Digitise printed memories

Revive precious prints while adding colour to bring your memories into the digital age Difficulty level: Intermediate Time taken: 3 hours

Those who learned their trade in the analogue era will probably have hundreds, possibly even thousands, of prints stored away in cupboards. The technology may be in the past but those memories should not be forgotten – prints have an emotional value and with its signature imperfections, analogue photography has its own charm. The good news is that they can be quickly and easily brought into the digital age. DSLR or mirrorless cameras impress with their precise and sharp image quality, so why not use them to digitise your analogue prints?

This has the advantage that you don’t need to invest in a quality scanner or get involved in time-consuming methods of conversion. Also, you won’t have to rely on expensive online scanning services, where your precious prints are sent via post or a courier service.

Two things are crucial when digitising prints with a camera – lighting and sharpness – but follow our guide to the best practices and we’ll show you how to get them right. With minimal gear, you will ensure a smooth workflow for digitising hundreds of photos every hour. We’ll also show you how to salvage damaged prints in post-post production and how to colourise black and white prints to bring them to life. So grab your camera and let’s start digitising your precious photo memories of family and friends.

Shooting steps