How do I make really nice color copies of old pictures?
My mother has some family pictures and I wanted to frame some of them. But, it involves me resizing some and framing really old family picutres that I don’t want ruined. We don’t have the negatives and I’d like something that doesn’t look like I did it with printer paper. What should I do?
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5 Answers
Have someone take what is called an internegative with very good lighting, from a stand, of the image you want to duplicate, and then you can have prints made from the new negative in any format you wish. The process does not hurt the original, because you are merely photographing it.
The alternative is to scan them on a flatbed scanner at 300 – 600 dpi.
Use a photoshop type program to remove scratches and correct colour and contrast.
Gamma correction may improve on the original.
They they can be printed on an high quality photo printer on photo quality paper to create new prints.
Years ago when we had a business putting photos onto decorative plates, if the person had a valuable photo for which they didn’t have the negative, we recommended several quality camera shops with a good reputation for also doing prints of superior quality. We told them to request a “copy negative” which I’m assuming is the same thing to which pd is referring.
This was before digital photography was so prevalent, but I’m assuming there are shops which still do this even nowadays.
The reason you want a high end shop rather than a photomart type place is because they have invested in the quality equipment to give you the best negative from which to make your subsequent prints.
If I were you, I would go the extra step and get them on cd also. That way they’ll be preserved on multiple media for the future.
Just call around a bit. In most cities there are usually one or two places with a stellar reputation.
You could also call a few photography studios and ask for recommendations for the best places in your local area to get the negatives and prints made.
If you are in a large metro area, I think you could also try for a place that does those huge advertising photos which can cover the side of a building. They have invested in superior equipment which will work on any size. They’ll also give you gorgeous prints for framing.
Sears photo studio used to do photo repairs and retouching.
Good lighting. PhotoShop.
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