Main contributor: James L. Tanner
Photographs found in a tomb in Casablanca
Photographs found in a tomb in Casablanca

Since the 1850s, photography has been an important part of our collective history. Your own genealogy can be enriched by a collection of photos of your ancestors and relatives. When you share your photos online with a family tree, you preserve an important part of your ancestral heritage.

Old photographs were printed on paper, glass, or metal. Over time, the chemicals used to make the photos deteriorate. Although careful handling and storing photos in ideal conditions can help preserve them, with our current technology, the best way to preserve old photos is to digitize them using a scanner designed to digitize photos. The best current instructions for preserving old photos are found in the Library of Congress Preservation Directorate. This website provides detailed instructions for the preservation of all kinds of historical items, including photographs.

Research your ancestors on MyHeritage

Where to find old photos of ancestors and relatives

One of the best ways to find old photographs is to have an online family tree. Large online genealogy websites, such as MyHeritage.com, have a way to upload digitized photos and documents so they can be shared with your family and relatives. An online family tree also encourages other members of your relatives to also upload images.

The most common problems with photographs

The most common problem with all photographs is camera movement. Other common problems include over exposure, under exposure, tilted images, and out of focus images.

How to improve an old photo that is blurry, damaged, or over/under-exposed

An old photograph, improved using the MyHeritage Photo Enhancer
An old photograph, improved using the MyHeritage Photo Enhancer

MyHeritage.com has some sophisticated AI photo enhancement tools that illustrate the advances that have been recently made in restoring old photographs. The MyHeritage Photo Enhancer can bring blurry faces into sharp focus, and Photo Repair can erase scratches, creases, and signs of wear. MyHeritage In Color™ can restore faded colors in color photographs, or even artificially colorize black and white photos.

On the right is a before and after of an old black-and-white photograph that was blurry and grainy, and the enhanced version of the same photo.

Photography tips

The best way to avoid camera movement is to use a tripod or other camera-stabilizing device. Most modern digital cameras have image stabilization mechanisms that minimize camera movement. When you take a digital photo, check the photo immediately to see if it is out of focus or if there is camera movement.

It is not necessary to become a professional photographer to take better photos. But, a good way to start learning is to get a book about photography or take an online, basic course in photography. There are many such programs online for free. One example is Lectures on Digital Photography from Marc Levoy. A photography website, PetaPixel.com, has a list of the ten best free online photography courses in 2023.

How to improve a digital photo

The newer digital camera and smartphones have complex sets of internal instructions that correct almost all photo problems as the photo is taken. Despite these camera improvements, it is still possible to take a poor quality image. Some of the problems with your images can be corrected using photo editing software.

Photo editing software

Photo editing software can retouch digital images and correct most of the common problems with under- and overexposed images and tilted images. Developments in using artificial intelligence to modify photographs have become extremely sophisticated and can correct even out of focus images. However, camera movement is still challenging even for the most sophisticated and complex photo editing software.

Learning to modify and improve photos using photo editing software can take some time. The most complex programs and most used for improving photos are Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom. Both Photoshop and Lightroom are available as mobile apps. Almost all photo editing software is now sold by subscription, although there are many other programs that are free online. You can find instructions to all photo editing software online on YouTube or on photography websites.

Editing out the content of a photo is becoming common. Yes, even inexpensive and easy-to-use editing software that can remove parts of a photo is readily available online. However, even with the best photo editing software, taking objects out of some photos can be a challenge.

Explore more about improving family photos

Here are some resources for learning how to improve your photos.

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