Since I’m begging for photos, I’ll certainly not be choosy about what you’re willing to contribute…..

….BUT…..one of the goals of the archive is for you to be able to print/enlarge the photos, and to do that they need to be scanned at a high resolution.

If you have a scanner, these are the settings/techniques that I typically use.

General Scanning

Unless the picture is physically larger than 6 inches, I make the minimum width (for landscape)/ height (for portrait) 6 inches;  otherwise I use the dimensions of the photo.

If you can set the scanning area manually, crop any white borders of the photo, so that what you get is just the photo

Any sepia photos I scan at grayscale.

If your scanning software has a dust/speck removal, I typically do that at the lowest setting.

Color Photos

I scan color photos at no less than 300dpi but usually 600dpi.

I scan at no less than 24bit color depth, but usually at 48.

If your scanning software has basic color correction (to remove the yellow sheen typically on older photos), I do that as well — but preview it first because sometimes water & sky get screwed up.

Black & White

I scan black and white photos at no less than 900dpi but usually at 1200dpi.

I scan at 16bit Grayscale.

Slides

I usually follow the 6inch rule where possible

Negatives

I try to use negatives where possible (usually because there is more to the photo) but older negatives suffer from scratches/dirt more than prints,

Video

Most video has to be transferred at NTSC 4×3.

If you are willing to entrust your photos to me I will happily scan them for you.  Just contact me!