Sometimes we receive an image which, for a whole variety of reasons is not as you would like. Perhaps its a bit dark, or too light, the subject has a large spot on the end of their nose. etc … Occasionally it goes beyond that… the photo is plain not very good but – here is the issue, the photo really does need to be used – its important, historic, relevant, its necessary. What to do? Well, there are several things to consider. The first of course is to panic, the second is to not use it at all as its going to give you a bad impression or just not convey what you want. The third is to “repair” the image using electronic wizardry. The two main tools are Photoshop and a lovely program called Lightroom. You can lighten, enhance, hone in upon a certain detail etc or merely plough on through an image and delete all imperfections.
The image above, used in the Guide to Waterhead Church, shows a class photo from c. 1920. Its dark, dust speckled and the only known version of it has an almighty tear across is.
With patience, diligence and know-how a century old photo has been given a new life.
See below how an old photo has been brought back to life, repaired, enhanced and therefore become more relevant.
