This lovely photo is my great grandmother Blanche Octavia Huband. It comes from an album page created by her daughter, my grandmother, Mary Margaret Ellis. Blanche looks like such an interesting little girl – confident but a touch reserved. She is definitely a beauty.
As I was editing this photo I considered a few questions for myself:
- When should I edit a photo and when should I leave it as is?
- Do I spend too much time editing too many photos of each person?
- Will photo editing improve so significantly in the future that it would be better to wait to edit?
I don’t know the answers. Just some questions kicking around in my brain. Here is the original. What do you think?
You’re right; she was lovely. Interesting questions about editing images. It’s a tough one. I know some people like “full restoration”. I think it’s a shame to lose the wear and tear that shows it’s old, but I do think it’s good to try and repair damage that affects important details (like faces).
Thank you Su. It is a balance for sure. I do save the original tiff scans if I edit so I have both versions available to me.
As long as you save the original, I see no reason not to edit, especially if it enhances the person like it does for Blanche.
Thank you! I’m just worried that I feel the need to edit basically everything which is unnecessary. I know that, and I do skip some items or just straighten and crop them. I save the original tiff scans as well as the edited tiffs. So much genealogy to do, so little time!
Nice job at editing out the distracting scratches, but we can still appreciate the lovely vintage-ness. She’s beautiful!
Thank you Lenore, that is exactly what I was going for. She really is beautiful isn’t she?
Beautiful photo. I wonder who took it. The way she is looking at the person is very intriguing. As for editing, I am not good enough at it to overdo it. I just try to adjust lighting and contrast so that the faces are more visible.
Thank you Amy. I wondered the same about the photographer.