Scan Your Framed Photos: It’s Important

POV: You are gathering print photographs to be scanned by your favorite photo organizer. You grab the developing envelopes out of the bin in the closet and pull the old photo albums off the bookshelf. That’s about it, right?

Not so fast! There is one category of pictures that we actually forget to digitize, and ironically these usually are the most special and most important photos.

The photos we often forget are the special snapshots you’ve framed: your grandparent’s wedding photo, your favorite picture from your honeymoon, your son’s 2-year-old portrait. I bet the ones on the mantel are your favorites. I also think you’d be heartbroken if something happened to the ones on your dresser. Every day you smile when you look at the ones on your foyer table.

And I can also guess that most of your framed photos have never been digitized. Am I right?

My Framed Photo Story

A couple of Valentine’s Days ago, I wanted to post some old photos of my husband and me throughout our 28 years together.  I found what I believe is the first photo of us together about a month after we started dating. My mom had put it in a scrapbook, and I digitized it for her a few years ago. It’s not a great copy, but at least I have a digital version.

The second photo I wanted to share was taken at the moment immediately after my husband proposed to me, and I said “Yes!” way back in 1991.

Let me set the stage for you. At the time, I was a Junior at the College of William and Mary, and my at-the-time boyfriend had come up from North Carolina State University to go to an end-of-the-semester party for my sorority. My friend and I were going to meet him after we finished our classes for a celebratory lunch at The Trellis, a favorite restaurant that poor college students could only afford to lunch at about once a year.

When I returned to my room to drop off my bag, I had a message that my friend couldn’t meet us, so off I headed to Merchant Square to meet my man. When I got about 20 yards from the restaurant, I got suspicious. Troy was sitting on a planter outside the restaurant holding a rose. My curiosity was piqued. When I plopped down beside him, he swung around and got down on one knee. I think you can imagine what happened next…he asked…I said yes…and over 30 years of marriage later, here we are.

You might be saying, that’s a nice story, but what does that have to do with my framed pictures? I’ll tell you. Unbeknownst to us, a man was watching us, not in a creepy way, just in a curious Colonial Williamsburg tourist-with-a-camera kind of way.

After we finished hugging and kissing and celebrating, he came up to us. He told us that he was very curious why this young guy in duct-taped high-tops and a long trench coat was sitting there with a rose, so he stood by to see what would unfold. And don’t you know, he took a picture of our engagement moment.

Remember, this was back before every second of a proposal was captured on video and in photos and streamed live on social media. The gentleman took my address, and in about a month, he mailed me the actual photo. (Yes, it was the Stone Age of printed photos and snail mail. We didn’t even have cell phones. Heck, we barely had computers, and the internet was a mystery!)

Flash forward again to Valentine’s Day when I wanted to share this image. Surely, I have it scanned, right? I am a certified professional photo organizer; after all, I organize and scan other people’s photos for a living. Many searches later, I realized that I DON’T have one of my absolute favorite photos digitized because it was IN A FRAME! To post it quickly, I had to take a photo of the picture in the frame. Not ideal, but it worked in the pinch.

Why You Need To Get Your Framed Photos Scanned

What would happen if my house burned down? My favorite photo of our engagement would be gone forever, and I would be devastated.

What if the water heater in the attic leaked? It’s situated directly above the bookshelf where this frame lives. The photo would likely be ruined.

See where I’m going with this? Our framed photos are usually our most treasured pictures. They are the ones we would truly be heartbroken to lose.

How to Digitize Your Framed Photos

Have I convinced you that you need to do something about scanning your favorite framed photos quickly? If so, there are a few ways you can handle it:

• Hire a photo organizer like Good Life Photo Solutions to help with the scanning.
• Buy a photo scanner like the Epson V600 and scan them yourself.
• In a pinch, take them to a photo store (or even the drug store) and have them scanned.
• You can use a phone scanning app like Photomyne.
• As a last resort, take a good-quality digital photo of the picture in the frame. If a photo has been professionally framed, it may be nearly impossible to unframe it. This may be your only option.

One Last Piece of Advice

Now, keep in mind that this advice is only for photos that you or your family members have taken. If you have formal shots taken by professional photographers, you need to make sure you have permission to make a copy of the photo. My colleague Caroline Guntur, The Swedish Organizer, has written a very good article on the subject: Can I Scan That Photo Legally? Understanding Copyright and Fair Use.

Bonus for Scanning Framed Photos

A great benefit of having your favorite photos scanned is that you can now share them with others. You can make a calendar, use it in a slideshow, or as a screensaver on your computer. The options are limitless.

It’s time to get your favorite framed photos scanned! Please don’t wait until it’s too late.

If you are ready to get help with your photos, we are here for you.

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