We all have those old photos sitting in storage, fading and crinkling as the years creep by. This is why many of us are putting those coveted old memories into our computers. As you begin batch scanning multiple photos, you probably noticed that many have comments written on the back. Like "The Party... 1966", "Bob aged 7, 1942", or "Brent first birthday cake, 1986." So, how do we retain this important information on digital photos?
The answer is photo scanning software ScanSpeeder's feature to add a caption. (Don't have ScanSpeeder? Click here to see how to get it.) This feature digitally embeds the caption in the photo without altering the actual image of the photo. The caption is then visible in File Explorer alongside the photo.
This method also allows you to search in the File Explorer which is very handy when looking for a specific photo amongst your hundreds or thousands you have carefully preserved digitally.
How to Embed a Caption in a Digital Photo
Here is an example where I typed the caption, "Here is a test caption" on my photo that I called FamilyCamping004. This caption is now saved with my scanned photo.
To view the caption on photos, select the photo in File Explorer.
Below is an example of how to do this in Windows 10. (There is a similar feature in other versions of Windows.)
1. Click the “Open Folder” button in ScanSpeeder after you have saved your photos.
2. Open the tabs menu in File Explorer with the expand button on the upper right. Click on one of the “icons” view modes (for example, “Extra large icons”) and click on “Details pane”.
3. Now whenever you “Open Folder” to view files in this folder, you only need to single click the desired photo to see the caption in the details pane on the right.
Now your photo is preserved in its original unaltered state with the caption embedded in it. If you would like to add text, borders, or other graphics onto the photo itself for viewing, there are many great photo viewing and photo slide show apps (free ones too) on the market that offer that. Many of the photo viewing software packages will superimpose professional looking graphics and text onto your photo for fun viewing!
Your photo is now also searchable in File Explorer. You do this simply by using File Explorer's search box. In the search box use the syntax: "title:[caption term search for]" and your photo will be found. I like using the year the photo was taken in almost all my captions because I find when I am seeking a photo, I typically am seeking one from a specific year. So if I write the caption, "1988 Brent's Birthday Party", I can search on any of these words to find the photo.
Please Note: If your photo has a border and you would like to batch scan multiple photos including both images and borders, in addition to embedding a caption, please refer to how to batch scan multiple photos with borders. This gives the added touch of visually showing the context of the photo if it was written in the photo's border; such as hand-writing the date the photo was taken, location of the photo, and the names of those in the photo.
If you made a mistake, you can see how to correct the caption on your digital photo here.