Keep the detail. Leave the glare behind.

If you have a flatbed scanner

• Use a clean scanner surface and lay the photograph flat without forcing a fragile print.
• Choose photo mode and a resolution that preserves visible facial detail. Check the resulting pixel dimensions rather than relying only on a preset.
• Save an untouched master copy before cropping, reducing file size, or applying adjustments.
• Inspect the eyes and mouth at full size. If they are blurred in the original, a higher scan setting alone will not make them sharp.

If you are using your phone

• Place the print on a flat surface in soft, even light. Turn off the flash to reduce reflections.
• Hold the phone parallel to the photograph so the edges stay straight. Move your body or the light if you see glare.
• Tap to focus on the face and keep the camera steady. Take a few versions and compare them at full size.
• Crop the surrounding table or frame from a copy, keeping the person and any hands needed for the intended movement.

Prepare a copy for upload

Hello Once More accepts JPG, PNG, and WebP files under 10 MB, with at least 512 pixels on each side. A phone may save a different format; export or convert a copy before uploading.

Do not repeatedly compress the same image just to make it smaller. Keep the best original, then make one upload copy. A sharp face matters more than a large file containing mostly background.

Keep the original and the interpretation separate

Name the original scan clearly and keep a backup. Store the animated MP4 separately so future viewers can distinguish the historical photograph from the newly generated movement.

Colorization is also an interpretation: the original image may not contain evidence of the actual clothing or room colors. Our demonstration uses colorization, but that does not establish the historical accuracy of those colors.