You have your entire family's LIFE in photos. SOMEWHERE.
Now lets get them all organized in just
ONE PLACE.
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.
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.
Organizing Originals
Scanning Photos
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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The DPI You Should Be Scanning Your Paper Photographs
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Epson V800 vs V850 — The 5 Differences and Which You Should Buy
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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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Use 1 of These Photo Managers If You Care About Your Photo Collection (2017 Update)
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How to Write an Autobiography: The Secret Tips to Finally Get Started
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What Everybody Ought to Know When Naming Your Scanned Photos – Part 1
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The Best Way to Add a Description (Caption) to Your Scanned Photos
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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?
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A 70-Year-Old Silver Surfer Scans Her Entire Life!
PPO Studio Podcast Episode #29: “Featured Guest – Curtis Bisel of Scan Your Entire Life”
I'm fairly certain I can no longer say I have never been a guest on a podcast anymore. I have now officially checked this item off my long list of accomplishments I want to experience in life. My first ever audio interview has just come out and I would love to take this opportunity to share it with you!
Aiming for the Stars to Hit a Cowpie — My Enlightening Scanning Journey
As a Wyoming farm gal, I was raised with the phrase “It’s better to aim for the stars and miss than to aim for a cowpie and hit.” Well, that’s great advice … unless your goal actually is to hit the cowpie.
My scanning goal really was that simple, but for some reason, aiming at the cowpie just wasn’t working. So I changed strategies and aimed for the stars. The result? Read on to find out. And hopefully, by sharing my scanning journey, it will help you on your scanning journey.
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.
Yours is truly an interesting, readable, and useful blog. Congratulations on it. It has almost kicked my butt enough to start my own blog.
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!
Your site is GENIUS. Your approaches are the most thorough I have seen. Thank you for this invaluable information.
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.)
Curtis, you've been a true inspiration. I was totally intimidated by the idea of doing it myself, but after visiting your website I decided to give it a try. Not only is it going much faster than I thought but it is an extremely enjoyable trip through the history of my family.
I still have many boxes to go but think I will have everything done within a year. Thanks for many great ideas and most of all for the encouragement.
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 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!”
Thanks for your help and guidance. Now that I know of your site, I will start here when I have such a question.
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.
I would like to compliment you on your website. It provides a lot of useful information all in one place. Great Job!
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!
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.
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.
Thanks for making my life better. I love you dearly.
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 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!!
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!!!!!
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!
