Photos Stuck to Glass

Sometimes photos get stuck to flat glass, sometimes to domed glass. Depending on the situation, it might require a professional's help in scanning if you are facing an issue with curved glass. However, if the glass (with photo stuck to it) will fit your scanner bed, place a transparency sheet down on the glass bed of your scanner. Then carefully place the glass and photo down over the transparency sheet so you don't scratch your scanner's bed. Scan at correct resolution for print size. Then carefully lift the glass and photo. Most of the time there will be problems with color, tears, cracks, or changes in surface texture. If it's a one-of-a-kind photograph, it's better to try and get a good scan before the image degrades any further. Digital editing can be done at any time. Preserving the original should be your prime motivation to scan as soon as possible.

Old Color Negatives Can Hold Treasured Images

If you know of anyone with a stash of old negatives (which are sometimes color "positives" as above), hopefully you will share this blog post with them. It's often tempting to toss what could be perceived as "useless" negatives, especially these days when it's become so difficult to find a place to "develop" prints from anything other than 35mm. An on-line search yields many places offering to handle such priceless items. However, most people are reluctant, to say the least, to let such pieces leave their hands and risk getting "lost in the mail." These days a relatively simple piece of equipment, a "film scanner," can take the above image and automatically turn it into the image below in one step. Obviously there is a bit of color damage and correction to be made to this photo using a computer and image editing software, but this example demonstrates the possibility of reaping family photos held in these old negatives.

Missing Pieces of a Photograph

This photo has suffered so much damage throughout the years, and the family hoped to recover whatever they could of the darling image before it completely fell apart. Fortunately there is enough of the original to "borrow from" to fill in much of the missing areas because the family was not looking to maintain historical accuracy. Budget constraints might cause you to place limits on the extent of restoration done by a professional. Be sure to fully discuss the options of printing a smaller size, cropping to lessen the area to restore, and any other ideas a specialist might suggest. There is a positive side to this limitation of funds you might be facing. In effect, you will end up with what can be considered a "more historical image" when restoration stops short of perfecting such a photo. No matter what level of restoration you can achieve (or afford to have done), the result will always provide you with the joy of a newly-found image for your family to print and share.

Water Damaged Photo

A severely damaged photograph just might be saved by some tight cropping as well as heavy restoration. Before deciding to toss such an image, be sure to look at the background and other parts of the image to see if anything can be "borrowed" to cover the damage. Sure the waves and sand are similar, but the main focus of this priceless image is now back on the girl, and that's how it should be! When scanning such images, you will want to increase the resolution enough to make a 300dpi print of the final cropped image. So if the original photo is half the size you intend the final print to be, scan at 600dpi. Scanning at above 600dpi increases your options regarding print size when the restored photo is cropped tightly.

Grainy Photographs with Severe Surface Damage

The original is 3.5" x 4.5" and the family hoped to print this image much larger than it's original size. It isn't the damage that is determining the final print size, but the photo's "texture" or spotted appearance. Were this to be a very sharp original, a slight blurring of the surface would have produced a smoother image ready to print at the desired size. Unfortunately, it is so blurry to begin with that smoothing the surface would harm the final image too much. Printed at a smaller size, the photo looks great hanging on a wall in a wonderful frame. When looking at your old photos, remember that hanging their restored prints on a wall minimizes the appearance of surface texture enough to trick the eye into thinking you must have a marvelous original. Also, consider printing in black and white. The contrast helps "sharpen" the image, as opposed to the softer tones of a sepia print. However, sometimes sepia prints help minimize surface damage. Experiment with printing to see which works best for your image.

Faded Slide

Many people have slides that are damaged or faded...or both. Here is an example of just such a slide, and the results achieved after some serious effort and time. Slides can be scanned using a film scanner. A higher resolution of about 2400-3200dpi is the setting used to obtain these wonderful digital copies to restore and print. Hopefully you will look at your own stash of slides in a different "light" after seeing this restoration. What a darling photo! The baby in this picture has a child of her own now...and a photo of her baby that almost matches this pose!!! This treasured photo hangs in a frame with her little one's baby photo!

1870's Photo

Taken in the 1870's, we have been told this is the only photograph of an ancestor on my mom's side. It was offered to a family newsletter, and I was asked if I could do anything with it before publication. These old images are treasures as they are, but bringing out features allows descendants the opportunity to enjoy the portraits in a "new" way. A risk is making faces something they are not, so less restoration is the best with these historical items. Closely working with existing features and filling in the blanks, as it were, gives faces more life without creating a "new" portrait. When considering the improvement of these really old images, it is up to the family to determine just how much to enhance such old photographs. Be sure to scan the original and place the digital file in a safe place to preserve this irreplaceable photo for your family. A copy of the original scan can be printed and hung in a frame, while preserving the original print by placing in a safe, if desired. This is a copy of an image, and that limited the restoration possibilities for me to begin with. If I had the original to scan myself, it might have been a different result.

Faded Photograph Bottom

Now this wasn't too bad to work on, but I didn't dwell on the base of the photograph due to time constraints. It was part of a project due in family members' hands for Christmas, so I left it a bit softer looking around their feet. The couple, and especially her dress, came out fine. Such a wonderful record of my husband's grandparents' wedding day, complete with a date provided by his aunt (and fortunately not stuck on top of the photo itself)!

Taped Photo in Album B

 

Yes, there it was, a beautiful, original old photo of my husband's grandmother...TAPED INTO HIS AUNT'S ALBUM...OHHHHHH, NOOOOOOO!!! The resulting photo made all the restoration work so worth it! And we are thrilled a relative allowed me to scan this photo, because now it is in the hands of many other family members! A family's old photo album is a collection of prints gathered over the years by ancestors who then handed the album down to the next generation. Unfortunately, many families choose to remove some photos and, in essence, destroy the integrity of a priceless collection. Please consider scanning and sharing copies of its contents as a way to ensure your family's irreplaceable old photo album remains intact.

Taped Photo in Album A

 
Recently a family member gave permission for her treasured scrapbook full of photos and documents to be scanned. Within the pages were many items other relatives had never seen, such as this wonderful image taken 102 years ago during a trip this gentleman described in his personal history. Hopefully this restoration example will encourage all who may find themselves "stuck" in the same situation, attempting to preserve and share similarly damaged items. Most tape damage can be overcome by using the same techniques employed for covering larger spots and cracks. Scan these photos at a higher resolution, as you would a surface-damaged image, in order to "borrow" good pixels and cover the "bad" pixels.And always scan the entire page of the album, without attempting to remove a photo such as this. Too much further damage might ensue to both the photo and the album--a priceless combination not to be harmed--if you try to "untape" those old photographs.

Surface Damage on Photos

The original of this dapper gentleman's photo is 4-1/4 inches tall and 2-1/2 inches wide, mounted on some sort of cardboard. It is terribly dirty and damaged, leading to a difficulty in seeing details in his clothing and features. Thanks to some nifty photo editing techniques, most of the fashionable attire can now be seen again. Blurry facial features are more difficult to restore because you run the risk of making changes that future generations will then erroneously refer to as their ancestors' true portrait. Go cautiously when editing faces!

Give Yourself Peace of Mind

This gentleman was born in 1826. Don't know for certain when this photo was taken, but suffice it to say he looks rather mature. The original print was only 3-3/8 inches tall and 2-1/2 inches wide. It is stuck onto a yellow piece of cardboard which is probably not archival material. If this original portrait was lost to further degradation from the cardboard or other damage, it could be replaced by a print of either the original or this restored version. That is one of the major reasons to consider restoring your one-of-a-kind photos. You will have a digital file of both the original scanned copy and your fabulous restored version. This will give you a great peace of mind and allow you the freedom of displaying your ancestors' portraits for all to see.

Sharing Sparkling Spangler

This poor photo obviously ran into some water puddles on its journey to my mom. She hoped to share it with her cousins--but first the portrait needed a little drying out. My favorite part to work on was the face and those sparkling eyes. Even without a bit of sharpening they looked amazing. My mom doesn't have to worry any more about having the only photo of this ancestor. She is so excited to share this "new" old photo.

Tiny Grandma

In our family is this sweet tiny photo of my grandma. The original picture is all of 1-5/8 inches tall, making it 3-3/8 inches with the mat to which it is glued. Although it doesn't seem like much area to restore, zooming in on the damaged photograph revealed many spots and discolorations which needed to be totally cleared up in order to print a sizeable copy for family members.

And of course the beautiful mat would be included in the new prints. If you are fortunate enough to have this kind of photograph in your possession, consider restoring it along with the mat and printing both. Changing the color of the mat is possible to a degree. I made this one a bit more green than the original. Because the photo and the mat are separated during the restoration process, then reunited before printing, it allowed me to keep my grandma the best color (not green) and enhance the mat's color. Isn't she just so cute??!!

Holiday Housekeeping Tip

Good housekeeping tip: CROP IT AWAY!!! Yep, get rid of clutter the easy way! Sure helped make this cute picture of my Grandma and daughter look ever so much better. And restoring color to their cheeks added just the right touch. So sweet!

Scanning tip: When scanning originals, remember to look closely at the photo/negative/slide and see if there is anything you want to select from the photo and make into a larger print. If the smaller object is about half the size of the entire photo, you will need to use about twice the usual resolution to scan. 

Fading and Discoloring Photos

Pulling out those old photos and running them through a photo-editing software program will yield you tons of incredible memories! No longer will you skip all those old faded, torn, discolored or poorly-lit pictures. Instead you will find yourself wondering which photo to restore next...and which memory you would like to sharpen! What an incredible memory booster!!! And oh so fun!

Crop Photos Carefully

As we look through our old photos, it's tremendously important to keep our eyes open and look at details. Maybe this picture doesn't look like it would be worth the time and effort to restore. After all, it's a strange angle, some dead fish, and the person is almost impossible to identify.

Turns out that's my mom. She'd been fishing with her dad, who took this photo. His shadow can be seen on the right. And quite possibly that shadow would have been cropped had that little detail not been noticed. The other shadow may be my grandma.

Then there's the clothes...Who goes fishing dressed liked that??!! Oh, yeah. That's my fashion-conscious shoe-loving mom--the one who refused to go camping ever because she said she'd had enough of latrines (outhouses) growing up...

That old metal fishing pole is now in our home, next to a blue minnow bucket my grandpa used when he took me fishing. I don't recall the pole, but I do remember little fish swimming in the bucket.

Thankfully my mom remembered having this little picture in her collection. This restored photo will now be placed beside the pole and bucket. It will be a constant reminder of my fisher-mom and my awesome photographer grandpa who bothered to catch on film this little detail of farm life.

Miniature Photo Restoration

The original of this photo was just about 1.25 inches by 1.5 inches, if that. So small. Yet this little photo prompted so many memories about my grandfather, a giant of a man with huge hands toughened by years of working on his farm and automobiles. If you scan these small photos at 2400-3200dpi or thereabouts (like you would a negative or slide), it gives you plenty of pixels to print a large photo. Sometimes the print will look grainy as you look closely. However, hang the print on a wall and you won't notice the imperfections as much. It certainly was worth the effort to restore this little gem of a photo.

Grandma's Peonies

My grandma lived on a farm in southwestern Virginia. She loved flowers and reclaimed an unruly hillside from weeds, transforming it into a beautiful garden seen by all who traveled the busy highway running in front of their property. I'm told one of her favorite blossoms was the peony. Indeed she must have loved me dearly to let my little baby hands anywhere near those treasured blooms! Growing in my garden is a little peony plant retrieved from her hillside last fall. I love this sweet photo of me and my dear grandma. Thank you, Mom, for giving me all these precious photos to restore.