Here’s where photo restoration suddenly becomes important… Recently, I had a client who had lost her mother to old age. In the days that followed, she was going through her mother’s things and found the proverbial “shoe box” of photos from her mother’s childhood. Images she had never seen before, mostly black and white snapshots that were taken decades ago, giving the family a glimpse into their mother’s past. Once the grandkids laid eyes on the image of Grandma in diapers, they HAD to HAVE it. Five grandkids, one very old photo.
Photo Restoration with Film
Copy and Restoration of old photos was an art form in the film days. We’d create a film negative by simply photographing the old photo, then meticulously use retouching pencils and dyes on the negative itself to begin the repair work. A new print would then be made, and further retouching – usually with the help of an “air brush” directly on the new print – would clean up the rest. A second negative would then be created of the air brushed image, and from that negative, more prints could be made. It was a slow, tedious, and often inaccurate, flawed process. And it was expensive, too! It required the hands of gifted artists to make many of these repairs, and they didn’t come cheap.
Photo Restoration with Digital
Once the digital revolution gained momentum, copy and restoration of old photos took on an entirely different process. Your old photos in need of repair would either be scanned on a high resolution scanner, or be photographed using a high resolution, professional grade digital camera. With either result, a high res image would then be on the computer where an experienced professional would employ a host of tools, Photoshop being one of them, to not only repair the damaged image, but enhance it to possibly look even better than the original EVER did. Colors could be restored, black and whites could have their contrast improved, sepia prints could take on a whole new life entirely! Once the computer work is done, the new digital file is uploaded to the lab and prints ordered. The process is now faster, more accurate, and far less expensive then it ever was!
Copy & Restoration of Old Photos
The point of this article is to not only educate you into believing the process is “new and improved,” but to hopefully motivate you into giving new life to those old, torn, wrinkled, and faded images from your family’s past. These memories were important to your parents and grandparents. They’re a glimpse into their lives that they wanted you to see and enjoy. Don’t discount their value now, simply because they’re fading. Give them a chance to live on and be enjoyed by the NEXT generation. This your family’s history. Carry it on now, before those memories fade into the darkness. Consider it an incredible gift to your descendants. Its value lies in its ability to be enjoyed generations who have yet to be born.
For More Information
To get more info on what is possible for photo restoration of YOUR images, call Newsome’s Studio of Photography at 813-968-2810 and make an appointment to bring your images in for an estimate. Located in North Tampa (Carrollwood) at 10012 N. Dale Mabry Hwy, Suite 219 in Cypress Point Office Park (behind Starbucks at the corner of Linebaugh Ave and N. Dale Mabry Hwy). To view more examples of photo restoration, click here.
