Old photographs - how to copy

kwikbreaks

I have a cheapo Epson SX200 all-in-one and use a version of PaintShopPro I got free on a 3.5" magazine floppy as a photo editor years ago as I got used to it's foibles and interface.

I found there was an excellent filter either in the scanner driver settings or maybe it was the PSP one for automatically restoring the colours on faded prints. I used it on some 1970s colour prints that were pretty terrible and I think the end results were probably as good as the originals which had been taken with a low end 35mm film camera.

I've used other automatic filters on some old Victorian wedding photos and they weren't bad either. Automation won't bring perfection but an awful lot of the original material most of us have was far from perfect even when new anyway.

Francesanne

hollydays wrote: »

Thanks for your replies. My kids aren't tiny any more, but we are all getting together for Christmas this year, and it's part of the ongoing process of remembering and healing a bit more.
Strangely enough I have been given a scanner which I haven't set up yet and am really not familiar with what it can do but I'll get onto that quick. They are mostly photos but I have got a lot of the negatives too.

It's really simple once you get the hang of it. I scanned all our family photo's onto my PC when my Mum died and left behind all the old photo's in an cardboard box. Give it a go and you'll be really pleased with the results. Good luck.

polomints

ALWAYS try to go back to negatives.

katejo

aerostar wrote: »

If you have a digital camera then use the close up mode and in daylight on a cloudy but bright day (even lighting) take a photographs of the prints and print the best ones out. A little trial and error and you can get first class results.

i might try this as I would like to put some old photos onto a Facebook page. I have tried scanning but they come out too small. I suspect I need particular software to make it work.

barmonkey

katejo wrote: »

i might try this as I would like to put some old photos onto a Facebook page. I have tried scanning but they come out too small. I suspect I need particular software to make it work.

I would guess the scanner settings need adjusting