photograph manipulation | Photographs Forever

I recently received an order from Iain Anderson from Renfrewshire as he wanted me to produce a montage on canvas of some his photographs taken when he was in various dramatic stage roles.

During our conversations I found that Iain has his own radio show on BBC Scotland and he plays some really great music, much of which you may not have heard before and is well worth hearing, which you can hear again on the BBC iPlayer.

Click on his photograph below for the link to listen

Iain Anderson – BBC Radio Scotland

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.

I received this message from Irene after I has restored her photograph and I was quite touched –

“Thank you so much for your recent work which was excellent as usual. The photograph you restored fits beautifully into the frame and looks wonderful surrounded by a verse from one of my favourite songs. No apologies for the sentimental nature of the words! I’ve sent you a copy so you can see the end result.

There were some lovely surprises with the negatives. Some photographs I have never seen before and others have not been seen by the family for years. I have no idea who the people playing football are! I have included several of the photographs in my writing – which is nearly finished by the way.”

Always very gratifying to receive this kind of message.

There is no better way to remember all the great times in life than through the photographs you have from the past, present and future. Previous generations have very few photographs compared with the number we have today. Photographs are so important yet they often remain locked inside our phones or packed away in a box.

So make the most of your photographs. Here are 8 tips….

Download the photos from your phone – either onto your computer or a cloud-based storage site such as MyKnowHowCloud.com where you can store all your photographs and any other important files.
Make prints and enlargements of the best photographs, frame them and get them out on display so you can enjoy them.
Photographs are a great way to remind you of good times that you’ve had and important events in your life.
Photographs are the best way to remember parents, grandparents and past generations. In many really old photographs the people in them often look very serious in formal poses in studios. These were sometimes the only photographs that existed and they have a special charm and look great when enlarged and framed.
Create a photo book of your favourite memories. Your photos are the record of your life so far. A photo book of your family life in pictures is a wonderful thing to have and will give you and others a huge amount of pleasure.
Taking photographs today is a fantastic way of spending time that costs virtually nothing. It’s creative, social and rewarding. We take as many photos each day now as in the first 74 years of photography. It’s important to remember to do something positive with the photos you take.
If they’re not right, fix them! With the fantastic technology available today virtually any photo that is is in some way not as good as you’d like it to be can be resolved with digital software. You can fix lots of elements yourself with free programs such as Google Picasa.
Use Photographs Forever as a resource for any advice you may need with your photographs. You can call me any time. It is my passion that you make the most of your photographs. Get them on display, and get them scanned so you have digital copies in case the original prints get lost or damaged. If they need improving either do it yourself or let me do it for you. Let there be photographs!

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.

Here is an interesting order I completed recently. Not only to combine two photographs that were in very poor condition but also to add the woman from the first photograph – minus baby! – to the second photograph while turning her around so she was facing the right way rather than turning her back on her husband!

This was the email I received from my customer…

“Well you’ve done it again, this time with knobs on and I am not referring to the door knob in one the photos! What an absolutely fantastic result. I appreciate the time and effort you must have put in to get the images of individuals in one photo transferred and included in another. The results to include the clean up and restoration are really brilliant, my great grandmother has literally “rejoined” her family – Fantastic. I can’t wait to present the final prints to members of my family.” John P

Many of my customers have told me how they’d had difficulty confronting the task of sorting out their photographs which have piled up over the years, so I hope you find this helpful.
I’ve found that once I actually start a job that has been difficult to face, it’s always much easier and quicker that I thought it would be and invariably I actually enjoy the process, getting a good sense of satisfaction when it’s all done.
For example if you like the idea of having modern photo-books that will last forever with no deterioration, no loose photographs falling out and also a book of the family photographs that your relatives can easily have their own copy of then read on…..

It’s easiest to break the project into smaller manageable stages….

Gather all your photographs together into one place
Make a specific time to sit and go through them to separate the worthwhile ones from the not so worthwhile/duplicates/irrelevant ones
Put them into some kind of order – this is not critical as it’s very easy to change the order after scanning
Have the selected photographs digitally scanned – these can be put into separate “folders” if required
After scanning think about captions and or groups for the photos
Work out a suitable order for your photographs to go into the new photo-book
When your photo-book has been put together you will see a ‘virtual book’ on line for checking and approval
Order your photo-book(s) – this can be the relevant size/number of pages to suit the photographs in question.You may find it easier to divide the photos into several smaller books to keep sections separate (dates/places/content)

If there are various family members interested in your project, it is often the case that the overall cost can be shared so each person gets a finished photo-book and the cost of production of the book split several ways.

I hope this is helpful – don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss any aspect further or if you need any further information – I can help you at every stage.
I can also assure you that the final photo-book will be something that you’ll truly treasure and you’ll be so glad you went to the effort to get it made.

I was asked to to combine three very low quality photographs so that there was a single photograph of the father with his two sons all around the same age.

I had to increase all the file sizes, restore the photographs, remove backgrounds and the lanyard, match the scale of each person, add Dad’s shoulders, find a different background and then put the composite image together to create the final result. Here’s the before and after.

Creating a Composite Image of Dad with his Two Sons at About The Same Age

Here is the original photograph, then the restored and colourised version. I knew what colour the Union Jacks were – all the rest were my best guess!

Photograph Before Restoration

Photograph After Restoration and Colourising

Here is an example of a good gift idea – portraits of the family pets.

This example of the history of the family cats, the portraits were made as a gift for the owner from existing snapshots. The scale of the cats’ heads were matched and the busy backgrounds eliminated so that their faces could be seen clearly.

Restored Cat Portraits

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Archive for photograph manipulation – Page 7

Iain Anderson’s Theatrical Performances as Canvas Montage

9 Great Ways To Transform Your Photographs

Sentimental Framed Photograph After Restoration

8 Great Tips to Help You Make The Most of Your Photographs

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

Complex Photograph Montage

How To Sort Out Your Photographs

Dad With His Two Sons Around The Same Age

An Example of Colourising an Old Photograph

Pet Portraits From Snapshots

Recent Posts

No Risk Photograph Restoration - Free Advice Call 01825 740986

Archive for photograph manipulation – Page 7

Recent Posts

No Risk Photograph Restoration -
Free Advice Call 01825 740986