Digitise Your Family Photo Archive
Open the boxes, identify the faces while somebody still can and turn fragile prints into files the family can search, copy and share. Digitising a photo archive is part scanning project and part detective work; the handwritten name on the back may matter more than perfect colour correction. Photographs fade, scratch and become separated from their stories. A useful digital archive preserves the image, records who or what it shows and keeps the original order where that has meaning. Scanning at sensible quality creates a preservation copy, while smaller versions are easier to share. File names alone rarely hold enough context, so basic metadata or a catalogue helps. Work in small batches with clean, dry hands and a dust blower or soft brush. Scan both sides when notes appear on the back. Save high-quality master files without repeatedly editing them, then create copies for cropping and restoration. Back up to at least two different places, including one away from home. Ask permission before publishing private family images. Invite relatives to identify uncertain people and record their answers now. Return originals to archival-quality sleeves or boxes rather than discarding them. Add this to your list to rescue not only photographs but the names, places and stories that make them useful.