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Photographs Forever – Truly a Family Business

It has occurred to us you might not know that we are a family team at Photographs Forever. So, we thought we would take a moment to re-introduce ourselves and remind you of the true value of a family business.

I began Photographs Forever in 2009 and, since 2021, I have been lucky enough to have my daughter Amy working alongside me.

Amy and Richard – Don’t panic, this photo of us is from 1999!

As a father and daughter team we truly span the generations, offering a great wealth of experience and a first-hand understanding of just how important our photos are.  Being a small team allows us to act with empathy and common sense at all times – your photos are unique to you and we understand that this means our process needs to be unique as well.

Building relationships and trust with our customers is at the heart of what we do. We have developed so many amazing connections over the years and we love hearing all of the wonderful stories behind your photos – we have been lucky enough to restore some amazing historical images!

As a family business, we know personally just how essential photos are in keeping us connected to our past, for now and generations to come, and we are always here to help or offer advice whenever you need it.

Today, Amy’s partner Luca works alongside us too, heading up our in-house design projects and ensuring we continue to thrive together as a family business.

All you need to do is take the time to sort out those special photographs, and you can leave the rest to us!

Ancestry.com – The Perfect Place to Create Your Family History

Ancestry.com is a leading platform for exploring family history and genealogy, providing a variety of benefits that make it a top choice for individuals wanting to discover their roots.

You can currently have a 14 day free trial so you can see how useful it is for yourself.  CLICK HERE

Here are the 15 most compelling reasons for using Ancestry.com:

1. Extensive Historical Records

Ancestry.com boasts billions of records, including birth, marriage, death, census, immigration, military, and more.

The platform provides access to records from numerous countries, making it easier to trace international family connections.

2. User-Friendly Interface

The website is easy to navigate, making it simple for users, even beginners, to start building their family trees and accessing historical data.

Step-by-step hints and suggestions help guide users in finding relevant information without feeling overwhelmed.

3. DNA Testing Services

DNA provides users with an ethnicity breakdown, offering insights into their genetic origins and heritage.

The service connects users with potential relatives based on shared DNA, helping to uncover extended family members and new branches of the family tree.

4. Family Tree Building Tools

The platform offers tools to create detailed family trees that can include photos, stories, and historical records.

Users can collaborate with family members to build and expand their family tree together.

5. Record Hints and Smart Matches

Ancestry.com suggests potential matches and relevant records for individuals in your family tree, simplifying the research process.

This feature helps users quickly discover new information and verify their research with confidence.

6. Educational Resources and Guidance

Ancestry.com offers tutorials, articles, and videos to help users become more proficient in genealogical research.

Users can join forums and groups to get advice and share discoveries with others interested in genealogy.

7. Integration with Historical Context

The platform provides background information on historical events and trends relevant to specific time periods, giving users a richer understanding of their ancestors’ lives.

Maps, old photographs, and newspaper clippings enhance the storytelling aspect of family history.

8. Mobile App Access

The Ancestry mobile app allows users to continue their research from anywhere, making it convenient to access records and update family trees.

Users can scan and upload family photos directly from their smartphones, preserving them digitally.

9. Preservation of Family Heritage

Ancestry.com allows users to compile and preserve their family stories, photos, and documents in one secure place for future generations.

Family trees can be shared with loved ones, ensuring that the collected history is passed down and enjoyed by the entire family.

10. Comprehensive Subscription Plans

Ancestry.com offers various subscription levels, allowing users to choose plans that fit their research needs and budget.

Higher-tier plans provide more extensive access to global records and databases.

11. Access to Original Documents

Users can view original documents and historical images, making the research experience more authentic and trustworthy.

Seeing the actual records can help verify details and provide deeper insights into family history.

12. Support for Adopted Individuals

Ancestry.com can be particularly helpful for those trying to find biological family members through DNA testing and shared matches.

The platform can aid in providing information that leads to emotional closure or a deeper understanding of personal heritage.

13. Continuous Updates and Expansions

Ancestry.com frequently updates its databases and adds new records, ensuring that users have access to the most comprehensive data possible.

The platform invests in improving its tools and features to enhance user experience and research capabilities.

14. Family Stories and Memoirs

Users can add stories and anecdotes about their relatives, keeping memories alive and connecting generations.

Through these stories, users can learn about family traditions, achievements, and challenges.

15. Trust and Reliability

Ancestry.com is one of the most reputable and widely used genealogy sites, trusted by millions of users for its thoroughness and reliability.

The platform places importance on user privacy and data security, giving users confidence in how their information is handled.

In summary, Ancestry.com provides a comprehensive and engaging way to explore and document family history. Whether for casual interest or deep research, it offers tools and resources that make genealogy accessible and fulfilling.

Featured on Sarah Beeny’s Life In The Country

In Series 3 Episode 5 Sarah Beeny discovers many odd antiques and family heirlooms that have been passed down through generations and decides that the best way to use these findings in their new home is to transform their downstairs cloakroom into a Victorian cupboard of curiosities. That’s where Photographs Forever came in and we were asked to restore some of the deteriorating precious family photographs.

Here’s one as we received it, together with the restored version and below as it appeared actually in situ in the cloakroom.

 

New Life in the Country is a Channel 4 documentary series starring property expert and TV presenter Sarah Beeny and her family. The show follows Beeny, her husband Graham Swift, and their four sons as they embark on an ambitious project to build a sustainable new home and start a new chapter in the Somerset countryside.

The series documents the Beeny family’s move from London to rural Somerset, where they take on the challenge of building a modern, eco-friendly home on 220 acres of farmland. It captures the highs and lows of creating a new life in the countryside, from construction challenges to the family’s adaptation to a different lifestyle.

The show is a mix of property development, family life, and lifestyle change. It highlights themes of sustainability, self-sufficiency, and the rewards and difficulties of significant life changes.

Throughout the episodes, viewers see various stages of the home’s construction, interior design decisions, and landscaping projects. The show also delves into the family’s day-to-day life, interactions with the local community, and adjustments to country living.

The series has been well-received for its genuine depiction of family life and the beauty of the English countryside. Viewers appreciate Sarah Beeny’s relatable approach and openness about the challenges they face.

Sarah Beeny and Graham Swift’s project reflects their long-held dream of raising their children closer to nature and living a more grounded lifestyle. The documentary provides insights into the balancing act between professional ambition and family priorities.

Overall, New Life in the Country offers an engaging mix of home-building inspiration, personal storytelling, and picturesque rural life that appeals to fans of property shows and lifestyle documentaries.

 

 

Photographs – Digital Restoration or Preservation of Original?

We are sometimes asked to restore an actual physical photograph (photograph preservation) as opposed to restoring a digital scan of the same photograph.

Photograph Restoration Example

Photograph preservation can improve a photograph, image quality is not usually the primary purpose. Conservators will try to improve the overall visual appearance, but they would find it impossible to match what can be achieved by digital restoration. Because of the knowledge and skill and time required to carry out the physical preservation, the cost is likely to be prohibitive.

Digital restoration has many advantages including:

  • Preservation of the original photograph
  • Prevention from further deterioration
  • Eliminating scratches, blemishes, tears, folds and fading
  • Increase in the level of detail and enhancement of facial detail
  • Prints of any size can be made and shared
  • The ease of storage of digital files, also able to be shared

Composite Photograph Created From 2 Existing Photographs

Here’s a photograph montage we completed for our client Stephen F

Here’s Stephen’s feedback:
“The photo is of myself and my grandson Dylan and individual photos were taken 15 years apart. Dylan’s father actually asked if I’d got dressed in my old uniform to have that photo taken, he couldn’t believe the one of myself was 15 years old.  I’ve spoken to Dylan and my daughter (his mum) and they are also very happy that you are considering using that photo as they both love it and can’t get over how good it is.”

What’s YOUR Most Important, Irreplaceable Possession?

Boris-web

2020 has been a very unusual year in so many ways for all of us. One factor that has occurred to many of us is the importance of the family and close relationships as we have had time to reflect.

I will be moving to a smaller house soon and, as I have to get rid of quite a lot of ‘stuff’,  it has occurred to me that when I look around the house to decide what’s precious, there really is very little that I couldn’t live without. Except photographs. Photographs are one of the very few things that can’t be replaced and they are therefore possibly our most important and valuable possession.

Because we have all had more time on our hands than usual, photograph collections that have been overlooked for years have finally been finding the light of day and getting them scanned and either optimised or fully restored has enabled these very special photographs to be enjoyed so much more. 

So, if you haven’t checked out your own photograph collection yet, there is no better time than the cold dark winter months. Apart from anything else, it is actually a very enjoyable exercise. So make that diary note to do it. You’ll be glad you did. 

 

 

 

 

Top Quality Framing For Your Restored Photograph

There has been a very big increase in the number of photographs I have received because going through the masses of old family photographs is a job that is so often put off by many people due to lack of time and for these past few months have provided  the time and the environment to tackle the task. It’s always much more fun than people expect. And the rewards are huge.

I am now very excited to be able to offer you a top quality bespoke framing service. This means I can offer custom size prints, mounts and frames to show off your restored photographs in the best way possible so they can receive the attention and admiration they deserve.

The most popular moulding is the solid wood satin black or mahogany with single or double mounts.

Satin Black Frame

Satin Black Frame

 

Mahogany frame

Mahogany frame

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I can also provide multi aperture frames – the one below is 20in x 16in with two landscape format 8in x 6in prints and two portrait format 5in x 7in prints. There are several multi aperture options available and the frames can be any size you choose. Heavier mouldings are available for larger sizes.

Quad-mount-frame-5-650

 

I can even show you what your photograph will look like before you order including all the relevant dimensions. This is particularly useful if you want a specific frame size to fit a specific space in your house.

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A representation of your own photo with dimensions added

A representation of your own photo with dimensions added

Further details are available here

Restoration of Photo of Deteriorating Oil Painting

JG-comp

My customer John G had a photograph he had taken of an old oil painting of an early member of his family (centre photo above). The photograph he gave me was not very good quality itself and you can see by the close up of the face on the left that the surface of the painting was also very cracked and damaged.
On the right is the same section after I had digitally restored it.

9 Great Ways To Transform Your Photographs

With Christmas now on the horizon here are some ideas for a unique gift that’s ideal for those who can be tricky to find something a bit different.

Here just a few examples of the many ways I can transform your photographs….


If you have a photograph that has faded in its frame, it can be restored and re-coloured.

 

 


Two or more photographs can be combined and you can choose the people you want in the finished photo

 

 


Family groups can be ‘adjusted’ to include or exclude people!

 

 


Couples can finally be together in the same photograph.

 

 


Snapshots of pets can be made into portraits or montages

 

 


Treasured photographs that have suffered years of damage can be restored to their original state.

 

 


Combine a favourite photograph with a more interesting background.

 

 


Create a family montage from a selection of favourite photographs
 


Not sure which photos to use but can see the potential?
A Photographs Forever Gift Voucher of any value could be the answer.

Don’t Risk Losing Your Family History – Preserve It Forever

Shoebox1

We all have old photographs that we treasure, whether they are old family photographs passed on from previous generations, or historic photographs of the homes and towns we live in.

Photographs are the best tool we have to relive our cherished memories and remember loved ones who are no longer with us. Unfortunately photographs don’t age well and over time their quality diminishes.

Because photos are printed on paper things such as handling, light, moisture, dust, and scratches often affect them. Regrettably, these things can ruin our photos and prevent them from lasting through the generations.

Most of the photo papers and inks used up until recently have not been archival quality, and as a result, many photo prints show signs of fading and colour shifts after only a few years.

Poor storage practices such as keeping photos in attics or basements or allowing photos to be exposed to sunlight, have also contributed to the poor condition of most photo collections.

People don’t realize there is a problem until they take a look at their photo collection after many years of storage. Our precious photo collections are in fact fading away and in time many will be beyond recovery. There is also the possibility of their demise in the case of fire or flood.

It is a good idea to restore your special photographs or even entire photo collection in order to stop the unavoidable destruction that will take place no matter how carefully the photos are stored. Once restored, the photos can be copied to CD or DVD for long-term storage and safekeeping. Once you have digital copies you needn’t worry about further damage because digital images do not change at all. You can use these digital images to make a set of prints on archival paper, which will last over 100 years in an album with no signs of degradation or twenty years exposed to daylight for framed prints. Additional prints can be made at any time in the future should disaster strike.  You can also share the images with other members of your family and friends.

During the restoration process it is also possible to improve the quality of the original photograph – for example removal of spots, stains, marks, tears as well as improving contrast, brightness, colour balance and enhance detail, focus and sharpness.

It is also possible to add colour to black and white photographs, as well as being able to make quality enlargements for framing.