OUR EXPERT
Mike Bedford has an extensive collection of film-based photos, both his own and those he inherited, so he’s taken quite an interest in preservation and restoration.
Be sure to clean as much loose dust, dirt and hairs off your photos before you scan them. Don’t use a cloth, though, because that could cause scratches, and don’t try using a solvent unless you know exactly what you’re doing. Instead, use a compressed air can, but don’t hold it too close because that could damaging your photo by freezing it.
Having restored your photo, you might feel that a sepia effect is appropriate, but be sure to keep a non-sepia version, too. This is easily done at Colours > Desaturate > Sepia, although if you’re using a black-andwhite photo, first convert it to a colour image via Image > Mode > RGB.
PROTECT THE SOURCE MATERIAL
You might like to print some of your restored photos on glossy paper and mount them in an oldfashioned album. Despite the recent trend towards printed photo books, you can still buy albums, often of a traditional design, even down to the use of corners to hold the photos in place.
OUR EXPERT