111Design Consulting

Q: Why should I have my old photos re-printed?

A: To preserve them. The higher-end photo papers in use today claim to be good for up to 200 years. Polaroids deteriorate in a relatively short period of time. But the truth is, all photographic prints deteriorate no matter how well they've been stored and cared for. Exposure to chemical fumes, high humidity, high temperatures and light with UV content just speed this up. The acid in your skin can damage them too so try not to handle them too much.

Q: Digital photos can't go bad, can they?

It's a common misconception that data on a CD-ROM will last forever. CD-ROM's are generally good for about 10 years (depending on the brand) and only if they've been stored properly—They can suffer damage from heat above comfortable room temperature and radiation from household appliances like television sets, microwave ovens, and old CRT monitors. Magnetic fields will corrupt or even wipe the data entirely. So keep them away from sterio speakers, old ringer telephones and other things that contain a magnet. I had some disks go bad from keeping them on a low shelf in the bedroom. The only explanation I could find was directly behind this very thin wall was the fridge in the kitchen. Refrigerators contain a large magnet!

If you use a digital camera and don't always make prints, make two backups now and write the date on them. Give one to a trusted family member for safe keeping.

Don't leave pictures in the camera longer than necessary, and don't use flash drives for long term storage. See below.

Having a hard-copy backup of your digital photos is important too. By "hard copy", I mean prints. If your computer crashed and your backup disks went bad, prints can always be scanned.

Q: What about flash drives?

Some brands are not meant for long term data storage. Read product reviews and product documentation (usually found on the manufacturer's Site) before buying.

Q: I uploaded my pictures to an online photo album and they look awful. Why does this happen?

Some "Photo Sharing" Sites use JPG re-compression to reduce file size and the subsequent load on their servers. Compression reduces the quality as well as the file size. Download this image, open in your graphics editor, then zoom in to see the "artifacts" (technical term for that fuzzy stuff). A heavily compressed JPG loses its sharpness, detail and colour boundaries.

Even the simple act of opening and re-saving a JPG in your graphics editor can ruin the quality. The default "Save As" compression value in some programs can be high and will produce artifacts. My best advice is to use a file format with lossless compression for your master image and edit this one. You can then safely save a copy as JPG. For more about file formats and JPG compression, see: Digital Photo Requirements.

Q: Won't laminating protect my photos?

Whatever you do, don't laminate photos or important documents. The process actually damages them.

Q: What is the best way to store and protect prints?

Photos should never be displayed in direct sunlight. Unless they are behind "museum quality" glass (which is very expensive), standard UV protection glass is no defense. Purchase acid-free mattes, photo albums and storage boxes only. Handle photos as little as possible and keep them in a cool dry place—well away from where chemicals are stored. That includes household cleaning supplies.

Q: Will you make changes to my original photo?

No, never. Your photo will be scanned, then edited digitally. The resulting copy will be printed on archival matte Fuji paper which, if stored and handled properly, should last 200 years before any noticeable deterioration.

Q: Help! Part of my photo has been torn off, can you fix it?

A: Yes, but if the piece has been lost, I may have to take some creative license. My technique involves painting in the damaged area(s) by hand. If it was a large piece, I cannot guarantee it will look like the original, but I'm sure you will be happy with the results.

Q: Can my restored/retouched photo be enlarged?

A: This depends on the level of detail your original image contains—and what sort of paper it was printed on. If it looks grainy, I would not recommend enlarging it too much. The texture will become very noticeable. You must also consider the aspect ratio. If you start off with a 4 x 6 print and want it blown up to 8 x 10, it will have to be cropped. Refer to these guidelines for Resolution & Aspect Ratio. See also: Digital Photo Requirements.

Q: How do I choose a good graphic artist?

First of all, beware of low or budget "package" pricing. A good graphic artist will want to see your photos and hear what you would like to have done before giving you a price. There are a lot of newbie "PhotoShoppers" out there who can't wait to get their hands on your money. They advertise low flat rates for things like scratch removal, red-eye reduction, skin smoothing etc. One-click "quick fix" filters don't look natural. Remember, a program is only as good as the person using it! Restoration jobs often involve re-drawing detailed parts of the image. This requires some artistic skill. There is much more to it than just moving and clicking a mouse. I have seen bad restoration jobs where missing or damaged parts of the image were cloned, and you can clearly see a repeating pattern. Agressive retouching can make people look like plastic mannequins.

When choosing a graphic artist, ask to see high resolution samples of their work—and examine them closely. Downsized images can hide obvious flaws like poor layer blending. My sample images have been downsized for the Web, but are still large enough I think, to tell the quality. If you would like to see more (or the high-res originals), don't be afraid to ask.

Q: How much do you charge?

A: $10.00 - $120.00 (per image) depending on how much work needs to be done. I would have to see your photos first to give you an estimate. I don't believe in charging outrageous prices for something I can do in 30 seconds—erasing a few blemishes, for example. I offer bulk discount rates as well.

If you don't have a scanner but you do have a digital camera, take a picture of the picture and send me that. :-) I would need a print copy of the original to work on though.

Q: Is there anything that can't be fixed?

In my honest opinion, yes. Photos that are severely over-exposed, under-exposed, grainy or out of focus do not contain enough information to work with. The same applies to a highly compressed JPG: The original photo should be re-scanned and saved with minimal compression, or saved in a file format other than JPG. See: Digital Photo Requirements.

Q: My pictures have large areas of black with no detail. Are they supposed to look like this?

A: I would say that your monitor is not calibrated properly (see next Q&A). Is it is an old CRT monitor? If so, it could be on its last legs. Unfortunately, the factory settings on most monitors range from "slightly off" to "wildly off". They are never perfect. The controls for adjusting brightness, contrast and colour are usually found on the front of the monitor... though they could be on the side or even the back. See also: The pictures look jagged and blotchy. What's wrong?

Q: The colours are wrong (too red/ too blue/ too green). Is this how they are supposed to look?

A: Probably not. Though I can't see how they look on your screen, I would guess your monitor needs calibrating. After you've done this, if the pictures still don't look right to you, I will gladly re-do them. Skin tones for example. Some people prefer warmer or more vivid colouring. Others prefer skintones to look more natural—in the pinkish or blueish range depending on the light. Often it's a matter of personal taste.

Q: Photos look jagged and blotchy on my monitor. What's wrong?

A: Your monitor is not displaying all possible colours. Windows: Right-click an empty spot on the desktop and select "Properties". Click the "Settings" tab. In the dropdown menu under "Color", look for True Color (32 bit) and select this. Click the "Apply" and "Ok" buttons (in that order), then reboot. If you don't see True Color (32 bit), your video card does not support it. 32 bit True Color is 24 bit colour depth—16.7 million colours, plus 8-bit alpha channel.

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