The importance of a photograph

[AnonymousKiwi1]

I'm looking at getting in to the photo restoration business. This morning I received an image from a prospective client. This is a woman I've been acquainted with for years, our kids went to school together, we've shared a glass of wine or two. Not a close friend, but still someone I have a connection with.

The image is a cell phone shot of her mother, in a hospital bed. A small child, maybe a grand- or great grandchild, is being held up for her to kiss. I think it may well be one of the last photos of this lady before she died. There is very little data to work with, I've been able to clean it up a bit but still it's not ever going to be able to be englarged and hung on a wall. I might be able to get at 5x3 print out of it if I'm lucky.

But, this image is hugely important. And I am a little overwhelmed at the responsiblity.
This experience has brought home to me how much a picture can mean.

[BuddhaPi]

If you're using photoshop you may want to look into genuine fractals, it will allow you to enlarge most images without to much loss/gain of quality..

[AnonymousKiwi1]

Originally Posted by BuddhaPi

If you're using photoshop you may want to look into genuine fractals, it will allow you to enlarge most images without to much loss/gain of quality..

I am, and I will. Thanks.

[Jim Poor]

I'd do the best you can at the original size and then recommend a portrait artist that draws from photos.
Genuine Fractals is nice, but not THAT nice.

[AnonymousKiwi1]

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

I'd do the best you can at the original size and then recommend a portrait artist that draws from photos.
Genuine Fractals is nice, but not THAT nice.

Actually that's something I hadn't even thought of, and something I might even be able to attempt my self....
My client is not expecting miracles, she knows how bad the original is. The picture just has great sentimental value to her.

Which is the point I was trying to make. I wasn't really after processing advice.
Not that I don't appreciate the advice.

[monstermum]

I read a blog from someone else on DPS who talked about the importance of taking photo's of family even in the midst of the final days. I took that to heart and photographed my mother-in-law over the last year of her life as she descended into dementia. I was able to catch times where she "re-emerged" for a few seconds and other times where a tiny portion was operating to keep us laughing. These photo's might not be the best quality but the are some of the most precious things we have from her final year. If I hadn't taken the advice our family would be missing out on some wonderful memories.
So, I guess I am just agreeing about the importance of a photo.......my advice...take more pictures!

[SwissJon]

It's amazing that the most important instances of our lives are not the ones captured by professionals, but during the intimate moments we share with people we love. My wife hates having her photo taken and complains that photgraphs make her look old, but her kids love having these photographs and complain they don't have enough.

We all have images in our head of what we look like, sometimes those images are accurate, sometimes they aren't.. But the images we have portrayed in photos are not for us, they're for those around us.. I see my face close up once a day, in the mirror when I remove the barbs around my chin.. My wife sees my face many times every day.. So a photo of me isn't for me, it's for her. A photo of her is for me and her kids..

So don't be shy to stand in front of the camera, you may not like what you see, but you can be sure, if it's accurate, those who love you will love it.

[mshockley]

Kiwi I know how you feel. I recently took on a photo restoration for a close friend. 2 images, very old with water damage on both. One was his Mom/Dad together, and one was his Dad on the day he left to go off to war! Both parents are deceased and these were the only pictures he has of them! Talk about pressure. The one of his dad alone was missing the entire one side of his face--I ended up using the other image as a reference point to even try to start to fix it.

As with you, he was not expecting miracles. I was lucky as these images were in 8x10 original size and at least scanned quite well!

I love the idea of having an artist recreate what you've started! That would be a nice finish to your restoration work.

[MeAgain]

I apologize. I thought I was staring a new thread not replying to yours. I'm a dork. I own it.

[AnonymousKiwi1]

Originally Posted by monstermum

I read a blog from someone else on DPS who talked about the importance of taking photo's of family even in the midst of the final days. I took that to heart and photographed my mother-in-law over the last year of her life as she descended into dementia. I was able to catch times where she "re-emerged" for a few seconds and other times where a tiny portion was operating to keep us laughing. These photo's might not be the best quality but the are some of the most precious things we have from her final year. If I hadn't taken the advice our family would be missing out on some wonderful memories.
So, I guess I am just agreeing about the importance of a photo.......my advice...take more pictures!

Absolutely. Take more pictures. There are people I've lost that I wish I had more pictures of. Its lovely that you have those memories for your family.

Originally Posted by SwissJon

It's amazing that the most important instances of our lives are not the ones captured by professionals, but during the intimate moments we share with people we love. My wife hates having her photo taken and complains that photgraphs make her look old, but her kids love having these photographs and complain they don't have enough.

We all have images in our head of what we look like, sometimes those images are accurate, sometimes they aren't.. But the images we have portrayed in photos are not for us, they're for those around us.. I see my face close up once a day, in the mirror when I remove the barbs around my chin.. My wife sees my face many times every day.. So a photo of me isn't for me, it's for her. A photo of her is for me and her kids..

So don't be shy to stand in front of the camera, you may not like what you see, but you can be sure, if it's accurate, those who love you will love it.

I have the same trouble as your wife. I hate having my picture taken. I simply feel extremely uncomfortable in front of a camera. My family are aware of this and they get sneaky, taking photos of my when I'm not looking. Lucky for me I am chief-in-charge of all the downloading, so any real duds and unflattering shots get the big Delete
But I do make myself save some. Otherwise my grandchildren will not be able to point out to their kids how much Granny Lisa looked like Nana Cat.

Originally Posted by mshockley

Kiwi I know how you feel. I recently took on a photo restoration for a close friend. 2 images, very old with water damage on both. One was his Mom/Dad together, and one was his Dad on the day he left to go off to war! Both parents are deceased and these were the only pictures he has of them! Talk about pressure. The one of his dad alone was missing the entire one side of his face--I ended up using the other image as a reference point to even try to start to fix it.

As with you, he was not expecting miracles. I was lucky as these images were in 8x10 original size and at least scanned quite well!

I love the idea of having an artist recreate what you've started! That would be a nice finish to your restoration work.

The responsibilty is weighing heavily. But isn't the challenge part of the fun!
I do know a couple of artists, one a painter and the other a sketch artist. So I'll be getting in contact with them shortly.
I downloaded the 30 day trial of Perfect Resize (the new name for Genuine Fractals) and though it obviously does not add any more information it has enabled me to up size the file to something printable. I started with a file that was only 55Kb
What I have now is something that looks nothing like a sharp photo, more like a software generated painting. I've warned my client that this is the best I can do and given her the option to go further with an artist.