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If you would like to preserve or share your own old photos or those of a loved own, you’ll be glad to know that there are some great apps that have been designed to help you digitize all of those old photos. Digitizing the old photos is a great idea. It makes it easier to peruse the photos and share them. And when you think about it, one of the most valuable keepsakes that we possess, are those old photos. If digitized, we can use them online and make backups, ensuring that we will never lose them. Most other possessions can be replaced, but not our photos.

Some apps, such as Shoebox, PhotoScan, and Photo Scanner, allow you to save the image to your phone and upload it to their website, where you can then further share it. There are several great apps that you can and should use to preserve those precious old photos.

Once you decide on an app, now what? Below are a few tips to help you photograph those old images and save them so they will always be available for you and future generations.

1. Start by organizing the photos you wish to take pictures of. This will be helpful when you download them to your computer or upload them to the internet for use in social media, or on specialty sites, such as this one. 

2. If you have tons of old photos, you do not need to digitize all of them at once. But do not delay. As long as the images are not digitized and backed-up, you are running the risk of losing them.

3. Make sure that your smartphone has a good camera. All newer smartphones, both iPhone and Android, have high quality cameras so this should not be a problem.

4. Clean the lens with a micro cloth so there is no blurring.

5. Find or create a location in your home that has very good lighting. This will help you to avoid a lower resolution photo as your camera attempts to compensate for poor lighting. Do not shine a light directly on the photo. It would be best to use indirect lighting.

6. Hold your phone parallel to the photo and focus on the photo.

7. If you want really good pictures, use a tripod with a smartphone holder and a use the countdown feature on your phone. This will eliminate the movement that you create when taking the picture. Remember, any movement will reduce the clarity or resolution of the image.

8. After you take the photo, you may need to crop it and adjust the color and brightness, so it looks as desired. Today’s smartphones make this quite easy.

9. Group your photos and place into digital folders. Be sure to give these folders sensible files names. They should be short, but descriptive enough to help you keep the photos organized. You can organize photos by year or range of years, location, event, and so on. Below are some examples.

     a. Family 2000-2005

     b. 25th Wedding Anniversary

     c. 2015 Caribbean Cruise

     d. Best Childhood Photos

These are only examples. But it is important to choose a logical system that can expand as you add images.

Digitizing and backing up your old photos, and the photos of your parents and grandparents, is well worth the time it takes. These photos will help preserve great memories. With each passing year, these digital images become more valuable.