You have your entire family's LIFE in photos. SOMEWHERE.
Now lets 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 confidence to make all the right scanning choices.
Hi there! 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 to perfect 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.
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Photo Scanning Photo Restoration Film, Video and Audio Transfers Personal Photo Organizers Scrapbookers
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
Bringing all of your original photos together in one place. And if desired, creating a suitable order for them before being scanned.
Current Popular Posts
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Use 1 of These Photo Managers If You Care About Your Photo Collection (2017 Update)
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How Quickly You Could Scan Your Entire Photo Collection — What I Discovered From My First Week of Scanning
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The DPI You Should Be Scanning Your Paper Photographs
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How to Write an Autobiography: The Secret Tips to Finally Get Started
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Epson V800 vs V850 — The 5 Differences and Which You Should Buy
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The Best Way to Add a Description (Caption) to Your Scanned Photos
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A 70-Year-Old Silver Surfer Scans Her Entire Life!
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What Everybody Ought to Know When Naming Your Scanned Photos – Part 1
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If You Don't Add This to the Filename of Your Scanned Photos, You'll Probably Hate Yourself Later
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Are 99.9% of Your Photographs Just Not Important Enough To Save?
Latest Blog Posts
Announcing the Scan Your Entire Life Membership and Training Course!
Today is the big day! This is easily the biggest day for Scan Your Entire Life since July 5, 2010, when I had finally built up enough confidence to post the first article on this brand new website.
Now, almost 8 years later, I’m extremely excited to finally make the first public announcement on this website of my brand new membership and training course.
This online training course with professionally-produced video lessons, and some that are text-only when most appropriate, will teach even the most technologically-challenged person the basic steps for scanning their photos and documents. Gain confidence to make all the right scanning choices.
read more
A 70-Year-Old Silver Surfer Scans Her Entire Life!
Being a man of action as well as words, my son Mark bought me a slide scanner and taught me how to use it. I scanned in the slides of the Holy Land without much difficulty. I was delighted to be able to view them on my computer with the same ease as I could view the digital photographs that I had started taking in 1999.
The remainder of the slides came first. Then I started work on the prints in the photograph albums that I had lovingly curated over the decades. The physical albums had started to deteriorate to the extent that some of them were falling apart. Scanning the prints was an ideal way to remedy this. I also scanned in all the prints that had not made the cut for the photograph albums but I had kept nevertheless. I also spent several months scanning in approximately 4,000 negatives. All in all I must have scanned nearly ten thousand photographs in one form or another.
read more WE DON'T CARE HOW GOOD YOU ARE WITH COMPUTERS,
JUST HOW MUCH YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR PHOTO COLLECTION.
What People Are Saying About…
AHHH! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’ve been trying to recover my ‘lost' photos for almost a year now. I’ve read many ‘fix-it' strategies on other websites, but this is the first one that actually FOUND my photos!
You are an absolute lifesaver!!! I cannot thank you enough for posting this solution. I had ‘lost’ ALL of my photos dating back to 2001 until 15 seconds ago!!
I have been searching everywhere (including more ‘iPhoto recovery software packages’ than you can imagine!!) for the last 3 years, basically I had given up finding them until today when I need to transfer my files to my new MacBook.
Everything has been restored and you have saved me from losing the memories from the last 13 years … If I could hug you I would! THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!!
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…
YOU ARE A SAINT. You just saved me from a total mental breakdown! Thank you so much for taking the time to share all of this.
I was happy to find your site since it fills a very real need many have.
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!!!!!
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!
I lost my photos in iPhoto and I was so sad as my sons just left for college and I thought the photos were lost or gone for good. Then I followed your advice step-by-step and fortunately recovered my photos in just a few key strokes.
Honestly, your directions were very easy to follow and it worked! Thank You!
I am so relieved because the photos bring me so much joy. Thank You Again.
“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!”
I would like to compliment you on your website. It provides a lot of useful information all in one place. Great Job!
I want to thank you for putting up this AWESOME website! Seriously, a lot of your archiving tips really helped me out.
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!
AHHH! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’ve been trying to recover my ‘lost' photos for almost a year now. I’ve read many ‘fix-it' strategies on other websites, but this is the first one that actually FOUND my photos!
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!!!!!
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.
Curtis, THANK YOU!! You saved my photos!! So happy!!
Wow, all the questions and issues I've had regarding scanning and archiving my photo collection on one website! What a find!
I was really busy the last days due to spending all of my free time reading ‘Scan Your Entire Life'. I really enjoy it.
It has been really good for me to learn from you how to systematize, to scan and organize my old photos and negatives. You really gave me the confidence and courage.
I found your website and after a few days of reading the various articles. I signed up for your newsletter and took out the boxes of unnamed and unsorted family photos.
Armed with your naming convention and dpi setting recommendations, I jumped in with both feet and the old family photos are finally getting organized and scanned.
I now know the joy and satisfaction of actually being able to replace an ‘x' with a numeral! Thank you so much!!
“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!!”
Aren't you tired of putting this project off?
Do this for your family.
Before you are out of time...