New from Iowa

[milkweed]

I was given a link to this forum in hopes that I could learn more about retouching an old photo I have of my FIL from WW2. It's small and blurryish but I do have the negative which I need to dig out. I'd like the make his features a little clearer so my hubby can see what his dad actually looked like, hubbies dad passed away when hubby was 9 so he doesn't remember what he looks like.

Milkweed

[CJ Swartz]

Originally Posted by milkweed

I was given a link to this forum in hopes that I could learn more about retouching an old photo I have of my FIL from WW2. It's small and blurryish but I do have the negative which I need to dig out. I'd like the make his features a little clearer so my hubby can see what his dad actually looked like, hubbies dad passed away when hubby was 9 so he doesn't remember what he looks like.

Milkweed

Welcome to RetouchPro !
A lot of folks come here because of one or more special photos that they would like to restore or retouch - it is especially nice that you are trying to do something special for your hubby. There is a lot of information available here, and it can take a while to find your way around -- but that time can be well spent learning and preparing to work on your photo(s).

You may want to start by looking at the Restoration forum (for info on working with damaged photos) and Retouching (info on improving the look/color/contrast etc. of an undamaged photo). Find that negative and take a look at it - is it in good condition, is the image any less blurry than the print photo you have been looking at? If the photo was not sharp and well exposed to begin with, there is only so much you can do to improve its look. If the original photo was well-made, then there is hope to recreate a good copy. What are your skills/level of experience in photo editing? What software have you already learned? There is a lot of info from people who use Photoshop, GIMP, Photoshop Elements and a couple of other programs. If you are wondering about which program to get, or how to learn to do certain processes with a particular program - you will find threads and posts to spend hours reading. If you are new to reading online forums - there are some forum threads to help you learn about that also.

Some internet forums are filled with snarky posts from people who love to make fun of other people -- that is NOT the case here. If you have a question, feel free to ask. It would be proper manners to do a search (look up at the menu on each page for "search") first.

Enjoy looking around, and I hope you find ways to fix that old photo for your husband.