How to photograph & prepare gravestone images

• Shoot in soft, even daylight — overcast days are ideal. Avoid direct sun that creates glare or harsh shadows.
• Hold the camera straight on, parallel to the stone face. Avoid tilting — angled shots blur the text.
• Fill the frame with the stone. The inscription should take up most of the photo, not a tiny patch in the distance.
• Use the highest resolution your phone or camera allows. A sharp, readable photo means accurate OCR.

CemeteryOne matches each photo to a grave record by its filename. Use one of these conventions:

You don't need to host images anywhere. When you upload photos through CemeteryOne, they're stored securely on our servers and automatically optimized for the web. They become the photo shown on each grave's public memorial page.

Once photos are attached, use Bulk OCR (in the Import tab) to scan them all at once. CemeteryOne reads each stone and fills in names, dates, and inscriptions automatically — high-confidence results are applied instantly, and uncertain ones are flagged for your review.

If you can't follow the naming convention, you can attach a photo directly from each grave record's edit form — no filename needed. Open any grave record, click Edit, and upload the photo in the Gravestone photo section.