IKE – How to handle damaged portraits

 

 

While we are praying that everyone is completely safe during the impending hurricane in our awesome city, I thought it appropriate to provide some much requested information about how to handle damaged photos. 

PLEASE NOTE:  THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS AND DO NOT GAURANTEE THAT A PRINT IS GOING TO BE SALVAGED.  IN THE EVENT YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH HANDLING DAMAGED PRINTS, PLEASE SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP FROM A LOCAL PHOTO LAB OR PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO. 

In the event you find yourself a little waterlogged and your family photos get flood water on them please do the following:

Portraits in Frames 

  1. IMPORTANT – If you can get to these first please do so.  The water in the frame will cause the emulsion on the print to stick to the glass. 
  2. Try to take the frame apart and remove the print and glass from the frame.
  3. Soak the glass and print in clean water for a few minutes so the emulsion can slide away from the glass. 
  4. Once you have successfully removed the print, either hang the print to air dry or lay face up on a tea towel.  If you place the print on a tea towel check often to see if the print is dry before moving forward with any further restoration.  IF you need to stack the prints up after drying you can do so with pieces of wax paper between each print.

Prints and Negatives that are stuck together

  1. IMPORTANT – If the prints are stuck together, do not try to pull apart.  If the prints are still wet you may be able to separate them for soaking them.
  2. Get a large flat container full of cool clean water.  Agitate the prints in the water and repeat until all the debris has been removed.  You will need to change the water out often.
  3. Either hang dry the prints indoors or do the same as number 4 above.  NEVER DRY YOUR PRINTS OUTSIDE.  The air will dry them too fast and make them curl.

CDs that are stuck together

  1. Images on CDs are very fragile.  More fragile than prints or negatives.  (This is why we always recommend that you print all your family snapshots.  Don’t leave them in the camera, hard-drive or on CD without a hardcopy print)  The metal sticker that holds the data on the CD is extremely thin and can be destroyed quite easily.  DO NOT TRY TO SEPERATE THE CDS WITHOUT WATER. 
  2. Get a bucket of cool water and place your CDs in the water for a few minutes.  If there is paper stuck to the CD, don’t try to remove it until it is easily removable.  Many people don’t realize that the information is actually held on the BACK side of the CD and NOT the side that everyone tries to clean on their shirt when it scratches. 
  3. After agitating and replenishing your bucket with cool water, the CDs should fall apart on their own.  If they don’t you can try to remove them underwater or let them continue to soak until they can be separated. 
  4. After separated, it is best to let them air dry on dry on a tea towel.  Don’t try to hand dry them. 
  5. Once this is completed you should try to read the CD and then make a new fresh copy as soon as possible. 

I hope this information is helpful but never needed.  Everyone be safe and keep a positive outlook on the storm.