If you have ever looked through your old family photos, you may find that some still look great, while some are looking like they’ve had better days. A great idea for old family photos is to turn them into hardcover coffee table style photo books.
Sadly, my Dad passed away last year. While looking for photos for his service, we gathered so many terrific family photos that celebrated Dad and all he was to us. In fact, we found too many for the service video, so I scanned them all into my computer, and even snapped some photos with my camera and smartphone and then turned them all into a terrific hardcover book. I then had multiple copies printed for my children, sibling and anyone else who wanted a copy.
But don’t let it end there. Old (and new) family holidays, a tribute to parents and grandparents for the grandkids … add in snippets and small stories as well. What about your family tree? You can add all sorts of information as well as photos in these books.
This could be a treasured item for future generations to come, with photos and information on various family members. It’s something beautiful and enduring to pass down.
Encountering problems with older photos
You may encounter a few problems with older photos. Some may need to be digitally restored. This can be achieved in Photoshop or a variety of other programs. A few minor scratches can be easily taken care of (as in below) with the Healing Tool and Clone Stamp. Mark Morrow has a few tips on dealing with slides and negatives.
If you need to enlarge the photos, but don’t want to lose quality, try Gigapixel AI. Perhaps the images are slightly blurry? Then perhaps try this technique with Sharpen AI.
Where to get them printed?
There are so many places online, and locally. If you’re in Australia I really recommend PhotobookShop. I use them all the time — don’t forget to check out their specials!
So don’t ignore those treasured family photos. Instead, turn them into hardcover coffee table style photo books. It’s a terrific idea for birthdays, anniversaries and even with Christmas just around the corner!
