A scanner can help you capture a print without photographing the room around it. The useful output is not simply the largest possible file: it is a clear copy in which the details that matter remain visible.
Give your scanning project two purposes. Preserve the source photograph for your archive, then prepare a working copy for animation. Keeping those versions separate lets you crop or resize without losing the material you started with.
Plan a small, manageable session
Choose a few photographs with related context rather than emptying every box at once. Note where each print came from before changing its order. Check your scanner's instructions for handling prints and for the settings available on your model.
If a print is fragile, curled or firmly attached to an album, do not force it onto the scanner. A carefully made phone capture or professional digitisation may be a more suitable route. Animation is not worth damaging the original photograph.
Judge resolution by useful detail
Preview the scan and include the full photograph. Choose settings that preserve the faces and details you need, then inspect the saved file at a useful viewing size. Higher resolution can create a bigger file without making an already blurred subject sharp.
Keep an initial scan without aggressive automatic effects if your scanner allows it. Compare any corrected version with that reference. Strong sharpening, colour changes or contrast adjustments can make the image look different from the print you intended to preserve.
Separate the archive file from the upload
Store the full scan and prepare a second copy for VividMemory. Crop surrounding scanner space and unrelated images from that copy. Keep enough room around the subject for its pose and setting to make sense.
The upload must be JPEG, PNG or WebP, at most 20 MB and 40 megapixels. If your archive file is TIFF or another unsupported format, export a supported copy. If it exceeds the limits, resize the working version and check the faces again before uploading.
- Save the complete scan with a stable reference name.
- Record known names, place and date in a separate note.
- Make an upload copy and crop it to one photograph.
- Check its format, file size, pixel dimensions and visible detail.
Inspect before starting the video
Look for clipped edges, scanner reflections, dust marks and focus problems. Re-scanning a recoverable capture issue is different from asking AI to invent what is missing. Keep the original scan even if the video includes corrections, because the completed output is an interpreted video, not a new archival master photograph.