Loading Card Photos

If you have a photo in card form scan it in as a PDF.

When scanning select "portrait" A4 and make sure the photo is the right way up (not at 90 degrees).

Before scanning in, have a look at the reverse side of the photo and see if there is any relevant information there. Typically when a non-digital photo was printed on card, information would have been printed on the back to help the processing lab reproduce an identical print if the customer came back and asked for another copy. So coded information on the back will typically represent lightness/darkness corrections and colour corrections applied when the film was printed so that the lab could use the same corrections if a further print was requested. There may also be codes indicating the particular machine used for the print and the manufacturer and speed (ISO number) of the film. Occasionally you may find that one of the codes printed on the back is the month and year - e.g. APR96. If there is a month and year like this it is, it indicates the month and year that the print was made, not necessarilly when the photo was actually taken. However it is still of some value in dating the photo because, for example, it tells you that the photo cannot have been taken later that the month/year shown.

If the back of the photo print does contain the month/year or some other relevant information you should scan both sides as a two-page PDF. If the back is blank or only contains colour/brightness correction codes and other irrelevant technical information about the printing process then there is no need to scan both sides - scan the face only. If in doubt scan both sides.

Once you have scanned in the card photo as a PDF, load it by tapping the Add Documents button (see video). Then set the date (so far as you can ascertain it) as shown in the example below.  

You probably will not know the exact date the photo was taken but you can enter the approximate date like this:

'Jun 1997'

'circa. 1998'

'summer 1975'

'mid 1990s'

Don't use the form about 25 years ago because if you do someone reading that will not know exactly when you entered it and therefore be unclear what year to count back 25 years from. 

If you have completely no idea at all when a photo was taken you can simply enter 'Date NK.' 

Exhibit Mark

When you get to the stage where a statement is being prepared which will refer to the photo with an exhibit mark (e.g. a statement confirming where and when you took the photo or how it has come into your possession) you should add the exhibit mark to the the beginning of the Document Description like this:-

The file can then be downloaded as a PDF and an exhibit mark label applied to the downloaded PDF which can then be printed and verified by the witness.

Disclaimer

This information page is designed to be used only by clients of John Antell who have entered into an agreement for the provision of legal services. The information in it is necessarily of a general nature and will not be applicable to every case: it is intended to be used only in conjunction with more specific advice to the individual client about the individual case. This information page should not be used by, or relied on, by anyone else.

The information on this page about specific computer techniques is provided for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me. You should satisfy yourself, before using any of the techniques, software or services described, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.

This page was lasted updated in May 2025. Disclaimer