Posted on 10/17/2011 9:59:40 AM PDT by Marie
21 years ago, hubby and I were married. There was an 'incident' and, to make a long story short, my photographer was arrested and all of his film was confiscated by the police. As far as I know, my wedding photos are still sitting in an evidence warehouse in Cheyenne Wyoming to this day.
The only photos we have were the ones taken my our parents. These were crappy cameras and the film was developed by a photomat.
So most of the photos are a little fuzzy and grainy and some are just a little overdeveloped. They're mostly 3.5x4 and some are 3x5.
I've got it down to 9 photos that are worth saving.
It's been two decades and I was wondering if there's somebody who knows how to do computer magic to save these photos. I was hoping that one could be blown up to 8x10, then made to look like a painting. I'd like to get at least a couple of 5x7s of the wedding party.
Is there any hope for my wedding photos?
I don't mind if they look 'soft' - just not so grainy.
*sigh* Is there anything that can be done??
No. I don't have any negatives. I was lucky to get a handful of photos with decent subject matter.
At least I’ve got the guy! :)
You may want to hire an attorny and petition the judge to enable you to obtain a copy of the photos.
Scanning them into a software program like Adobe PhotoDeluxe Business Edition or some others like that will make easy work of restoring them, sizing, and formatting into pictures you will be able to enjoy or treasure. Good luck!
For most people, this remembrance of the wedding, would be reflective of the marriage.
pfl
Your best bet is to go to a commercial photo shop. If it can be done, the best results would be from a professional.
I tried back in the day, but all of the guy’s photos were considered evidence. He got ten years, so he’s out now, but the evidence was probably destroyed by now.
The other thing is, after I spend all the time and money to try to get them back, will it be worth it? Were they even developed correctly? Can they even find them?
I don’t even remember the guy’s name.
I'm betting they will do the work for free.
Scan them in with Vuescan software
and clean them up with OnOne software suite.
For most people, this remembrance of the wedding, would be reflective of the marriage.
LOL!
I hope you can get something worked out, mrs Vader and I were married 21 years ago as well, and it’s a riot looking back at the photos. She had a massive 80s hairdo and I actually had hair. she also saved and dried the flowers from her bouquet and it still sits in a cut glass decanter on our bedroom dresser.
Hold off on the ‘blowing up’;)
If you paid the photographer and monies - you are entitled to recover the photos. Check with an attorney for a free consultation.
Just an aside: A friend sent me her wedding photo ‘proofs’ from S.Africa. I had no idea she sent the only copies in existance. I kept them for over a year - since we were constantly on the move. When I finally realized what I had - I immediately returned them to her - was she relieved!!!!
I am the biggest idiot on the planet. My daughter just started her photography class. I didn’t even think about asking her professor. I guess my brain was on computers and software and I forgot that this is where modern photography is now.
I’ll talk to her about it tonight.
You just gave me my answer! Thank you!
The sleeves of my wedding dress are EPIC.
And my perm couldn’t be tighter or poofier.
And my husband looks like a kid in his dress greens! :)
There are Photoshop experts out there who can do amazing restoration these days. I’ve seen them take old sepia prints ripped and covered in mold and restore them perfectly. It is an art form. You might check your local print shops and see if they offer photo restoration. If that fails, check online Photoshop forums and ask if they can recommend a service. The results might end up being black and white, since older “photomat” colors are so hard to match and end up looking grainy and garish...but you’ll probably be pleased with the results. A lot of people are shooting weddings in black and white now anyway.
Glad to help, best of luck!
As an example of what can be accomplished after a few hours work using a copy of Photoshop equipped with appropriate plugins and filters, see http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2108806439608.2113393.1229000088&type=3&saved#!/photo.php?fbid=2108806759616&set=a.2108806439608.2113393.1229000088&type=1&theater
Your photographs can be scanned with a flat bed scanner and converted to digital images and then using a program like Photoshop Elements can be improved somewhat. There isn’t much you can do about removing the grain from a low quality photo and any enlargement or cropping will make the grain more noticeable. You can likely improve the color balance and compensate for the poor exposures, but don’t expect miracles. Your best bet would be to try to get the original photos or even the negatives.
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