My scanning empire guide to old photos

My guide to scanning old pictures

So you have a mountain of old images and a crazy idea to publish them on a website you will build as you go, planned on the edge of an AgfaColour slide frame! Read on...

When I had the idea to capture my parents old photos, I expected it to be fairly straight forward but no, patience and some reasonable gear is needed?

Some top tips, in case you want to do the same?

Scanning prints is straightforward. Any good quality scanner will do the trick. The newer ones use LEDs to illuminate the photo not the old lamps which get hot and can damage 70 odd year old photographs. I used an Epsom XP-760 scanner/printer, although you can buy fancier versions that include negative holders too.
Ensure you line up the photo squarely and try not to move it when you close the lid, or you end up wasting time in post processing, fine if you have 10 prints to scan but 100's is not.
Scanning Negatives? There are some cheapskate ideas on youtube but honestly for £39 buy yourself an ION Slides forever scanner from the usual online suspects. Why spend a fortune on super cool auto scanners unless you are doing this professionally of course, which I am not. Its a neat simple scanner that's great for negatives and Slides, you get through them in no time and the image quality is excellent.
Documents can be tricky, scan them in colour even if they are black and white, you want that warm coloured image rather than the harsh greys that sometimes appear. Be gentle with them and unfold them carefully so you don't damage them. Don't forget to clean the scanning glass once in a while too?
Photo Shop, or similar is a powerful tool, but don't be tempted to start fixing every single thing you see wrong. I took the decision early on not to fix damage on these old prints, in some cases not even the colour on 1950's shots because that period colour patina is what makes the picture and it instantly tells you when its from? I had to fix a few bad creases that spoilt the image, for example a bad one across a face but light scratches and so on should be left, pictures like people have stories to tell.
Mobile phones, yes some quick shots like my cooking recipes are handy mid flow you are not going to get your fancy camera and tripod out unless you are a full time blogger and do this for a living but I don't. I am more interested in capturing stuff naturally and quickly in some cases.
My Digital SLR, Pentax K1 for when I do want to capture something well, outdoors for instance.