Picture types and computer upgrades

zrlb · Post by **zrlb** » 04 Jan 2008 18:13

I wonder if anyone can give advice as to the best type of picture/photo file to use with FH, and if people have a preferred programme for scanning and sorting out pictures before adding them to FH. I have 3 sets of family photos to do, and send back to relatives.
Also, having read the wiki and forums about new computers, would it be best to sort out FH on my new computer before starting the photo scanning?

ID:2686

RalfofAmber · Post by **RalfofAmber** » 04 Jan 2008 20:23

I don't think the two are connected - I would probably do the computer first if necessary just to get the benefit from more power and a final disc structure if it will run Vista.

As to format, I do JPEG with little loss - I have no reduction in screen quality and am very happy. If you are doing a lot of photo re-touching this is not necessarily the best initial format

zrlb · Post by **zrlb** » 04 Jan 2008 22:57

I have old photo albums, which are historical artifacts in themselves, as well as each individual photograph. I also have acquired a book written by an ancestor which is a scanned image file.

As a non-techie, struggling to get to grips with IT, I would appreciate any advice about which programme to use for manipulating photos, which image format gives best results and small file size, what retouching is, etc etc...

jmurphy · Post by **jmurphy** » 05 Jan 2008 18:07

I haven't done any photo restoration yet, but in my to-read pile I have one of the 'Dummies' books dealing with Photo Restoration.

The publisher's website has helpful 'articles' excerpted from the books. Those might give you an idea of what sorts of things are possible when retouching photos.

http://www.dummies.com/

Put the word 'retouching' in the search box and the first result will be Photo Retouching & Restoration For Dummies:

The techniques in the book use screen shots from Photoshop Elements as illustrations, but you can get the same results using Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, PhotoImpact, or most other intermediate or professional-level photo-editing software. To help you get started, the book comes with a CD-ROM featuring tryout versions of all the programs mentioned above, as well as other useful photography software.

For everyday image viewing I use the free program IrfanView http://www.irfanview.com/.

One of the tricks I like (which I learned from my husband) is the 'negative' function, which swaps the dark/light values in an image, making it look like a film negative. Images of census pages or gravestones can be much easier to read when looked at with the 'negative' function -- one can also adjust contrast and other values.

Jan

YouTube · Post by **Jane** » 06 Jan 2008 12:49

I use Photoshop Elements, V3 up also comes with a basic photo organiser.

PSE has the advantage of being widely used and there are lots of tutorials etc online regarding its use.

The most important thing with 'borrowed' photos is to get the best scan you can before sending them back.

Don't try to keep the size down, scan at least 300dpi and for small photos scan them at 600dpi or more. You can then blow up small photos to quite large sizes should the need arrive.

Save them in colour (do not convert to greyscale), it makes them easier to correct latter.

See http://www.scantips.com/ for lots of good information on scanning and improving photos.

Use keywords and caption fields (which are available in JPG and some other formats to record who everyone is, who holds the original photograph and any other information. You can do this in the PSE orgainisor, or you could look at a program like http://www.ACDSee.co.uk, you should be able to pick up an older of version of PSE quite cheaply, but be aware than only V6 (the current version) works fully with Vista.

RalfofAmber · Post by **RalfofAmber** » 06 Jan 2008 15:15

There is also a piece of software called PAINT.NET available from http://www.getpaint.net which is simple to use and free!

zrlb · Post by **zrlb** » 06 Jan 2008 17:02

Jan, Jane & RalfofAmber

Thanks very much for the advice, I hadn't got as far as thinking about what info to record with the scans. It seems obvious now that the current location of originals is just as important as the photos themselves!! Maybe that is a lesson for us all; the obvious now will not be so in the future.

The idea of scanning at diferent rates appeals, as one of my husband's ancestors would regularly trim curling edges of photos until only the centre was left!

I have now transferred all my FH files etc to the upgraded computer as per the How To, which was very well written.

I have V4 of Photoshop Elements, so I'll have to look for those tutorials on the web.

Thanks once again and a happy New Year to everyone.

maggiho · Post by **maggiho** » 13 Jan 2008 17:43

I did read a very good article about taking digital photographs of old photos instead of scanning them. In my case many of my family photos are in albums. I would have to destroy the album to put them through the scanner is some cases. You need to take photographs of the original in very 'flat' light, ie with no bright sunshine. I have been experimenting with this and it works very well. It is also much quicker than using a scanner.

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