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fun extras

The Fun Extras - Set Three

58. Restoring Old Photos

This is a Digital Buzz Quest where we reflect and share about old photos.  Do you like to scrap them looking old or restored?  I'm curious what everyone has to say, aren't you?

When you scrap old photos, do you prefer to leave them in their original state or do your restore them?

 

Here are your comments!

I usually try to restore old photos before I scrap with them. Some are badly damaged and I didn't want to lose even more quality as the photos are passed through our generations. g_robb53

It depends on the picture, sometimes I've found with some that you can't do a lot to them they start to mess up or loose their integrity.. does that make sense? dare2beme71
Sometimes I try to "heal" the cracks if they are really bad but I usually just leave the old photos as they are. Which reminds me that I haven't worked on my heritage photos in a looooooong time! Belle33

I usually try to restore them, especially if it's needed for the clarity of the photo. I think you want to be able to see what's there. JanetMM

I try my best to restore the badly creased or torn photos based on my very limited knowledge of restoration. ccynden

I have not done this yet but would want to fix them Dawn Miner

I do try to restore some of my old photos but also like the look of them as they are Janen

I don't think I've ever digi scrapped an old photo!! I like seeing them with their discolouration and tears etc etc, LOL< but then can appreciate this could get in the way of scrapping them to taste! I seem to be so caught up keeping up with present day photos, that haven't given older pics a thought tbh...but that's another question, LOL!!! Bernie x

For me, it depends on how damaged it is. For example, in the 4 generation photo that I found in my garage, I was able to fix that one up a bit, and it looks better digitally than the actual photo. But in the one I did of me as a baby, I spent a lot of time on it, however, I wasn't able to restore it. I think sometimes you want that "old" look to them, for realistic value, but at the same time, I think that if you're able to restore it, you could at least try. Dawn

It depends on the condition of the photo. I prefer to leave them as is, but I just restored one of my mom and dad that was in such bad condition it took away from the actual photo. I never could have done this had it not been for my lessons here over the past 1 1/2 years. NancyP
Digitally, I usuallly try and restore them but if I was using paper, I would tend to use them with see-thru photo corners. lynnedbears

I try to fix them if they are really damaged. Jules

I fix them the very best I can. They are precious and need to be handed down to the next generations. PamBor

I like scrapping my old photos just the way they are.... it gives them a realistic look to them. However, I have on an occasion or two to make them B&W to scrap. Karen Diamond Designs

My grandmother was my first model per say. My first pic was of her in her mink, (1964) with a one step polard carmera. I enlarged the pic and it has white dots thoughout the picture. I plan to scan it and attempt to restore it. More important, I am going to digital scrap it. 204cg

Sometimes i try to heal cracks and blemishes, sometimes i just use it as it is. Depends on my mood and what i'm scrapping. Most of my photos are really old and not in great condition--some of them have been scrapped with old glue OR in one of those photo albums where you put the pic under plastic and then it sticks to the backing page--FOREVER--ripped some of mine before i realized that those pics that had been in ther for 35 years were not going to come unglued easily. Now, trying to fix the plastic over photo is a fix i haven't seen yet! lovinlifegurl

I am lucky that most of my old family photos are in good condition. My grandma stored them all in an old tin box but unfortunately there are lots of them that I do not recognise or know who they are of. I have now stored them correctly to preserve them and labelled those that I know of. I think that after scanning them to use I would try to repair them if they required it. I have in the past added a sepia tint to some of them a1bjm

I do what I can. I usually remove dust and scratches and I'll mess around with the levels and stuff. I haven't done a whole lot with old photos yet. But since beginning the photography class, I think I know a lot more and can edit them better now. JustaMommie

I haven't really scrapped any old pictures. Most of them are in photo albums and I'm content to simply leave them there. The few that I have scrapped didn't need much repairing. Tammyshere

I spent a year doing heritage photos....that is where I actually got started doing digi. I had a lot and my cousin had a lot and we did a book together We did restore them as much as possible. Mostly we despeckled them and got rid of dust and scratches. For many, we used filters to get the strength of the black and white back. I had PSE 8 and was able to do a great job. My cousin was using Paint Shop Pro basic and had more trouble, so I usually finished them up. I miss fixing those photos! I enjoyed every minute of those books and was kind of sad to see them printed up and done. Nanscraps

It depends - i usually have a restored copy in my file, but sometimes i like the little flaws in the old photos - as long as they aren't on the face. i usually restore them for posterity, but i often like the look of the raggedy photos. Since the bulk of my scrapping is telling my family history for my children and grandchildren, the raggedy photos are often more pleasing in the composition than a "fixed" one would be. But, i do spend time fixing those so there is a "clean" copy in the family file. Fortunately, in PS CS3, when i save the fixed copy, it is a "new" photo and doesn't over-write the original. Jayleigh3

I just spent a lot of time restoring. When we lived in Hong Kong the film I used really changed color over the years. It was wonderful bringing out those amazing 70s colors.

I just restore colors when they are too much altered. AMarie

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