Most of us have family photos that aren't close ups. If you try to zoom in to get a closer look, the image gets so blurred you can't see it very well. Even with my glasses on and a magnifying glass I sometimes can't see parts of the pictures as well as I'd like. I've found if I scan the picture and crop it, I can often get a closer view that isn't distorted.
Scan the picture at the highest resolution possible. Then use photo editing software to crop a face, the address on a house, or a license plate to get a better look at it. This isn't meant to be a step-by-step tutorial, but I will mention that
Picasa is a free photo editing software and
Adobe Photoshop Elements is one I bought. I use and recommend both.
Here's an example of a photo of my sister, Lou Nora. I don't know how old she was or where the photo was taken. I cropped the picture and zoomed in on it as I was resizing it. That allowed me to see her sweet face.
I also cropped the license plate on the car and could tell the date on it was 1942.
Since she was born in April 1940, that gave me her approximate age when the photo was taken.
This is a great suggestion. I use Picasa and found it helps improve old photographs in many ways.
ReplyDeleteMy family did not have steady hands when it came to photographs! I wish I could find a program that would put all my old, very out-of-focus snapshots into focus, though!