frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

I just went through and did the same thing. I had photos that were stuck and couldn't remove because it was going to do more damage to the photo. So I just scanned the whole page and then cropped them out individually. Some of them the plastic was flat and there was no glare it was glare proof plastic. Some of them the plastic was crinkled slightly and did give some reflection in the photo but it wasn't that bad. so since it was just family photos meant for memories and so forth and genealogy stuff I didn't even try to edit it out. Because the people were recognizable. someone mentioned to heat the plastic a little bit I didn't even think of that but a hair dryer done over it would flatten the plastic, but in doing that it could also cause damage to the photo by the plastic moving and tearing the photo so I don't think I would do that.

As was mentioned by someone else instead of scanning if you're worried about the reflections then do it with a macro and do it with a lights above and at 45° angles to the to the photo to stop the reflection.

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

If you don't have a thin putty knife, a thin metal spatula will work, or even a common tableware knife.

David Martin Loc: Cary, NC

It seems that removing your photos from these "magnetic" albums is actually very highly recommended (I did mine years ago). The albums used sticky pages with a mylar or pvc sheet to cover the photos. Turns out that the page glue is acidic, and the overlying sheet locks in the acid fumes, all of which degrades the photos.

Here's an article addressing the problems you're facing. Interestingly, such tools as waxed dental floss, a spatula (as previously recommended), a freezer or a microwave, may help solve your stuck mylar problem:
https://www.thoughtco.com/safely-removing-photos-magnetic-sticky-albums-1422292

balancr Loc: VA

A couple drops of glycerin or even baby oil on the plastic will spread out and fill the gap between surface and plastic and eliminate reflections. Wax on, wax off of course to keep it clean.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Polypropylene pocketed pages are archival storage. Those old paper and paper/tacky adhesive/plastic overlay pages are not! Get rid of them if you can gently remove your prints.

raypep

Thank you. The scanned photos are “ok” and will be just for family viewing of family. I’ll do my best but not go crazy if they are less than perfect.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

If you have to leave the plastic in place and it's crinkled:

Set up your camera on a tripod to make copies of the photos.
Use lights from the side at an angle. If the plastic is crinkled you will get some glare.
If you move the lights, the glare will move to a different location.

Using Photoshop or equivalent, load all the images into layers. Make sure they're aligned. On the top layer erase the areas with glare on the plastic. If the lights were moved enough on the layer below, there won't be any glare in that location. You may need several layers to eliminate all the glare depending on how crinkled the plastic is.

And, of course, if you manage to remove the photos without damage, throw away that album and put the photos in a new one with archival plastic.

cruise4two

I've had very good luck using an offset spatula (the kind cake decorators use) to work plastic or backing off photos. This spatula is much longer thinner & more flexible than a putty knife.

jensonmd Loc: Freeland, MI

There is an app called Photo-scan which they say can be used in this instance even while in the albums. I have used it and it works pretty good. Worth a try.

DaveD65 Loc: Queen City, Ohio

The sticky stuff that hold the photo in position is usually just wax. Warm the back of the page with a hairdryer and use use the wide putty knife and I bet it will easily be removed.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Also, after scanning, you can try some of the solutions and see if you can get them loose and out. Then put in Arcavial storage ones. I put mine in three ring binders in Arcavial envelopes. I rescanned any I needed. Luckily I only had one the got damaged removing, and it was bad at all.

Burkphoto is right on.

Good luck.