How to Scan a Picture using Windows Photo Gallery (Vista or 7)

This step by step will show you how to scan a picture using Windows‌ Photo Gallery, which should come installed by default on Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.  Once pictures are scanned using Windows Photo Gallery, your pictures are automatically saved in your Pictures folder, just like pictures that might be imported from a digital camera.

Before you start to scan a picture, make sure your scanner is turned on and it's installed on the computer you want the pictures to be scanned to. When you're ready, here's how to scan in pictures using Windows Photo Gallery: 

1. Open Windows Photo Gallery by clicking the Start button, clicking All Programs, and then do a search for (or click) Windows Photo Gallery or Windows Live Photo Gallery.
2. Click File, and then select Import from Camera or Scanner.
3. In the Import Pictures and Videos window, click the scanner that you want to use, and then click Import button.
4. In the New Scan dialog box, click the Profile drop down list, and then select Photo (if it is not the Default) 
5. If you're using a scanner with a document feeder, click the Paper size list, and then click the size of the picture that you've placed on the scanner or click the size that most closely matches the picture.
6. If you want, make any changes to the default settings for the Color format, File type, and Resolution (DPI) to settings that you want to use.  Then adjust the brightness and contrast settings or type the values that you want to use.
7. Click the Preview button to see how the picture will look when it gets scanned. If needed, modify the scan settings, and then preview the picture again. Repeat these steps until you are satisfied with the preview scan results.
8. Click Scan. When the scan is complete, Windows Photo Gallery prompts you to tag the picture so that it's easier to organize or find later.
9. In the Tag these pictures (optional) list, type a tag name, and then click Import.  The scanned photo will be saved into a folder within your Pictures folder, which will automatically be opened by Windows Photo Gallery to display the picture so you can view, fix, or organize it.

Note: If you have a version of Windows that includes Windows Fax and Scan, you may also use this program to scan documents or pictures, as well as to fax or e‑mail scanned documents.