Proud Photography Blog

Your old photographs are beautiful memories that you would like to keep with you forever. Seeing your parents wedding pictures is exciting and amusing. Your picture in your school uniform is kind-of cute. Also, memories of those prize-distribution ceremonies, sports events and picnics can be cherished for long. You also appreciate those early days when life was not so busy, and adventures were many.

Your photograph box is like an old treasure chest. But if you take a close look at your photo album, you will see that the pictures may be stuck to the plastic sheets, making them appear hazy. They may be getting a little yellow or faded. Also, the photographs in the pile tend to stick to each other. Pulling them apart would mean ruining the glossy finish. The same can be said about volumes of old negatives that are still stored in the developers’ envelopes. Nothing has been done with them since the last ten years! Moreover, they occupy a lot of space.

Paper prints and negatives are good; but don’t you think those celebrated moments deserve to be preserved better?  The digital age is catching on. Latest technology is at your disposal to convert those photographs and negatives into everlasting impressions that can be viewed over and over again. They can also be enhanced, organized, shared and carried forward to the next generation.

Your standard 4×6 or 5×7 sized paper prints and 35mm negatives can be converted into JPEG format and stored on a CD or DVD, or on your computer’s hard drive. There are many professional services that can scan all your photographs and negatives at up to 4000dpi using professional scanning equipment and store them on CDs or DVDs. Although they do a good job, they can charge you heavily.

If you have a scanner, you can scan all your photographs yourself. A flatbed scanner is readily available for a reasonable price. If you choose to scan your pictures on your own, you need to have some patience, since some scanners can take some time. You also will have to manually place each photograph onto the scanner. But it is worth the effort. You can also use the scanner to scan important text and other documents. Some scanners come with accessories that can scan films. You can place your standard 35mm negative strip into a small device that is loaded onto the scanner. Special software converts it into an image that can be viewed and enhanced before saving it on various storage media. But make sure your photographs and negatives are not dusty or sticky. Use a good brush or a lint free cloth to gently wipe them before scanning.

Special dedicated film scanners with automatic photo feeders are available in the market. They are specially designed to digitalize your paper prints, slides and negatives. These are mostly used by professionals. These scanners use a higher resolution than the flatbeds and are usually expensive. The images are clearer and presentable, but they occupy more space on your hard disk and may take more time to load on websites, or even to be downloaded from websites.

Whichever way you choose, it is worth preserving those golden, irreplaceable memories. After all, special days can be forgotten, but special memories last forever.