Book Scrapping

[Rick]

I'm curious on your opinions on this.

A roomie has really gotten into Scap booking and while alot of the things she's doing is really great, some of what she does to her photos absolutely makes me cringe.

I have suggested to her that she needs to at least scan the photo to preserve it for future reference before she cuts into them (Making hearts and whatnot) or glueing them to the various surfaces.

Supposedly the materials she's using is acid free and photo friendly, but alot of the materials that were sold 30, 20, and even 10 yrs ago supposedly said the same thing and we've all seen results.

Any hints/suggestions you would give to someone taking this as a hobby before they destroy/ruin photos?

Rick

[DJ Dubovsky]

Heart breaking isn't it? I would suggest she make sure and preserve those negatives because in the future that may be all she has left to fall back on. She may be thinking she always has the negatives if she isn't happy with them. I would be very hesitant if they were antiques and no negatives to reproduce them.
DJ

[Ed_L]

Ditto what Debbie said. It's a funny thing that the ones people cherish the most are often the ones they destroy.

Ed

[Rick]

Oh, I completely agree. I asked her if she would at least scan the photos before she cut into them and basically said, "it's alright. If I screw up a photo, it's no big deal."

While the work she does with the photos is terrific and most of them don't require cutting, I just inwardly cringe at them doing this.

have any of ya'll seen some of the cropping stuff? Some of is is very fascinating and detailed, though.

I just kinda' wished they'd do it in a non-destructive of digital way instead.

[thomasgeorge]

Rick, You might gently suggest that if the negatives are avaliable, it would be a good idea to store them in some sort of acid free/archival sleeve. Amazing how many just get tossed in drawers,etc., and end up in almost as bad a shape as the prints. Tom

[DJ Dubovsky]

It's the photo restorer coming out in you Rick. We get hurricanes here in South Florida and believe me 2 days before hand I am running around like crazy bagging and sealing all my photos, negative, home videos and anything else irrepaceable. Photo restoration has shown me how devastating such a loss can be.

Why is it we pay so much for insurance on so many things we can replace but don't go the extra mile to protect the things we can't. Typical human logic.

How many people put alarms and Lojacks on their new cars but when it comes to their kids they don't even take the time to finger pint them or any other safe guards for their protection. It's that same kind of thinking.
DJ

[Rick]

In regards to negatives, I forgot to mention that in my last post

To my knowledge, there aren't any negatives for 98% of her photographs.
Which makes it all the more frustrating for me, I guess.

I totally agree with you in regards to trying to preserve for a natural disaster as well.

I think scanning/burning Photos into CD's would be a business until itself.
I think that if my if my little hobby does turn into a small business with some income coming in, I might have to seriously look into that.

Currently, a friend of mine in Chicago who runs an internet shop is thinking about refering customers to me. They can scan the photos and burn them onto a disc for a fee, and then forward me (via email) to me for a quote.

Quite a few people have seen my alteration/restorations up in her neck of the woods that they are thinking about farming out that kind of work for additional income.

Rick

[DJ Dubovsky]

Hey, excellent Rick. Go for it. You can't beat the extra income and it may be your launch from a hobby to a business. That's how I'm starting out.
DJ

[thomasgeorge]

Rick, DEFINATELY look into the CD side. I do it for my customers , (for an extra fee) and while not all want that service, there are enough who do to make it worth you while. Also, keep your eyes on the new DVD-RW technology which is emerging. While still in the foramtive stage, there will be a market for transfering VHS etc. data to DVD storage and those who get started early will be in a pretty good position as time passes and it becomes mainstream. If you can talk your friend into it you might want to scan the album(s),( depending on the page size,scan the entire page. I did this for a client who loved it) and save them on CD. At least you could then print 'em if something untoward should occur--plus it would be good practice. Good luck and if you have any questions just post 'em. Lots of smart folks here with good answers---except the cow. watch him. Tom

[Chris W.]

Hey Rick,

Well my venture into scrapbooking led me to more scanning and printing...yes I could never destroy my original photos.

I do scan and print out the photos I want to use in scrapbooking and they look great.

Even if I have the negative I still use a copy for the books as I don't leave anything to chance not to mention that I sometimes use the same photo in more than one book.