The photograph or other item to be scanned rests on a glass plate and the machine's scanning head moves underneath it. What makes this type of scanner very versatile is the fact that it can scan originals of various sizes and shapes. Since you can leave the scanner lid open you can scan book and magazine pages, medals and other artifacts, as well as photographs, letters and other flat documents. The scanner comes with specialized software that is used to convert the document or item into a digital graphic format. The various versions of scanning software each may have some different features and different steps that you take to digitize the item you want to scan.
Some software is strictly for scanning.
Some software can be used to scan the image and then manipulate it. Basically the steps would include the following. Turn on your scanner and computer. Place the photograph or other item on the scanner, face down in the corner of the scanner. Open the scanning or photo software you are using to scan and select the option to get a photo.