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.
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
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.
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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,…
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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 had a great idea when you started this website. There are many like us who realize the great things we can do for future generations, while also having a great time ourselves.
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.
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!
I have been wanting to scan all the family photos for my kids but just didn’t have a system. I know I’ve got to categorize or have an archival system before doing the tedious work.
Thanks so much for your useful 3 part [file naming] series, really enjoyed it. Most helpful too!
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]
Thanks for your help and guidance. Now that I know of your site, I will start here when I have such a question.
Your site is GENIUS. Your approaches are the most thorough I have seen. Thank you for this invaluable information.
Your membership course is by far the best structured and organised online teaching resource (on any topic) that I have ever encountered. Across three decades I worked as a senior manager in large UK High Schools – so I'm qualified to discern and commend a well-developed and well-delivered teaching resource!
I followed every element of the course faithfully – every video lesson and every article. I scanned the Community forum dialogues and absorbed the shared information from several exchanges relevant to me.
Your exhaustive attention to detail can only be admired and the presentation quality of the graphics and videos is highly polished. Distinctively, a compelling spark of humour creeps in, as a throw-away aside in the video narration and in your answers to online questions. That personal dimension adds enormously, by making the lessons ENGAGING – a precious commodity lifting your course above the daunting jargon and intimidating numerical data.
Your course is an enormous help to me – firstly, by defining some anchor point settings to use and secondly, by widening the scope of the parameters I needed to first think through in approaching my own family heritage scanning project, beginning with 6000 slides (mounted transparencies).
Thank you.
I have now been scanning my old photos actively for about 2-3 weeks. And I'm happy to report that with your guidance I have managed to scan over 400 paper prints already! It seemed such a daunting task but after learning the basics from your videos, it's been pretty smooth sailing.
Your training course videos are, by the way, very professional and easy to follow! So huge credit to you in putting the effort in making these!
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AND THANKS!!! I watch a TON of YouTube How To's and you are without a doubt one of the best teachers/facilitators of DIY videos I've seen here on YouTube! Much appreciated…
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!
Thank you so much, what a fun website to read, your articles had me chuckling, as I too have zillions of questions as I start a project.
It's a joy to see others think the same way. 🙂 Perhaps I can consider this day 1 in the scanning process!
I have now been scanning my old photos actively for about 2-3 weeks. And I'm happy to report that with your guidance I have managed to scan over 400 paper prints already! It seemed such a daunting task but after learning the basics from your videos, it's been pretty smooth sailing.
Your training course videos are, by the way, very professional and easy to follow! So huge credit to you in putting the effort in making these!
I'm afraid I haven't worked up the courage to get started yet! The job still looks overwhelming to me. But I read your advice, and imagine I will begin one day.
Thanks for your great website. You are the only reason I'm even considering scanning my ton of photos.
“Thank you so much for taking the time to share your photo management experiences online.
I'm just starting a family photo digitizing project and the info here has been really helpful to me.
I know how much effort it takes to put this all down in a sharable form and I'm very grateful to you!”
Thank you so much for putting this membership course together! I am currently spending time with my parents and grandmother due to COVID. I have a rare opportunity to scan their photos – and then review the photos with them and capture the stories. But I found starting the project overwhelming – I couldn't even decide on a scanner.
I put it off for 4 months until I found your website. You gave me the map that made the project doable! I now have all the tools (including an Epson v600) and have started the journey!
In 6 days I've set up my scanner, watched the course videos, developed my workflow (though I am still making adjustments), and scanned 76 photos. (Well, I've made hundreds of scans – but I restarted the project after tweaking my approach.)
In fact, I so appreciated the Course and your above-and-beyond assistance in the forums, that I upgraded my membership to annual. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I cannot thank you enough!
I am so thankful to have come across your website. I considered buying a scanner about 2 years ago but the more I read the more difficult it seemed to be able to scan my old print photos.
I know so much more now thanks to your website and emails. Thank you so much for your time and the energy you put into your blogs etc to help people like me.
I truly enjoy all of your helpful advice. My sister made a large booklet on the genealogy of my family going back to the 500s. I'm adding a part of it for our daughter on my life with her dad! Plus trying to organize all of the pictures we have. Your advice has been so helpful!!!!!
You had a great idea when you started this website. There are many like us who realize the great things we can do for future generations, while also having a great time ourselves.
I was at the Apple Store meeting with the Mac Genius and he told me how to create a new [iPhoto] library but not how to look and see the old one! I panicked when I couldn't find it. Luckily people like you have the answers on line.
Your presentation was professional, educational and precise. Thank you so much!