your images back to life by correcting shifted and faded colors, scratches, and dust using your photo editing software of choice.

Backup Digitals

Learning how to have a backup process in place to ensure all of your scanned photos will live on forever.

Latest Blog Posts

  • Mylio Photos Review

    If your photos are scattered across devices and cloud accounts, and you’re still dreaming of an easy way to gather all of them into one convenient place, Mylio Photos might be just what you’ve been waiting for. Mylio is primarily a photo-organizing app, but it goes beyond that by also helping you manage videos, documents,…

  • The Importance of Descriptive Filenames for Scanned Photos

    Discover why a simple filename can make all the difference in preserving your family’s photographs. In this article, we explore ten powerful reasons why descriptive filenames for your scanned photos are more important than ever. Learn how this small detail can keep your photo collection organized and meaningful for future generations.

We don't care how good you are with computers, just how much you care about your photo collection.

What People Are Saying About…

You are a truly noble person for all of the people you help without charging them. You help tremendously. Thank you so much!!!

Janique Petit

Thank you for a very informative detour while I was browsing for a solution to posting comments in Facebook.

Your URL name was interesting so I came by and your content was so nicely laid out I stayed for awhile. You made me think about our family photo collections and their preservation and gave such practical tips!

Thing is, I am wondering why you have not monetized your site more. I mean, it is refreshingly clear of ads and such. Perhaps the email subscription list provides the financial support or you are simply an altruistic expert? If so, thank you for that! But, if you should choose, I do think your stuff is great and you could do more to monetize (even asking for paypal donations) if/when you need to.

I really liked your content and style.

Thanks for making me think about the importance of doing this all. Who knows? Maybe I will even return some day to start a project. I have enjoyed sharing your passion for a bit and I definitely learned something about scanning and some apps!

Brett
Oak Park, IL

Curtis, Love your site! What really sets yours apart from other sites that cover scanning, is that you always weigh the effort and future proofing of things.

Ronald McCarty

As I have been watching your membership video lessons this week (which is a luxury and unintended consequence of having to stay home due to the Covid-19 pandemic), I am realizing I need all the help I can get! I appreciate so much how well you break down each lesson so that even I can understand. 🙂

Had I not discovered your lifeline, I would most likely have already abandoned the project out of frustration. Even though I read the scanner manual all the way through a couple of times, the information just wasn't clicking. Epson should be paying you for your thorough instructions!

Time to close and get to work! Thanks so much for being out there. I think I can do this!

Nancy Golliher
Peculiar, Missouri
Member

I want to thank you for putting up this AWESOME website! Seriously, a lot of your archiving tips really helped me out.

Dan Keiper

You are the most genuinely humble person I have come across in a very long time… your website is a blessed OASIS to those of us who are panic stricken as we face 1000s of family photos that need archiving.

I am amazed by your benevolent spirit and the gift of the time you take to give us precise details as you empower us to tackle these overwhelming photo collections with a wonderful master plan!

You are a very, very generous man… I don't think you realize the impact you have on so many of us who want to properly honor our family legacies. Thank you. [icon name=icon_heart]

Elizabeth Mayhall Simoneaux

My story is that I'm 57 and most of my life is analog. It's time to save it all from fading away, else my kids will not know where they come from.

Santo Spinali
Montreal, Canada

This is a fantastic site. I have been wrestling with all these issues and your site is by far the best of any information that I have found – you are answering exactly the same questions that I have. Thank you!

Peter Fuller
Karori, Wellington, New Zealand

“Curtis, I am so excited to have found your website at just the right time. I have been thinking about scanning my old family photos for years and every time I am about to begin I hit the naming problem and put it off. I have pursued my family history on Ancestry.com, and obtained many digital photos to add to my collection. Just reading the 3 steps of organizing has been of great value!

I also have intended to buy a new scanner for this purpose which is how I found your website. You helped guide me on that purchase and the other supplies that I needed for that. Thanks so much!! I look forward to more wonderful information as I go along.

The best thing about your website is how it is organized and communicated by answering the questions that a new scanner has and giving suggestions for those in different circumstances! Thanks again!!”

Donna Tarver

I just wanted to say, yes, glad you did create this site. You have obviously helped many people and from little I have read, you are very clear and personable. So many videos and classes will go on and on and then rush right through the important stuff.

I am making a new push to get pictures scanned and organized, so I have been looking for good advice and am glad to have found a kindred spirit. Keep it up and Thanks!

Joe Radomski

I am sure I would have been completely overwhelmed and returned my Epson Scanner had I not seen/read your Membership Training Course's step by step instructions on use prior to my purchasing it. You should get a commission from Epson!

Susan M.
Manchester, Massachusetts
Member

I am 74, a former Air Force (AF) pilot, and only recently got my first camera, so I never captured most of my life on film.

Consequently, I have begun seeking photos from my past to digitize and I have managed to solicit some images by email from AF friends that document our careers in the Air Force. I recently visited my sister and convinced her to relinquish most of her print albums and loose prints and negatives.

Curtis, I read nearly all your posts at least twice if not three times. I learn more each time I read them. You are doing ground breaking work never done before. Maybe one day there will be a standardized naming convention called the ‘Bisel Standard'.

You give us all the incentive to overcome that inertia that prevents us from ever tackling a complicated task such as this. I'm better for having discovered your web site. Thank you again.

Will Rudd
Shalimar, FL

I love your blog. You do such a nice job explaining complex topics in a clear conversational tone.

I work at an advertising agency and my last client was working so hard to explain banking topics in this same exact manner. If you were an expert in banking they would have wanted to scoop you right up! (And they're a big bank!)

I just wanted you to know that you're nailing this blog.

Regina
Massachusetts

I am sure I would have been completely overwhelmed and returned my Epson Scanner had I not seen/read your Membership Training Course's step by step instructions on use prior to my purchasing it. You should get a commission from Epson!

Susan M.
Manchester, Massachusetts
Member

Having worked with computers and technology for over 30 years, I felt pretty confident when starting my scanning project. I quickly realized I needed help. Learning through the SYEL training course was the solution I needed.

Now I know what my options are, I scan with confidence, and my scans are literally 100% better. I would not have figured this out on my own. Creating high-quality professional-looking scans is easy … when you know what you're doing. Thank you, Curtis!

Beth A.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Founding Member

I've been fascinated by the articles on your web site. They are spot on. I rarely read something and keep saying ‘YES!' ‘YES!' every few paragraphs.

Well done, and you must think exactly like I do!

Brad Price

I want to let you know that your lessons are great. I thought I knew how to use my scanner, and I had a good process down, but I was wrong. There is a ton of great useful information in the lessons. The instructions are clear. The lessons are interesting and even funny. Thanks for the great information!

P. Jackson
Portland, Oregon
Founding Member

I am so elated I found this 3-part series of assist articles before continuing the scanning process for my family. I am easily becoming the family ‘Archivist’ at this rate, and I have only just begun the scanning process.

Thanks for the process review, I needed it, and will likely use a similar naming method. (I’m only about 130 photos into the fray, too.)

Nate

I've learned a ton from watching your excellent videos. Your videos gave me courage and motivation to start the huge project I have been putting off because of not knowing where to start. So THANK YOU so much!

Beth Chun
Olathe, Kansas
Member

I would like to compliment you on your website. It provides a lot of useful information all in one place. Great Job!

Greg Pierce
Sanford, North Carolina
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