Your memories,
rescued in golden light.
We digitize your old photos, slides and video tapes and return them on a USB flash drive plus the cloud. Free pickup and drop-off across the Chicago area. Enhancement and restoration are available as add-ons — never automatically added to your order.
What we digitize
Every format your memories came on.
Prints & photos
Loose photos, polaroids, old prints and full albums — scanned at high resolution, front and back when needed.
Slides & negatives
35mm slides and film negatives digitized with a dedicated film scanner for sharp, true-to-life color.
VHS & video tapes
Camcorder, VHS and mini-DV tapes transferred to clean digital files — no more waiting on a dying player.
Restoration
Faded color rebalanced, tears and creases repaired, dust and scratches gently removed. Optional add-on — picture sharpening $0.10/photo, custom recreation & restoration from $5/photo (quoted individually).
How it works
Three simple steps. Zero work for you.
Prep & free pickup
Before pickup, gently slide your photos out of their albums, binders and cases so we can count each one the moment they arrive. We come to you free — no shipping, so nothing gets lost in the mail.
We count & digitize
We hand-count every photo and slide on arrival and log your exact inventory, then scan each one with white gloves. You always know exactly what we have.
Recount & return
We recount against your inventory as we hand everything back — same count in, same count out — on a USB flash drive plus a secure cloud download, so you know you have every single photo back.
That's why we offer free local pickup and drop-off instead of shipping — these memories are one of a kind, and losing a box in the mail is a risk we'll never take with them.
Our safe-handling guarantee
From your door back to your door — handled with care, the whole way.
White-glove handling
Cotton gloves, flat storage, every photo touched by hand — never fed through a machine unattended.
Counted in & out
We count every item together at pickup, then recount on return. Same count in, same count out.
Never shipped
Pickup and drop-off only. Your memories never go through a sorting facility or leave Chicago.
Sealed & private
Items stay in sealed, labeled containers the whole time. Your photos stay yours, always.
If anything is ever damaged, lost, or unreturned, we make it right — guaranteed. That's the Golden Hour promise.
Nationwide mail-in kit
Not in Chicago? We come to you by mail.
Our prepaid, insured mail-in kit lets families anywhere in the U.S. send their memories without ever leaving home. Here’s exactly how it works — including the shipping label.
Order your kit
Pick any package and choose “Mail-in kit” at checkout. We’ll prepare a prepaid, insured digitization kit addressed to you.
We mail the kit to you
Within 3–5 business days a sturdy, insulated kit arrives at your door — complete with a prepaid return shipping label inside.
Pack your memories
Slide your photos, slides or tapes into the protective sleeves and padded box. No sorting or numbering needed — we hand-count everything.
Seal & attach the label
Tape the box shut, peel the prepaid shipping label from the kit, and stick it over the original shipping label so the barcode is flat and visible.
Drop it off — no postage
Hand the sealed box to your mail carrier, or drop it at any USPS, FedEx or UPS location. The return label is already paid and tracked both ways.
We digitize & restore
Your kit is scanned in, hand-counted, and tracked through every stage. Watch it move in real time from your dashboard.
Digitals + originals returned
You get a USB flash drive plus a secure cloud download — and your originals are shipped back, insured, in the same kit.
The return label is prepaid
It ships inside the kit. You never buy postage or calculate weight — just seal, stick, and drop off.
Insured both ways
Every kit is fully insured in transit and tracked, so you can follow your memories from doorstep to studio and back.
Any U.S. address
Kits ship anywhere in the United States. Confirm your address from your dashboard right after checkout.
Where we operate
Free pickup & drop-off across the Chicago area.
We come to you anywhere within about 30 miles of downtown Chicago — no box to carry, no drive across the city. Outside the zone? We'll arrange a meet-up; just ask.
- 30-mile free radius from downtown — Lake Shore to the western suburbs.
- Same-day pickup scheduling once your order is placed.
- Safe, tracked drop-off right back to your door.
Why Golden Hour
Handled like they're our own.
These aren't just files — they're the only copy of someone's first birthday, a grandparents' wedding, a summer that's gone. We treat every box with the care it deserves.
- White-glove handling from a small, local Chicago team
- Climate-stored and tracked through every step
- Originals always returned — never scanned without consent
- Secure, private cloud delivery — your photos stay yours
Order online
Simple packages. Pay online, we do the rest.
Starter
Perfect for a single album or shoebox.
- Up to 50 photos
- High-resolution scans
- Sharpening & restoration as add-ons
- USB flash drive included
- Secure cloud download
Optional add-ons
Family
Our most popular package for the whole history.
- Up to 200 photos
- Sharpening & restoration as add-ons
- USB flash drive + cloud
- Priority 7-day turnaround
- Free Chicago pickup
Optional add-ons
Archive
For decades of photos, slides and home video.
- Up to 500 photos + 3 tapes
- Sharpening & restoration as add-ons
- USB flash drive + cloud
- Rush turnaround available
- Free Chicago pickup
Optional add-ons
What you actually pay per item
Packages cover the common sizes above. If you go over — or just want a custom mix — here's every format, priced to the item. You only ever pay for exactly what we scan, after we count it together.
Prints & photos
Loose prints, albums, shoeboxes and scrapbook pages.
- 600 DPI high-resolution scan
- Hand-counted, white-glove handling
- Named folders by album or year
Slides & negatives
35mm slides, negatives and film strips — faded or not.
- 4000 DPI film-resolution scan
- Hand-counted, white-glove handling
- Named folders by album or year
- Optional restoration — from $5/slide
VHS & video tapes
VHS, VHS-C, MiniDV, Hi8 and 8mm home videotapes.
- Per-tape tracking & repair
- MP4 digital files, ready to watch
- Each clip labeled by date or event
- Tapes returned, moisture-safe
Estimate your cost
Drag the numbers up and down to match your collection. This is an instant estimate based on per-item pricing — your final invoice is always based on the real count we do together at pickup, so you never overpay.
Add a few items to see your estimated total.
Add-ons are billed after we count your photos — you only pay for exactly what we scan.
Families we've helped
Memories, safely back home.
Real stories from Chicago families who trusted us with their one-of-a-kind photos, slides and tapes — and got every one back.
“They picked up three shoeboxes from my mom's apartment in Oak Park and came back two weeks later with every photo scanned, organized by decade. Mom cried. So did I.”
“My dad's only photo from his Army days was torn in half and water-stained. Golden Hour rebuilt it so completely you'd never know. Worth every penny.”
“I mailed a box of VHS tapes from Phoenix and got back clean MP4 files of every family vacation from the 90s. The whole thing was painless.”
“The pickup was free, the price was exactly what they quoted, and the cloud link let my whole family download everything the same day. Highly recommend.”
“They picked up three boxes of albums from my mom's place in Oak Park and came back with everything on a drive. She cried. Worth every penny.”
After my mother passed, I needed to clear her apartment in a week. Golden Hour came the next day, counted every photo in front of me (614 of them), and returned them all on a USB drive plus a cloud link — nothing lost, nothing damaged. Now the whole family has copies.
“My dad's VHS tapes hadn't been played in 20 years. Golden Hour saved them and now we watch them on the TV like normal files. Incredible.”
There were 8 tapes of my childhood — birthdays, soccer games, holidays — and our VCR had eaten the last one we tried. Golden Hour digitized all eight, fixed the tracking on two, and labeled every file by year. My kids now watch me at their age on the big screen.
FAQ
Good questions, answered.
Your memories are one of a kind, so we treat them that way. Every item is handled with cotton gloves, laid flat in a climate-controlled workspace, and never out of our possession — no warehouses, no third-party shipping, no mailing your box across the country. Photos stay in sealed, labeled containers the whole time and are returned exactly as they arrived.
Get a free quote
Bigger jobs, bulk discounts, anything weird — let's figure it out.
Our packages cover most orders, but if you've got boxes of slides, a wall of albums, or a stack of tapes that won't fit a preset, tell us about it. We'll send a custom quote — usually within a day.
- • Custom pricing for 500+ photos or 3+ tapes
- • Mixed-format collections welcome
- • Free Chicago pickup, no matter the size
Don't let your memories fade in a drawer.
Order online in under two minutes and we'll schedule your free Chicago pickup the same day.