You need a clear digital copy of each photograph, not a particular scanner brand. A flatbed scanner is useful for loose prints. A phone can work too when the photograph is flat, the camera is parallel to it, and no reflection covers a face. Check the result at full size before sending a whole album.
Start with five different photographs
Choose a portrait, a group photograph, a dark print, a glossy print and one faded image. This small trial shows which capture method suits your album. Inspect the eyes and small faces in the group photo. If they are unclear in the copy but visible on paper, improve the capture before asking software to repair them.
Keep a little space around the print. You can crop a copy later; you cannot recover a face cut off while scanning. Scan the back separately if it contains names or dates. Name the pair consistently, such as `012-wedding-front` and `012-wedding-back`, so the story stays attached to the picture.
Keep an untouched master
Save one original capture and edit a second copy. Avoid repeatedly saving a JPEG after each adjustment. If your scanner offers a lossless format, it can be useful for the master; use a file format accepted by the upload form for the working copy. Do not assume every format supported by your scanner is supported by every website.
For a film, the visible detail matters more than a large file alone. Enlarging a tiny screenshot creates more pixels without adding the missing information. A fresh scan of the print is usually a better starting point than an old compressed copy sent through several messaging apps.
Prepare the story alongside the files
Create a short list with the photo number, approximate year, people and intended position. Write “around 1970” when you are unsure. A guessed exact date can become a false family fact once it appears in a caption.
Meaavar's photo preparation guidance accepts phone captures of prints, so owning a scanner is not a prerequisite. The film service works with the copies you upload. Keep the physical originals and your own backup. Restoration can improve the appearance of damage, but it cannot prove details that are absent from the source.
Before you upload
Open the files on a larger screen if possible. Look for glare, missing corners, rotated images and duplicates. A clean, named set lets the editor spend time on the story instead of discovering that the best portrait is an unreadable screenshot.