Choose about ten sound photographs from one envelope or album section. Record their order and how you will identify each one before starting the camera or scanner.
Ten is a suggested manageable batch, not a target you must reach. Three carefully recorded pictures are a useful start.
What you need
A clear table, your chosen copying equipment, a notebook and a small group of stable prints. This guide prepares and checks the batch; use the instructions for your named camera or scanner to operate it.
1. Choose a safe, meaningful group
Pick one event or envelope rather than a mixed pile. Note where it came from, including labels and its current order.
Do not pull stuck photographs from an album, flatten brittle pages or clean damaged surfaces. Leave uncertain material supported and get advice. Use only items you can safely handle for this session.
Keep drinks and cleaning products away. Prepare the equipment and clean its working surfaces according to its instructions before bringing the photos to the table.
2. Make a simple batch list
Write a batch name, such as “Green album, page 8”. Give each picture a number in its existing order: 001, 002 and so on.
Beside each number, note whether it needs a front capture, a back capture and an album-context image. Record a back as inaccessible if the print cannot safely be turned. Do not imply you checked writing that you could not see.
You might expect ten fronts and four written backs. That means at least fourteen captures, with any album-context pictures counted separately. This fictional example shows why the number of prints and files may differ.
3. Set up a destination and a trial
Choose a clearly named destination in your familiar photo workflow. Keep this batch separate from older attempts. Record the filenames produced by the app beside your references if you do not rename files.
Make one trial capture using your chosen method. Open the saved image, enlarge a face or handwriting and inspect every edge before continuing.
If the trial is blurred, clipped or affected by glare, fix the setup now. Strong editing later cannot restore detail the capture never recorded. Keep a little border and preserve the first satisfactory source capture before making adjustments.
4. Copy in order and mark progress
Work through the list one picture at a time. Mark its front, safely available back and any context capture as completed. Keep physical items in their original order as you return them.
For a front and back, use the same reference in your note, such as “Green-001 front: IMG_0410; back: IMG_0411”. You can identify them without learning a batch-renaming tool.
Record uncertain dates as uncertain. A phone or scanner timestamp usually describes the new copy, not when the family event occurred. Keep source captures separate from later crops, restoration or colour versions.
5. Reconcile the small batch
Open every saved capture from this session. Check the intended subject, edges, focus and readable writing. Match each file back to the list rather than relying only on a total count.
Record any missing item or repeated attempt. Make a checked additional copy through your existing backup method, including the note and reverse images. If that is not yet done, label the batch “captured; backup pending”.
Check your result
You should be able to find each expected front and back, explain gaps and locate the original physical group. The task is complete when the files and prints both have a clear home.
If a note no longer matches a filename, repair that connection before beginning another group. If a capture is poor, repeat only the affected stable item. Do not reshuffle the entire collection to fix one mistake.
Next step
Keep names and family stories with the scans.
Sources and scope
Editorial batch method; no equipment test is claimed. General handling reference: Library of Congress photograph care, reviewed 9 September 2026. Damaged material needs individual advice.