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.
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.
If you’re a regular user of Genes Reunited, you may already have investigated our Keepsafe feature, which allows you to upload treasured family photographs and documents. It’s a great way to ensure your digital legacy – a carefully curated and preserved archive that you can share with your family. But what about all those old photos that you keep meaning to scan in, but just haven’t had the chance? Photos, like any archive material, can degrade over the years – have you checked on those shoeboxes and old albums recently?
Richard Haines of Photographs Forever specialises in restoring old photographs, and says “Unfortunately photographs don’t age well and over time their quality deteriorates. Because photos are printed on paper, things such as handling, light, moisture, dust, and scratches often affect them. Regrettably, these factors can ruin our photos and prevent them from lasting through future generations. Poor storage, such as keeping photos in attics or basements or allowing photos to be exposed to sunlight, have all contributed to the poor condition of most of our photo collections.
“It is a very 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 you have digital copies you needn’t worry about further damage because digital images do not change at all.”
Faded photograph restored
You can even get enlargements made of restored photos – perhaps you’d like to present your parents with a framed version of their favourite photo on their first holiday, or give all the grandchildren a copy of an old (but badly scratched and folded) family photo. Richard comments “Since old photographs have a tendency to degrade over time, professional photo restorers have developed digital techniques for restoring your old photographs and they can eliminate scratches, cracks, tears, and fading as well as repairing other damage. Many precious old photographs, often the last copy in existence, are good quality but too small to see the detail. Restoration not only captures the image electronically but then allows the restored photograph to be enlarged so prints and enlargements can be made or framed so they can be truly enjoyed in all their glory.”
Tattered portrait photograph of soldier rescued
Once you can see the detail in those old photos more clearly, they may even hold valuable clues to aspects of your family history – who’s that woman standing on the edge of the family group? What’s that landmark in the background? Richard says “Deteriorating photos may provide important historical links in your family or possible clues about your ancestors. When rebuilding your family tree, it is possible to determine certain aspects of your ancestry, such as weddings, landmarks of geographical nature and important occasions. Enhancing your old photos may reveal details you had not noticed before.” Remember, when you upload your photos to Keepsafe, you can choose to make them public to other Genes Reunited users and invite others to help you investigate them further – someone else might have the answers you’ve been looking for.
Take some time this week to look over your old photographs and create safe digital copies of them – you may even find precious photos you’d like to see restored. And if you have any questions regarding preserving old photographs then Richard would be happy to help you.
Try Keepsafe now
by Richard Haines of Photographs Forever
Click HERE to see the Blog entry on Genes Reunited’s own website
Photographs Forever was given the opportunity to add a blog entry on the Ancestry.co.uk website.
To see the blog written about Saving Your Precious Photographs click on the Guest Blogger logo below:
We also wrote an blog article for Your Family Tree Magazine which has some important points on the Benefits of Restoring Your Photographs.
To see this article – click on the image below:
Restore Your Favourite Photographs Now!
There are many benefits to restoring you old photos. With advances in technology, it’s possible to edit, enhance and save your images in digital files and you can share them with other family members or friends, electronically. Photographs Forever can take a torn or faded photograph and transform it into a beautifully-restored photo, suitable for framing.
Here are just some of the benefits of restoring your favourite photographs.
Preservation of your original images
Perhaps the primary benefit of restoring old photos is the preservation of your original images. In the case of deteriorating photographs, time may be of the essence. Since the oldest photographs are not on archival paper or finished to protect them from fading, professional restoration, editing or preservation will prevent further deterioration. It’s possible you have stored an old box of photos in your attic or basement, away from sunlight or moisture. You should be aware that degradation and fading can occur, even without any direct exposure to daylight.
Enlargements are possible
Many precious old photographs, often the last copy in existence, are good quality but too small to see the detail. Restoration not only captures the image electronically but then allows the restored photograph to be enlarged so prints and enlargements can be made or framed so they can be truly enjoyed in all their glory.
Eliminate scratches, folds, tears and fading
Since old photographs have a tendency to degrade over time, professional photo restorers have developed digital techniques for restoring your old photographs and they can eliminate scratches, cracks, tears, and fading as well as repair other damage. There are ways you can restore your photographs for yourself using programs such as Picasa by Google. For the best outcome though, expert advice should be considered.
Genealogical benefits
For those building their family trees photographs can be an integral part of finding out more details about ancestors. There are many details in photographs many of which cannot be seen until the photograph has been restored.
Electronic storage and ease of sharing
Restoring your old photos allows them to be converted to digital images, which are easy to store and share with friends or family. With advances in technology, it’s possible to take an entire photo collection and store it on CD or DVD. This can be a convenient way to retrieve a particular group of photographs or safely secure an additional copy, which will last into the next century. You can share digital copies through email or print as many copies as you need. You can even duplicate on archive paper entire photo albums that will last long into the future with no deterioration due to the archive paper used.
These are just some of the benefits of restoring your old photos. So check your own favourite family photographs now. Select the most important ones and get them scanned and restored so that you, your family and future generations will have the pleasure of enjoying them.
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Just imagine holding a beautiful book written by your great grandfather telling you all about his life, his hopes, his dreams, his triumphs and disasters. Now imagine your great grandchildren holding just such a book of your life. It would be their most precious possession. Now it is possible for everyone to write a beautiful book about their life for their family.
Autodotbiography is a unique online system that makes it possible for anyone, no matter how skilled or unskilled at writing, to create their own life story in a beautifully written, lavishly illustrated hardback book.
It is incredibly easy to do, all you have to do is gather up your favourite photographs and important documents; then take a trip down memory lane and answer simple questions about your life andAutodotbiography will take the words and pictures and turn them into a beautiful book that becomes a family heirloom.
All you would need to do is collect together your favourite photos to scan into your computer.
Photographs are a vital part in telling any life story and all too often the most precious ones are faded or damaged. Most of the photograph 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.
That’s where Photographs Forever come in. Photographs Forever are a photograph restoration company offering a reliable photo restoration and photo retouching service and quality photo editing service that is reasonably priced and a service that you can trust.
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 realise there is a problem until they take a look at their photo collection after many years of storage. Once restored, the photos can be copied to CD or DVD for long-term storage and safekeeping.
During the restoration process it is also possible for Photographs Forever 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. Photo retouching makes all the difference.
Mature Times is extremely lucky to be able to give one lucky reader the chance to have all of their memories restored and collected together into a fantastic Autodotbiography – courtesy of Autodotbiography and Photographs Forever.
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People often think that when they have a photograph restored, the finished restored print will only be the same size as the original. It’s true that it can be, but what is often overlooked is that after a photograph has been digitally restored, the finished image can be printed virtually any size. It can be printed smaller for a locket or a special frame and, more importantly, it can be enlarged to a size at which you can see the detail of the original photo.
Here’s an example…
Below is the print that I was given to work from, originally a good quality studio portrait and the only remaining print was this deteriorated one, which was about 4 inches x 3inches.
Compare the “before” print to the finished enlargement after I had restored the image and you can now see the original detail in all its glory….
If this was your grandma, what a great picture to frame and put on the wall for all to enjoy
Although photograph restoration is the most popular part of work that I carry out, I thought it worth mentioning that I also restore many other types of things that people have and that is deteriorating. I recently restored a drawing that was made by my customer’s friend in the 70s and, over the years it had become torn, dog eared and generally looking very sorry for itself. The original also had a message from the artist on the reverse side. To reach the final result I scanned the original drawing and scanned the message. I then restored the drawing and superimposed the message on to the same image. I then made a enlargement print on archive paper and mounted this in a plain black wooden frame.
Here’s the before and after:
Do you have precious unique documents such as Birth Certificates, School Reports, Qualification Certificates, Death Certificates, Wills or any other documents that should be digitally preserved or shared with other members of the family? If you are creating your family album you could add images of important documents.
What about the children’s artwork? Their wonderful creative drawings and paintings are nearly always done on the cheapest paper, the paint fades, they get crumpled up and torn. Save them now. I will scan them and then you’ll images you can print, put into photo books and share with the family
Do you have negatives of possibly precious photographs and lost the prints?
Do you have a collection of negatives and you’ve no idea what the images on them are of?
I can scan your negatives whether they are 35mm or 127, 126, 120 roll film and provide you with positive images as data files, which I can then restore if necessary or just print your favourites.
You may, like me, have a load of 35mm or 6cm slides from the 70’s and 80’s but no longer have a projector that works. Let me scan and improve the best ones so you can enjoy them again. They are often really high quality and make great enlargements.
So don’t delay, look out those precious documents, drawings, artwork, negatives, slides and of course those fantastic old family photographs and let me restore them, repair them, retouch them so you and your family and friends can enjoy them forever.