Copying old photographs

[JBee]

I have quite a lot of old photo's that I would like to make copies of and perhaps put them in a photobook.

They are all different sizes and quality.

I have tried scanning with little success and taking photo's of the originals but my hands shake or they're lop sided etc.

I thought of getting some sort of stand to hold the camera steady but don't know if it would work or where to get one from.

Any suggestions of what I can do - greatly appreciated.

[Macbev]

I had a similar project last year, with my mother's photo album. Many of the photos were poor quality in the first instance, taken with a Box Brownie by a (very) amateur photographer. I scanned them all at the highest available resolution (600 dpi or greater...the higher the resolution, the more room you have to play about with.... then used Paint shop Pro to improve clarity etc as much as possible. I guess any photo shop tool would work, but that is the one I am familiar with. I was able to repair scratches, missing bit, remove stains, enhance colouring, crop.


When I had the best result I could achieve, I used Blurb self-publisher to make a book. If you are interested, this link may work for you.


https://au.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/7218228/213117b886445fbdb81db7f4e2b2268b23836bf0

[JBee]

Thank you Macbev

I did try scanning but wasn't successful -I have a scanner cum photocopier but no idea what settings it might have to enhance the picture.

[Merry]

We have scanned hundreds at 600dpi and had good results. Then used photoshop to improve them mainly by removing blemishes and crease marks. Mostly we view them on screen now.

OH bought a small tripod for photographing pictures and documents, mainly the ones that are too big to go in the scanner. Got excellent results with this.

[Margaret in Burton]

I scanned mine and then ordered prints from FreePrints. You get 45 free 6x4 prints each month.

[Macbev]

Thank you Macbev

I did try scanning but wasn't successful -I have a scanner cum photocopier but no idea what settings it might have to enhance the picture.


My scanner/ photocoopier was nothing special.....pretty old in technology, I think....an HP Desk Jet 3050 all-in-one. It had no settings to enhance the picture....I rely on software designed specifically for that task.
When I opened the scan dialogue, I selected photo-to-file in jpg rather than tiff (Blurb only accepted jpg), then selected options from the drop-down menu (including dpi resolution).

I saved to a file opened on my desktop and worked on the photos with the photo shop software as mentioned before before uploading the file to Blurb. Or you can take the file to be processed as per Merry's suggestion...or keep on a thumb drive to view on screen.
I prefer making a book as I was able to send copies to siblings and be free of dependence on computers .

[JBee]

Thanks all

will have another go and see how I get on.

Thank you.