Good afternoon all. I have been having a play with some photo editing software and want your thoughts please. Are the results desirable with Geneaologists or is it better to leave my old family pictures well alone. Below is a before and after picture of my 2x Great Grandmother Margaret Roberts. Regards, Andrew.
Call me old-fashioned, but I do like to see the original. Having said that, photo editing software can certainly bring out features and increase the clarity which might otherwise have been missed. I like both versions - but for different reasons.
I'm with Jan, but I really like the 'touched up' version. Keep them side by side - one enhances the other.
That's an interesting question, and I suspect there may be a range of opinions. The sepia tone is an inherent feature of the processes that were used, and I generally feel it should be preserved. I also quite like the look of it. However, I'm not averse to a bit of touching up of specks or blemishes in an old image, and because they fade over time, I'm also happy to adjust the contrast etc a bit, and maybe a bit of sharpening. I can see you've done a bit of this with your greyscale version, so I think my version would have those slight edits, but keep the sepia. But as Jan says, the greyscale one is certainly not unpleasant. If you enjoy doing this, and you have plenty of disc space, why not keep both?
I think I am leaning to your way of thinking. There is something special about having and holding the originals that may have been clutched by a relative. I am quite impressed with how it has made her eyes sharper.
I agree with everyone else, the original is special, because it has age and history, but the enhanced one is a much sharper image and you can really see the detail - keep them side by side if you can.
I couldn't resist a little play with this, so here's the kind of thing I might do - I only spent a couple of minutes on it, so I'm sure something better could be done, and I haven't attempted anything with the missing corner or the minor specks etc. For those who are familiar with these programs, what I did was to use a Levels tool to increase the contrast (moved the input end sliders inwards, and the middle one slightly to the right), then with a Colours tool reduced the red slightly. Hopefully it will have enhanced it slightly, but without losing the sepia.
Ha, ha! If I were Margaret, I would prefer the original because it doesn't show the skin flaws so much. But as a descendant, I'd want her, flaws and all. Arthur's rendition is the happy blend of the two. I say it's a total judgement call. Do whatever feels right to you (but preserve the original copy somewhere for posterity).
I’m in the sepia camp. I can appreciate the edited version of the photo, but to me, greyscale always looks ‘cold’.
Agree with all of the above, I do think tho', that her eyes sparkle more in the sepia coloured photo. They suggest a pale green of light blue colour.
