How do I add scanned photographs without mixing them with camera originals?

Make scans visibly distinct

Set up a dedicated scans intake folder, such as 2026-09_Scans-intake, rather than dropping new scans into a camera import folder. Use a naming pattern that includes a scan marker and a descriptive identifier: 1958-00-00_Smith-family_picnic_scan-001.tif is clearer than IMG_0042. When the original date is not known, use an approximate date label or leave the date portion neutral instead of inventing precision. Keep the scan date in your intake notes or metadata; it is different from the date the pictured scene was created.

Keep the original scan file intact

Preserve an unaltered master scan in a scans or masters area, with any cleaned-up, cropped, or color-adjusted version stored as a separate derivative. This lets you return to the first digital capture if you later want a different adjustment. If your photo application hides files inside a managed library, use its versioning or album features to distinguish the master from a derivative. Avoid overwriting the first scan with an edited export, since the two files serve different purposes.

Describe what the scan represents

Add a caption with the people, place, event, and estimated date when known. Include a term such as scanned photograph, family print, or album page so searches can separate scans from phone and camera images. If you have a photographed front and back, link them with a shared identifier or album. Treat uncertain names and dates as uncertain in the description: phrases such as probably or about are more useful than an unmarked guess.

Place it without disguising its origin

After intake, add the scan to the event, person, or approximate-period organization that makes it discoverable, while retaining its scan marker and master location. A 1970s family folder can contain both scanned prints from that period and camera files made later, provided their labels make their origins clear. Check that a few master scans and derivative versions open, then include both kinds in your routine library copies.

Sources

These official sources can help you check the next step for your equipment.

1. National Archives: Digitizing family archives — National Archives: Digitizing family archives
2. Library of Congress: Preserve Your Digital Images — Library of Congress: Preserve Your Digital Images

Before making disruptive changes

• A scan’s file-created date usually records the scanning session, not the date the photograph was taken.
• Do not use an edited scan to overwrite the first scan; retain both when the edit changes cropping, color, or visible detail.
• If a scan contains notes or writing, capture that information in a caption or a related image rather than assuming it will remain visible in every export.