Scan Your Entire Life

Membership

Let's Create Your Scanned Photo Collection Together


Scan Like a Pro

From Home

Our online step-by-step video lessons will teach even the most technologically-challenged person how to scan and archive their photos and documents the right way!

Don't Your Photos Deserve the Best

Do you have containers, bags, and albums stacked full of your family's old photos?

Have you been telling yourself for years you're finally going to scan and organize them in your computer?

The thing is, the longer you wait, the greater the chance something bad will happen to your aging photo collection. And your family members that can identify and describe many of the photos aren't getting any younger. And frankly, neither are you.

But you're probably afraid to even start this project until you know the correct way to scan and organize them. You only want to do this project once. Right?

You're not alone. Most people struggle with this same exact stopping point. Good thing we're here to help.

Aren't you finally ready to have a photo collection you are proud to pass down?

Since 2010, we've already helped thousands of people.

With our step-by-step training course, started in 2018, we are helping thousands more…

… but even better and even FASTER!

How the Courses Will Help You

step-by-step

The course lessons will guide you through the scanning process step-by-step so you learn what you need to know at just the right time

easy-to-understand

The course lessons are free of all that confusing technical “jargon” and are instead made at a level anyone can understand

no rambling

Your time is valued, so course lessons are scripted, professionally recorded, and edited so you receive the best learning experience possible

Fun!

Who said video training course lessons should be boring? These lessons have a sense of humor so you will enjoy learning again!

learn options

Learn all of your scanning options you didn't know you needed to know at the best time: before you start scanning!

save time

We’ve done all of the technical research for you and teach you what you need to know

Scan Right

Learn how to scan right the first time so you won't ever have to re-scan your collection all over again!

Take a Look Inside the Private Membership Area

Scan Your Entire Life Inside Course Graphic

The course area works on all of your devices, scaling to fit any size screen you own

How the Membership Will Help You

Course Lessons

Library of professionally-made training videos and information teaching you the essentials of scanning and organizing your photo collections

Community Forum

A private community forum to get answers to your questions and connect with people with similar goals

New Content

Additional training lessons added to the membership courses regularly

Updated Information

Updated information as technology changes

This Is just SOME Of What's Covered In The Course Lessons

The Membership is launching with a Course Library of essential core lessons and then will continue to grow in size and expertise with new content added each month

Equipment and Supplies

  • Scanner and Software: An overview of what kind of computer and scanner you will need to obtain high-quality results.
  • Scanning Supplies: My recommendations for what scanning tools and cleaning supplies will speed up your scanning project and improve the quality of your scans.

Foundation Concepts

  • Big Concepts: Get a deep perspective of the important questions you didn't know you needed to answer before you can even begin scanning that will affect how useful your collection will be in the future.
Learn these now so you won't have to  re-scan  your entire collection from the beginning!
  • Saving Your Scans: The best way to save your digital photos and documents to match your goals, so they are preserved for the future.
  • Linking Techniques: Explore methods to associate and match your original photos back to your new scanned digital versions. This is important even if you don't plan to keep your originals!

How to Scan

  • Scanning Setup: Overview of which mode in your scanning software will produce the best results.
  • Scanner Settings: A detailed and easy-to-understand overview of every important setting in your scanning software and how it will affect your results (with scanned visual examples). Knowing these is essential to getting great scans.
Yes, you will finally understand all of those settings!
  • Scanning Demo: Thorough, easy-to-understand, step-by-step demonstration showing you how to scan your paper prints and film — from beginning to end — for those with both basic or advanced goals for their collection.
Smile! This is exactly what you've been looking for all this time!!!
  • Scanning Multiple Photos: How to place multiple photos on the scanner at one time and have the scanner automatically detect each one and make a separate file from it.
Simply brilliant !!!!!!
  • Naming Your Photos: How to give your scanned photos a filename that will be most useful to those who will eventually inherit your collections.

What Members Are SayING

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

Sue Wallin
Seattle (Madison Park), Washington
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

The Membership course content is just what I needed for my scanning project. The videos and texts are so well done, entertaining but also very professional and easy to understand.

I’ve watched the videos and read through all the lessons twice and have been picking up more info through blog entries. I think I’m ready for my first scan this week!

Judith Franz
Portland, Oregon
Member

What you are contributing to the photography community with your membership is unique. I hope you feel good about that and are energized, knowing you are helping people achieve goals. God bless!

E. Miller
Crossville, Tennessee
Member

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

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 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

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

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 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!

Paula Simon
Melbourne, Australia
Founding Member

Curtis, I just actually wanted to say thanks again for taking the time to respond with such detail and clear passion for this subject! Most people do not do that these days, and though it's not expected, it's always appreciated. 🙂

I have just joined your membership program and have gotten through half of the lessons. Fun stuff! I can't wait to get some hands on practice.

I think your website is the best resource of collected material on scanning, and removes all the clutter of random, unhelpful, outdated information that one can Google.

Thanks again for your guidance, and I imagine I'll see you inside your Community!

Danica Yamasato
Sydney, Australia
Member

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.

Jonathan Hatton
Walton Warrington, United Kingdom
Member

Frequently Asked Questions

It's time for you to take action. Simple as that. If you really want to have a scanned and organized photo collection, then you need somewhere to get training and the answers to all of your questions — especially the ones you don’t know you have yet. You need support, community, and, most of all... accountability!

Additionally, if the price is important to you, the earlier you join, the more you are rewarded with a lower membership price. Membership prices will continue to increase incrementally over time as more and more content is added to the course library, and the membership becomes even more valuable.

The Scan Your Entire Life Membership is the place. If you really want to make a difference, the time is now.

Not at all! The Course Library contains lessons on my recommendations for everything you will need to complete your scanning project. This includes what scanner I recommend you use and my recommendations for scanning software, scanning tools and cleaning supplies, and computer storage drives.

It's alright if you already have everything you would like to use. But if you don't, you will find it most helpful to begin learning from the lessons inside the membership first before buying anything so you will be confident in any purchases you decide to make.

There aren't as many scanner choices as there used to be. The majority of scanners you will see currently for sale are either from Epson or Canon. Here at Scan Your Entire Life, we are very partial to the Epson Perfection line of photo scanners. They are designed to scan and archive old paper prints and film — slides and negatives.

If you haven't checked it out yet, at the top of my website, I have a link called "Tools" that will take you to my "Resources" page, where I list my top favorite scanners in the Perfection line of flatbed scanners. The V550 or V600 is the sweet spot for price and features. The V600 is what I demonstrate using in my membership course videos.

And, if you decide to join the membership, one of the first lessons I go over is the Epson Perfection scanners, similar to how I do it on the Tools page. Still, I also have a really detailed comparison chart that's really easy to read that shows you ALL of the features of each model — the specifications — so you can compare each model more if you are having problems deciding which model to buy. But you'll be happy if you get any Epson model anywhere from the V550 up. They're all good.

The course teaches you how to scan your photos and documents using a flatbed photo scanner and a desktop computer. 

I teach the course using the mid-level Epson V600 Photo from their Perfection line of scanners. And I demonstrate using the “Epson Scan” scanning software that is included with all Epson Perfection scanners.

You don't need to have this same model of scanner or even an Epson-branded scanner. Of course, understand it will be easier for you if you have any of the Epson Perfection models and the “Epson Scan” software because what I'm showing you in the lessons will directly relate to what you see on your computer screen.

For those using scanners made by another manufacturer — such as Canon — you'll find most of the settings in their scanning software is very close to that of Epson's. So, you will still have a very similar learning experience.

In the course, I'll also show you which scanning tools and cleaning products I recommend and will use throughout the lessons. And in the course area, I'll also give you links to where you can buy them if you aren't able to find them or similar items in your local stores. 

Absolutely! You can upgrade to an annual membership at any time. 

An annual membership saves you money off the monthly membership price. If you live outside of the United States, it's also a great way to save on exchange rate fees. Annual memberships only create a single yearly transaction for you instead of twelve separate ones. 

We're proud to offer the annual plan anytime you would like to take advantage of its savings to you

The price you pay for your membership will never be increased. You will continue to pay whatever price you join with as long as you maintain your membership. 

Even when the price for membership plans increases later for new members, you will always be “grandfathered in” or “locked in” to the lower price you joined with. 

When you come across complete courses for sale with a one-time price, they are almost always sold “as-is.” This usually means additional lessons are never added, and previous lessons aren't even updated as the technology they teach changes. And most come with a high price, often between $400-$700, when in-depth video lessons are involved.

The beauty of the Scan Your Entire Life Membership is it's always evolving and growing over time! 

The SYEL Membership opened for new members in early 2018 with a course library containing 11 lessons (4 hours of video) and several text-only lessons covering the “core essentials” of scanning. Then, each month, at least one lesson is added — sometimes more — to expand the scope of your learning. 

The objective is to keep adding more and more content until the entire workflow of scanning and organizing your original and digital photographs is covered.

Oh no! We certainly don't want to have that!

We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are unhappy with your membership for any reason within 30 days of joining, let us know, and we will refund your payment. 

For more details, check out the “Refund Policy” section of our Membership Program Terms & Conditions page. 

The course lesson content is primarily made using the video format. I believe many of the topics we will cover are easier to learn when you can see and hear me demonstrate using edited video with audio. 

However, some of the lessons are in the “text and image” format when it's more appropriate — such as learning about what hardware, software, and products you may want to use. A lesson like this is better in text form because I can provide images with text links to show you where you can download or purchase them. 

Obviously, we'd love to have all of our members stay in the community forever. So, It will undoubtedly make us very sad if you decide to cancel. But, if you are intent on leaving, you can do so with just two clicks of your mouse or trackpad from your Membership Account page. You won't be billed for any future payments. 

Get Instant Access To the Membership Area

If you're ready to achieve the confidence you need to produce amazing results when scanning your collections, simply choose your payment option below and click the button to join us...

Membership Pricing

Same Membership. TWO BILLING OPTIOns.

PREMIUM MONTHLY

$20/mo

  • Low-cost entry to a membership
  • Recurring billing monthly
  • Lock in this monthly renewal price (even when prices increase later for new members)

PREMIUM ANNUAL

$199/yr

About $16.50/month
(12 months)

  • Cheaper per month over the full year than "Premium Monthly"
  • Recurring billing once every 12 months
  • Lock in this annual renewal price (even when prices increase later for new members)

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Get Scanning!

If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.

Hassle-free 30-day Money-Back Guarantee

When you join the Scan Your Entire Life Membership, you are fully protected by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. If you don't feel like you've received value and decide to cancel within the next 30 days, just let us know, and we'll send you a prompt refund. There will be no hassles, headaches, or hoops to jump through.