How to scan and photograph old postcards

Phone photos: the fast way

For most purposes, including a quote, a modern phone camera is all you need.

• Use daylight. Work near a window during the day. Indirect light is best; avoid direct sun, which casts hard shadows and glare.
• Turn off the flash. Flash washes out real photographs and creates hot spots on glossy cards.
• Shoot straight down. Hold the phone parallel to the card or album page so the image is not skewed. Some phones show a level indicator to help.
• Use a plain background. A dark cloth or a sheet of black or gray paper makes the card's edges clear.
• Fill the frame. Get close enough that the card or page fills most of the photo, then check that it is in focus.

What to photograph for a quote

You do not need to photograph every card. Four kinds of photos tell a buyer what a collection holds:

1. The whole collection together: albums, boxes and stacks in one shot to show the size.
2. Album pages: two or three opened at random and shot flat.
3. The best cards: ten or so you think stand out, spread out together.
4. Backs: three or four turned over to show the era, publisher and postmarks.

That is enough for me to quote most collections. The quote form accepts up to twelve photos and shrinks them automatically before upload.

Scanning: the best quality

A flatbed scanner gives the cleanest, most even images, and it is the standard for listing cards online or making a family archive.

• Resolution. 300 dpi is fine for listings. 600 dpi is better for archives and for zooming in on small details like captions and stamp boxes.
• Color. Scan in color even for black and white real photos; it keeps the tone of the paper and the sepia of the image.
• Background. Close the lid, or place a sheet of black paper behind the card, so edges show clearly.
• Both sides. Scan the front and the back of every card you plan to list or archive.
• File format. JPEG for listings and sharing; TIFF or high-quality JPEG for archives.
• Several at once. Many scanners can scan four or more cards at a time; crop them afterward.

Clean the scanner glass first. A smudge on the glass shows on every scan.

Cards you should not scan

• Glued cards in albums. Do not remove them. Photograph the album pages instead.
• Warped or curled cards. Do not press them flat under the lid; pressure can crack the surface. Photograph them instead.
• Fragile or moldy cards. Handle them as little as possible.
• Embossed cards. A scanner lid can flatten high embossing. Scan with the lid open and a dark cloth draped over, or photograph them.

Photographing albums

Open the album gently and support the spine; never press it flat. Photograph each spread straight down. For a quote, a few random spreads are enough. For a family archive, photograph every page in order and number the files.

Organizing your images

Name files by what they show: a town, a subject, or the album and page number, such as album1-page12-front.jpg. Keep fronts and backs together. If you are keeping a family record, a simple spreadsheet listing each card with its image file names makes the archive far more useful.

Images for listing online

Buyers judge condition from photos, so show the whole card including edges and corners. Do not crop out damage or use filters. Include the back. A plain background and accurate color reduce questions and returns. The eBay guide covers titles and pricing.

Lighting real photographs and glossy cards

Real photo postcards and glossy chromes reflect light, which can hide detail. Angle the light from the side rather than straight on, and tilt the card very slightly if you see glare. For scanning, glare is rarely a problem, which is one reason scans of real photos often look better than phone photos.

Color accuracy

Old cards have warm, yellowed paper and sepia images. Resist the urge to correct them to bright white in editing software; collectors want to see the card as it really is. If you need to adjust anything, adjust brightness slightly and leave the color alone.

Questions people ask

What dpi should I scan postcards at?

300 dpi for listings and sharing, 600 dpi for archiving or detail.

Can I just use my phone?

Yes. Daylight, no flash and shooting straight down give good results.

Should I scan the back of postcards?

Yes. The back shows the era, the publisher, the postmark and often the message.

Do I need to scan every card before selling?

Only if you plan to list cards individually. For a quote on a whole collection, a handful of photos is enough.

How do I photograph a real photo postcard without glare?

Use soft window light from the side, avoid overhead lamps directly above, and turn off the flash.

Keeping a record before you sell

Many families like to keep images of a collection after it is sold, especially cards with family messages or views of their hometown. Scanning or photographing those cards first lets you keep the memories while the originals go to collectors who will preserve them. It is worth doing for the cards that matter most to you, even if you do not record everything.

Sources and further reading

• Library of Congress: preservation guidelines for digitizing library materials

Ready to sell? Compare where to sell old postcards, or see how to sell old postcards step by step.