Know How To Restore Your Old Photos

 

In magazines today, most photographs that you see have been touched up using digital technology. Blemishes, teeth and backgrounds are removed, whitened and are either enhanced or cleared of unsightly elements. With old photo restoration, the same techniques work wonders, not only restoring old images to their earlier beauty, but also possibly improving them vastly in the process.

 

 

Showing your photographs to a qualified professional is necessary professional if your aim is the restoration of the original photograph. If only slight, the damage is then he will undertake the restoration, which may incorporate any of the methods given below. Any restoration work done on the photograph itself can be permanent thus these techniques require experience, expertise and a very delicate touch so be sure that the professional you choose is competent.

 

 

One method of old photo restoration is electronic wherein the photograph is placed in a scanner and electronic signals from the scanned image are digitalized and projected onto a computer monitor. Repairing scratches and tears, remove flaws, stains and blemishes and even rebuild missing parts of the image is what the restorer can then do. The costs involved in this type of restoration can be prohibitive since the hardware and software for this technology is very sophisticated and requires a highly trained technician to operate it.

 

 

Using chemicals, old black and white photographs can be restored. Can be redeveloped, restoring the metallic silver substance in the photograph that has oxidized and caused the washed out appearance is a very faded picture. This method will sometimes bring clarity back to the faded original because it results in a dramatic improvement. Even more effective is bleaching the old photograph first before redeveloping it, but there are serious drawbacks to these techniques, which you may want to consider before making a decision. If fragile, the old print is then the chemicals used in redeveloping it can degrade the old emulsion and permanently damage it. You will be stuck with your new picture, whether you like it or not because using bleach and then redeveloping will change the old photograph forever. A less drastic method of restoration is what you may prefer if your old photograph is of considerable sentimental value to you.

 

 

Making a copy of your old photograph and then working on the copy with all the digital technology available today is the least expensive method.

 

 

Old photographs must be stored carefully by keeping old prints flat and laying them between sheets of special acid free paper to preserve them. If you look after your old photographs well then your children will not have to worry about old photograph restoration when they inherit these precious pictures.