subject: Photo Restopration? Why Do I Need A Photo Restoration? [print this page] So even if its a simple retouch and removal of a few scratches, or a touch up of a face or torn up, faded photo that needs a complete cleanse and restore dont leave it, act now!
If left un-restored the negative or print could end up just that, un-restorable and future generations wont have that vital visual link to their past. So even if its a simple retouch and removal of a few scratches, or a touch up of a face or torn up, faded photo that needs a complete cleanse and restore dont leave it, act now!
The first thing to do is to protect the image with acid free tissue or paper to prevent any further damage by the immediate environment. Place your photos in a good sturdy album and dont mount them using stamp hinges or tape, you do not want anything stuck to the photos to make it difficult to remove when you want to get them restored. Try using photo corners but try and find paper type if you can. If you have to write something about the photo try and write next to them not on the back.
Then get it restored, but dont just get one print get two. The reason behind this isnt always obvious. If you give a copy of your newly restored photo to another family member then its more likely you precious memories will survive for generations to come as you are not the sole owner. Far too often all the familys heirlooms are kept in one place and should the worst happen, such as fire or increasingly these days flood, then all is lost. The sensible choice has to be two copies.
Secondly get a digital copy too. Its all very well getting the prints done but if you get a CD/DVD with your images on then you can keep a digital archive. Dont just leave them on a CD though; if you upgrade your PC make sure you copy the CD/DVD to the very latest of backup storage. First it was floppy disk, then CD, then DVD and we are already into Blue-Ray and who knows whats coming. Just make sure its on the latest media, in this fast paced world you never know when your storage will become obsolete.
Finally if you have one why not upload it to an on-line photo-share or online storage space, you can then share it with the world if you want and let you relatives know its there. With the massive uptake on creating and investigating family trees your files on line, well indexed and labeled will enable others who have family connections to find their relatives too. Who knows maybe they will get the bug and take the plunge to get their old images restored too?
