Last week I was given an old photograph to copy and retouch in time for a Christmas present, which is not a big job. All one needs is a camera, a lens that can focus close-up and a tripod.
My client had tried unsuccessfully to use a scanner, but I think most digital cameras have a better resolution and will make a sharper enlargement unless the scanner is one of the expensive high-quality models specifically designed to copy film and photograph. All I needed was to select a window in my home with indirect light, and turned off any lights that could alter the proper white balance.
I placed the photograph on the floor, and set up my tripod, and made sure I didn’t have any shadows falling on it. I then prepared the camera by using a level against the front of the lens.
I usually like to take several exposures that start two stops under exposed and eventually go to two stops over exposed. Chose a range of five stops to ensure that I have a lot of exposure choices when I open the image in Photoshop for editing. I also prefer to release the shutter by using the camera’s self-timer, so I didn’t get camera shake. I retouched using a Photoshop cloning tool to remove scratches, corrected the old photograph’s faded colour, sharpened the image and made a print. As I said, it is not a big job. You may have an old photo that is starting to fade and crack that records something of your family’s history. Get out your equipment and use my notes as a reference and start copying them. This is a good project for the New Year.
Every November I start preparing my new calendar. Although I always make a monthly calendar with a subject, I just photographed, I also like to make a 12-month calendar to give friends.
The Christmas season is a perfect time for photographers to give friends and relatives some photographs. That could mean a framed photographic print, but personally I like to give calendars.
Several years ago my wife and I made an early December visit to San Francisco. We had decided to spend an afternoon on a picturesque beach at John Muir Park. While there we watched three young people involved in what we assumed was the production of a Christmas portrait of a barefoot young woman that stood at the water’s edge wearing a long dark red skirt, a billowy white shirt with a red vest and a Santa Claus cap. She posed with a gangly four-foot Charlie Brown Christmas tree at her side and her friends laughed and photographed her as the surf rolled in. What a great idea for the first (or last photo) in a Christmas calendar.
There are stacks of generic greeting cards and calendars being offered at stores, but for photographers it’s a perfect excuse to give people photographs they have made.
I have selected nine of my photos and three of Jo’s photographs for my 2025 calendar and am looking forward to giving it for Christmas presents. (Or maybe New Year’s gifts if this postal strike carries on over throughout the month of December.)
Don’t be a Grinch and hide your pictures away. Just showing some picture on your iPhone or Facebook isn’t enough. Print them, make a calendar, put it in an envelope, and give it to someone. And it’s easy there are lots of online places that will print calendars.
And if you decide on Christmas cards, I don’t think they always need to be about Christmas. Call them greeting cards, holiday cards, or whatever you want. That way if it’s a bit late for Christmas they can be sent or delivered anyway.
Stay safe and be creative. These are my thoughts for this week. Contact me at www.enmanscamera.com or emcam@telus.net.
