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 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!!!!

Olivia Tyler

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

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

I've been trying to convince myself to scan my old negatives. I've read all sorts but this has been the best I've read.

Jason Egerton

Firstly and foremost – brilliant work Curtis. A well prepared site, bristling with information!

I had actually just started scanning the hundreds (thousands) of prints we have when I came across your website.

Your information is so clear and valuable that I have actually started over. Scanning prints, no worries now thanks to you.

Nik Frame
Sydney, Australia

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

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.

Carolyn Kerridge
Sunshine Coast, Australia

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!

Kristin O.
Des Moines, IA
Member

Hello Curtis, I've been looking for you without knowing it!

Was thrilled to discover your website and recognize that there is a name for what I have been trying to do. Beyond that, you have seven distinct phases that I can access to name and tame my efforts. I have spent time in each of them without a cohesive plan so I recognize them all.

I've been working away hit and miss on my images since I retired in 2010. Luckily for me, my own photos and my inherited ones were never put into albums so scanning is an easier handling task. My first motivation was collection and back-up and then I became obsessed with tagging to create a searchable database, and then I tried consistent naming, and then, and then, and so on.

What's changed those efforts to compel me to push your I'm Serious button? I'm now a granny and have become motivated to tell the family story in a permanent way as a chronicler.

So I anticipate the next step in the journey with guidance from your experiences.

Kudos for a very well-done site and service.

Sandra

I ran across your site last weekend while searching for some information on best file formats and resolutions to scan photos at.

First I just want to thank you for all of the great information you have compiled into this wonderful website. I am preparing to embark on my own scanning journey after starting / stopping it several times over the past several years.

I'm 52 and in possession of many of our family's photos. My parents are deceased and most of my aunts and uncles are as well. I have a couple of grandchildren that I hope will enjoy the fruits of my labor as well as a niece and nephew.

Anyway, your website has answered many of my questions and given me inspiration to start scanning. Thank you again for all of the time, effort, and great information you have provided to the world.

Roger Hammond
Grand Island, NE

I really enjoyed all the membership videos – very well done! I feel much more prepared to tackle the daunting task of digitizing the family photo collection now and have recommended your membership to several others.

Corey Callahan
Lancaster, Ohio
Member

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

Curtis, thanks for all you do to make learning all of this possible!!

Sue Wallin
Seattle (Madison Park), Washington
Member

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

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

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

Thank you so much for your series of articles. I've read them all. I started out knowing practically nothing about this. But now I'm ready to review the articles and get started scanning.

You have helped a LOT of folks. And with the baby boomers hitting 65 by the thousands each week the demand for your articles can only go way up.

Clay
Southern California

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

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!

Jules

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!!!!

Olivia Tyler
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