Photo Scanning

Terrible Advice for Slide Scanning

January 28, 2015 by admin

If you have some slides you would like to have scanned, we can help! But make sure you haven’t taken any of this bad advice, first…

Expect your slides to last forever. That’s bad advice – no film product lasts forever and slides are no exception. The color can fade or discolor, and slides can get damaged or dirty. Best to bring them in and get them digitized sooner rather than later, so that you can forestall any possible damage.
Similarly, store your slides any which way. That’s bad advice, too. To keep them clean, safe, and in good shape as long as possible, store your slides in a carousel or a box or case designed for storing slides. Too often, we see slides that have been kept loose in a bag or shoebox, and their condition often suffers. Remember that slide scanning transfers the image from the slide to a digital file – if that image is already damaged, we will be transferring that imperfect image.
Finally, expect your slides to come out better as digital files than they looked as slides. That’s bad advice! The process of slide scanning does not alter the image, and it definitely won’t make your aunt Sue a better photographer. If a photo was dim, or blurry, or had color problems to begin with, the digital file will simply be a direct copy of that original and will have the same photography issues. We will attempt to correct slides that are badly discolored, but if it becomes a photo restoration project, that will add time and cost to your estimate. If you know that several of your slides need “fixing,” please let us know when you are dropping them off, and we will build that into the estimate.

Now that you have some bad advice cleared up, we would be happy to help with slide scanning! Give us a call or come in and visit us.

Filed Under: Photo Scanning, Tape/Film Care Tips

Digitizing Photos | On Veterans’ Day, Honor Heroic Memories

November 11, 2014 by admin

Happy Veterans’ Day!

Veterans’ Day was first instituted to mark the end of World War I. The First World War ended in 1918 – almost 100 years ago!

World War I was the first war where ordinary soldiers frequently took photos. Before this time, personal cameras were not affordable or portable. Suddenly, the reality of wartime could be captured by anyone, not only the official military photographers.

Did someone in your family fight in World War I? If they have left you any photos of their time in the service, consider bringing those photos in to be digitized. This will not only preserve the legacy of your family member for future generations to appreciate, but it will also save the photo itself. Digitizing photos is the only way to ensure they do not degrade, fall apart, or get damaged.

We thank all veterans for their service! And, of course, we can digitize photos from any era. However, the older the photos, the more urgent it is to digitize them before they deteriorate.

Filed Under: Photo Scanning

Family Summer Photos – Tips for taking great pictures

July 10, 2014 by admin

Smartphone vacation photos
Zoom in on what counts
Every photo should have a focused center of attention. In a lot of photos these days, which are usually taken in the spur of the moment, the topic of the photo is off to a side or maybe just too small. Size and center make for a better photo and memory.

… but don’t forget the background
Once you have a center piece for the masterpiece, it is important to keep the location and vibe of the photo alive. Whether you are climbing down into deep dark caves and want to capture your families dazzled expressions or swimming in the ocean and see your kids having fun, it’s important to capture the scene of the experience.

Sometimes a little bit of blur is a good thing
You see famous artist paint and create their way with purposeful fuzz. Nothing is stopping you from doing the same with a photo. While this takes a a little knowledge of the camera you are using, which is minimal tops, it is worth the effort in how it can bring the photo into life and art.

Family Vacation Action Shot

Life isn’t a string of photos
Life doesn’t move at 30 frames per second like your favorite movies. It is fluid and alive, just like your photos should be. Don’t stop your kids or family from having fun at the park; instead, take moving photos of them. The photos will show a colorful array of emotions and vibrance.

When you don’t have a professional camera, smartphone!
There is nothing bad about smartphones or admitting that it is your only source of pictures. It’s perfectly acceptable, and actually pretty awesome, that you can literally have a camera in hand 100% of the time. In these instances filters are your friends. Just ask any friendly teenager to help you choose one.

Live in the now
Final advice, and this is good natured advice, don’t forget to participate and not just sit on the sidelines. Having someone else take photos will bring more variety to the photos and will only increase the power of the memories in the futures as you look at that photo album.

Digital photos are the way of the future and for those of you who haven’t yet adapted, now might be a good time. Hard copies of photos are a great way to keep them in plain sight but not a good storage method. They crinkle and tear. And if you leave them alone for long enough, then the moisture in the air will get to them. It’s time for those memories to enter the digital age where there is no risk of deteriorating quality.

It’s not difficult to find a photo scanning service in your area.

Need photos scanned or restored? Want to hear what others have to say?
Scan photos to a HD and share them with family.
Restore photos back to their original quality.
Watch testimonials from people all around Boston.

Filed Under: News & Tidbits, Photo Editing, Photo Scanning

Photos, VHS, Film to Digital – 5 Memory Gift Ideas for Father’s Day

May 30, 2013 by admin

Father’s Day is right around the corner. I bet you’re wondering what to give Dad this year that he will remember forever. Rather than giving him another tie to add to his collection, make it special and give Dad the gift of memories.

Here are 5 ways to give Dad the gift of memories.

1. Digitizing Dad’s favorite vinyl record to CD – Many records are currently on CD format, however like VHS tapes, there are occasionally a few that aren’t. If Dad wants to enjoy some of his favorite music, it may be stressful to him to have to set up the equipment to play the LP. Why not make Dad’s life easier this year and convert the record to a CD? He will love being able to play the music he enjoys conveniently either in the car or at home without taking out the bulky equipment and records.

2. Photo restoration – Photos are very fragile and can easily be damaged by either tearing, fading, or being stained. What if one of Dad’s favorite photographed memory has had this happen to it? Don’t let him give up on the photo and toss it in the trash. Photo restoration technology will allow you to make the photo new again by either digitally stitching the photo back together, or adjust the colors to match it’s original vibrant colors. After restoration, you can have prints made and framed so that way Dad can enjoy for years to come the photo he almost gave up on.

3. Transfer old home videos to DVD – Less and less people have working VCR players in the world. Over time VHS tapes will begin to degrade and become unwatchable. VHS tapes have a shelf life and even if the tape is 10 years old, it may have began to degrade. This year for Father’s Day, grab those tapes from out of his closet and have them converted to DVDs. This way he can enjoy his memories with his loved ones for many years to come.

4. Digitizing Photos – Right next to Dad’s stack of VHS tapes may be piles of old photographs just sitting there. The photos may be in bulky albums, or just loose stacks in a box. Either way, it may be stressful to Dad to deal with the photos and hard to enjoy because there are so many to go through and handle. Luckily, there is a much better way for Dad to view each and every photograph without the added stress. You can digitize Dad’s photo collection and chose from a variety of options on what to do with it. You can store the photos on a digital photo frame, create a slide show, and even have a custom coffee table book with all his favorite photographs for everyone to look through.

5. Transfer Dad’s old media to hard drive – DVD’s are great for viewing purposes or making copies for family and friends but what if Dad wants to do more with his old media. By converting to an external hard drive, the possibilities are endless. You can store slides, film, tapes, photographs and audio files in a convenient and organized way. From there, using different software, you are able to edit the material to whichever way you’d like. You can make different cut points to make a certain section of a tape it’s own file, add music of your choice, burn DVDs of the footage you choose, and even send small files to friends all over the world. You can even put all the different types of media together and create a beautiful slide show using film footage, slides and add background music of the audio cassette you digitized. Even though Dad may not be familiar with using editing software, who knows, it could end up being his new favorite hobby!

Dad will be sure to love any of these ideas, and will be able to enjoy it for many years to come. This year, don’t add to Dad’s tie collection. Give him the gift of memories.

Filed Under: Film Transfer, Photo Editing, Photo Scanning, VHS to DVD

Thousands of Photos Scanned to Digital, Now What?

May 17, 2013 by admin

It’s easy to know what to do with a few favorite photos once they’ve been digitized. You can make a poster from it, make wedding invitations using it, or print it on a shirt. But what do you do when you have hundreds or even thousands of photos that you’ve recently converted to digital? After all, the reason for digitizing your photos is so you can conveniently view and easily share these memories.

Below are 3 unique and easy ways to share all those happy times and memories with loved ones:

1. Online Photo Sharing Sites – There are many websites which offer services to allow you to upload your photos and share them with friends anywhere in the world. Some of the most popular sites are Shutterfly, Flickr, Snapfish, Photobucket. Your friends and loved ones can view your uploaded photos and even order prints!

2. Digital Photo Frames – Back when these frames were released, they used to cost hundreds of dollars. Currently, you can find a 15-inch frame for under $100. 8-inch frames can be found for less than $50. You can even choose to get a regular frame that simply displays your photos, or more advanced models that have a variety of functions which include playing videos, motion detectors, or ones that turn into a clock when it senses that nobody is nearby.

3. Photo Books – Like photo sharing sites, there are many websites dedicated to creating photo books. If you have many photos, we recommend Blurb to get the best price. Many sites remain around the same price when you want to create a 20 page book, but when you get to the 100 page range, Blurb is the most affordable ($48 for a hardcover book, 20 cents for additional pages). Pages can fit anywhere from 1-10 photos. Only $48 will get you a coffee table photo book that will display hundreds of photos for your friends to look through whenever they visit.

Shutterfly has recently bought out MyPublisher.com which is a popular photo book publisher. The integration between your uploaded photo library and creating a photo book should be easier than ever!

There’s no reason for you to stress over your family’s treasured photos or keep them in a dark closet forever. Take them out into the sun and finally get your photographs scanned to digital and share them with your loved ones using any of the suggestions above.