Combining photography and genealogy offers unique challenges.
To enhance photographs, we rely on popular software tools, but most aren't ideal for genealogy, since they are based on assumptions that do not apply to family history. Take auto-fixing, filters, and color correcting, for example.
When presented with extreme values in lights and darks, the auto-correct algorithm tends to pick a happy medium. Old photos and cemetery shots present limited color ranges, so darks become a little lighter and lights a little darker, and results can be undesirable.
Filters have their use, but some, such as blurs, swirls, and softeners, go awry with genealogical photos. Perhaps a wedding photographer might find these useful, but not a digital genealogist shooting historical settings and tombstones.
And color correcting addresses RGB values (red, green, and blue), unlike the human eye, which perceives HSB characteristics (hue, saturation, and brightness). To complicate matters, historical photographs are typically in monochrome yellow and grays, so RGB correcting is awkward.
So what can you do?
First, learn to take better pictures and apply software techniques to isolate issues. Also keep in mind that there is no easy solution, as each image will present its own challenge. Your camera or computer probably came with specialized software, so try it, but if it doesn't work, invest in popular software such as Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. I have some tips to offer, but please note, these are guidelines only and not step-by-step instructions.
Before photographing:
1. A well-focused image saves editing time, so stabilize images and invest in a transportable tripod.
2. Vary angles and take multiple shots. Try face-to-face shots, low-to-the-ground shots, and take advantage of the angle where the light is generated.
3. Experiment with backlighting and flash settings. External sources such as a slave flash, mirror or infrared lighting, may be used to direct light to specific areas.
4. Shoot in raw format for more important pictures. This format allows images to be resized (larger and smaller) without deterioration. Supply yourself with extra memory cards for storage, as images will be larger. You may prefer converting to a .png format afterwards, which offers a similar advantage.
5. Choose the time of day carefully. Dawns and sunsets offer long lighting, but if taken from the wrong angle, they produce shadows. Close-together objects may benefit from midday reflections.
6. Take your time. When photographing a person, pause to look the subject in the eye and smile; the gesture will most likely be returned, allowing for a more relaxed pose. And let street traffic subside and passers-by move along, so the result is less cluttered.
After photographing:
1. After transferring images to the computer, make backups to avoid overwriting originals.
2. Crop images to reduce distractions from extraneous objects. This is especially useful if you use auto-correct. When deciphering inscriptions, break the image into several smaller ones and work on each one separately to minimize variants in light values (darkened portions will respond differently than lighter areas).
Adobe Photoshop Elements.
3. Some photographers find it helpful to divide images into several smaller ones, either manually or with an extractor. To avoid multiple cropping isolate issues with selection tools, rather than working with an image in its entirety. Your program may have a number of options including lassos, ellipticals, freehand tools, and magic wands.
Magic Extractor Tool
4. Set up layers, which are like duplicate copies of one image stacked on top of itself. Layering allows for changes to be made to one layer, without affecting others. In general, the bottom layer acts as an anchor and cannot be changed.
5. Try applying a contrast mask, which sharpens details by increasing contrast between light and dark areas. Create a duplicate layer and invert it over the original, with the blending mode set to overlay.
6. Work with the leveling feature, which produces a histogram (graph) of where peak light and dark colors fall within the image. Underneath the histogram are three sliders in RGB or black, gray, and white (BGW) for monochromes, which range from 0 to 1.00 to 256. Avoid moving all to the center, but move separately and away from each other to make adjustments where the center points of these shades fall.
Woodlawn Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
7. For blemishes, try the healing, clone, and dodge tools. For example, if there was a fold in a photograph, copy another area and use it to heal the defect. Healing blends the pixels within and around the brush. A small brush size may be desirable (e.g., 16 pixels), along with a reduction (e.g., one-half) in the hardness of the brush. The hardness controls the size of the brush's center.
The healing and clone tools are useful for removing blemishes.
Cloning is similar, but makes an exact duplicate of one area to copy onto another, without the blending of the healing tool. Dodging allows you to lighten areas of the photograph (recommended to start with an exposure less than 10%).
8. Concentrate on color palettes and opposites. You may have success enhancing and reading an inscription by reversing colors.
This dark image from the California Death Index was inverted and enlarged, thereby allowing me to read that Mary O. Stanton died on March 5, 1914 (line 4).
9. Remember, this guide is just a series of suggestions, so if you crave more, enroll in a photography course—preferably taught by someone with a genealogy interest!
Laura Pickering, an artist from Oklahoma City, contributed to this article. We regret we cannot respond to questions about individual photographs.
