Digitizing family photos for genealogy is mostly about doing three things well: scanning at the right resolution, labeling every file so the information never gets lost, and keeping the untouched original next to any restored copy. The restoration itself is the easy part. The part that ruins archives years later is unlabeled files and a single hard drive that eventually fails.
This guide is written for family historians who want a permanent archive they can share on FamilySearch, Ancestry, or a private family site — not a folder of mystery JPEGs. It covers scan settings, a file-naming and metadata system, where photos belong on the major genealogy platforms, and a backup rule that survives a dead drive.
The short answer: a genealogy-grade photo archive
A photo is properly archived for genealogy when all of these are true at once:
- Scanned at 600 DPI or higher as a lossless or high-quality file, large enough to reprint.
- Named and tagged with who, when, and where so the identity travels with the file.
- The original scan is preserved untouched next to any restored or colorized copy.
- Stored in at least two places, one of them off-site or in the cloud.
Miss any one and the archive is fragile. A beautifully restored photo with no name and no backup is worth far less to the next generation than a plain scan that is labeled and safely copied twice.
Scan settings that matter for genealogy
Resolution is the setting people get wrong most often, because a low scan can never be improved later. Scan once, scan high.
| Photo type | Recommended scan resolution | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Standard prints (3x5, 4x6) | 600 DPI | Enough to reprint and to recover small faces in groups |
| Small or wallet prints | 1200 DPI | Tiny faces need extra detail before restoration |
| Slides and negatives | 2400 – 4000 DPI | The original is tiny; high DPI recovers real detail |
| Large prints or documents | 300 – 600 DPI | Already large; balance detail against file size |
Use a flatbed scanner where possible and scan in color even for black and white photos, because a color scan preserves paper tone and aging that a grayscale scan throws away. Save as TIFF or maximum-quality JPEG for the master copy. For fragile, curled, or brittle prints, do not force them flat — a slightly imperfect scan is better than cracking an irreplaceable original.
A file-naming system that survives decades
The single most valuable thing you can do is name files so the information is readable without opening any app. A consistent pattern means anyone in the family can understand the archive in fifty years.
A reliable pattern is: YYYY-MM-DD_Surname_People_Place_event.jpg. When the exact date is unknown, use the decade or a “circa” marker.
1962_Hansen_Maria-and-John_Chicago_wedding.jpgc1950s_Okafor_grandparents_lagos_porch.jpg1971-08_Smith_family-reunion_lake-house.jpg
Keep two versions of each photo with parallel names: the master scan and any restored copy. For example, 1962_Hansen_wedding_ORIGINAL.tif and 1962_Hansen_wedding_RESTORED.jpg. That way the restored version is obviously derived, and the original is never confused for the edited one.
Embed metadata so the identity never separates
File names can be changed; embedded metadata travels inside the file. Add the people, date, and place into the photo’s IPTC/EXIF fields (the “caption,” “keywords,” and “date taken” fields in most photo apps). Genealogy platforms and many viewers read these fields, so the identification stays attached even if the file is renamed, re-uploaded, or shared.
At minimum, fill in: full names of everyone identified, the date or estimated date, the location, and the source (who owned the original print). For uncertain facts, write the uncertainty into the caption — “believed to be” is far more useful to a descendant than a confident guess that turns out wrong.
Where photos belong on genealogy platforms
The major platforms each handle photos a little differently, and putting a photo in the right place is what makes it findable by relatives.
- FamilySearch lets you upload photos to the shared Family Tree and attach each one to a specific ancestor’s person page, plus add tags, descriptions, and dates. Because the tree is collaborative, a labeled, attached photo can be discovered by distant cousins working on the same ancestor.
- Ancestry attaches photos to people in your tree as part of their media gallery; adding a date, place, and description makes them searchable and useful in hints.
- A private family site or shared cloud folder is the right home for sensitive photos you do not want public — hospital photos, living people, addresses, or military documents.
Whatever the platform, upload a clean, well-labeled file. Restoration helps here: faded or scratched scans are harder for relatives to recognize, while a gently restored copy makes faces and details clear. Keep the original scan in your own archive even when you upload only the restored version.
When to restore before archiving
Restore a photo when damage makes it hard to identify people or read context: heavy fading, scratches across faces, low contrast, or blur. A cleaner image helps relatives recognize ancestors and helps future viewers see period detail.
Be careful with two things specific to genealogy. First, always keep the untouched scan — for family-history accuracy, a restored image is an interpretation, not a verified original, and color in particular is a plausible guess unless the real colors are known. Second, do not over-modernize: clothing, furniture, hair, and film tone are evidence that helps date and place a photo, so restoration should clean the image without erasing its era.
A backup rule that actually protects the archive
A single drive will eventually fail, and so will a single cloud account. Follow a simple version of the 3-2-1 rule: keep three copies of the archive, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy off-site.
A practical setup is the working copy on your computer, a second copy on an external drive kept somewhere else, and a third in a cloud service. Re-verify the backups once a year, and when you add a new batch of scans, copy them everywhere before you consider the batch “done.” The goal is that no single failure — a dead laptop, a lost drive, a closed account — can erase the family record.
How free credits help you test the archive
OldPhotoRestoration.app lets visitors run one watermarked browser preview before sign-in. New accounts then get 3 starter credits, with one credit per photo and no card required. For a genealogy project, use those credits to test restoration on a representative sample before committing a whole album: one faded color photo, one scratched black and white portrait, and one small group shot where faces are hard to see.
If the restored copies make people easier to identify, restore the rest in batches and keep every original scan. Starter-credit downloads include a small watermark, so use paid credits for the final copies you upload to a tree or print for relatives.
Frequently asked questions
What resolution should I scan old photos for genealogy? At least 600 DPI for standard prints, 1200 DPI for small or wallet-size prints, and 2400 to 4000 DPI for slides and negatives. Scan once at high resolution, because a low scan can never be improved later.
Should I scan black and white photos in color mode? Yes. A color scan preserves the paper tone and aging of the print, which a grayscale scan discards. You can always make a black and white copy afterward.
How do I keep photo identities from getting lost? Use a consistent file-naming pattern with names, date, and place, and also embed that information in the file’s IPTC/EXIF metadata. Metadata travels inside the file even if it is renamed or re-uploaded.
Should I upload the original or the restored photo to FamilySearch or Ancestry? Upload a clean, well-labeled copy so relatives can recognize faces — a gently restored version is fine. Always keep the untouched original scan in your own archive, since a restored image is an interpretation rather than a verified record.
How should I back up a family photo archive? Follow a 3-2-1 rule: three copies, on two kinds of storage, with one off-site or in the cloud. Verify the backups once a year and copy every new batch everywhere before calling it done.
A genealogy photo archive lasts when the labeling and backups are as careful as the scanning. When you are ready to clean the scans themselves, the free old photo restoration workflow walks through testing your photos at no cost, and the 1950s to 1970s family photo guide explains how to restore mid-century photos without erasing the era details that help date them.