An easy five-step process to organizing your photo collection

How To Digitize

So you found a box full of old family photographs somewhere in your basement. That’s exciting! It would be great to get those pictures scanned and digitized so you can preserve the memories and share them with the whole family. But we know that the process of going from finding to organizing to digitizing is daunting — especially when you have no idea where to start.

We’ve put together notes on an easy, five-step process from beginning to end for your analog to digital journey.

Step 1: Define your goal

Maybe you found one box, or maybe you found four or five. Do you want to prioritize photos first before slides or any other memories you've found? Do you want to digitize your collection in batches? Once you know what you want the end goal to be, it becomes much simpler to work backwards. Bonus tip: create a (manageable) deadline to help keep yourself on track!

Step 2: Collect your items — all of them

How many photos are there? Are there slides or negatives mixed in? Gather all the photos, slides and other items you've found, including some that you may have already set aside, and choose a table or area where you can start sorting. We promise, having everything in one place makes life so much easier.

Step 3: Sorting

Divide your printed photos, slides, and negatives into categories that make sense to you. This can be by location, date range, events, people, etc. (Check out our top tips to sorting through old photos)

Step 4: Share with PhotoLounge

Our team of experts can help take your project from your basement to the next level. Choose Sort and Quote to get an idea of pricing ahead of time. Whether you want us to come pick up your project or drop your items off at our Center City Philadelphia location, now things will really get moving!

Step 5: Share your memories

The best part! Once everything has been digitized, those priceless memories are now safe and available to share with friends and family.


Have questions about the digitizing process? Chat directly with one of our team members, or give us a call at 267-322-6651 and we will help you get started!

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