Faded photos

[crapmemory]

Not sure if this question should be here but here goes. Got out my wedding album the other day to show my sons. When we opened it all the photos have faded to a sepia colour. It has been kept in its original box, album has been in my wardrobe. Is there any way the colours can be restored?

[Wak]

I wouldn't think there is much you can do with the original photos but you could possibly scan then into your computer and then remove the overall yellowish cast with a suitable image editing program. The brightness and contrast could also be edited to possibly improve the result.
You could still ask at the local Photographic shop if they have any remedies for the ageing appearance because if they are quite old photos and were developed using the older chemicals (before the current automatic machines) then they could maybe refresh or rewash the glazed finish.
Just a thought!

[dothawkes31]

blimey how old are they? Mine are from 1978 and they are still perfect, what can have happened?

[ChuckFickens]

you can't do anything with the photos themselves now.

If you have the negatives then you can get them re-printed. If not then scanning them using a decent scanner and then "playing about" with them in a decent photo editing program can give good results, it's not automatic, quick or easy though and the results are dependent on how good you are with the software.

[crapmemory]

Dot mine are 1978 too! September for me,what about you?

[deggers316]

it all depends on the paper and ink quality used at the time the photos were printed
i have a few photos i took back in 1961 on Kodak film (my first colour roll) and the colours are still as vibrant today as then,but then i have some taken in 1981, don't remember the make of film but they have gone sepia too, all kept in albums as well

[jno]

as deggers says, it all depends on the inks and papers. I've got perfect 30-year-old photos in my albums sitting right next to ones taken the same week that have turned blue. If you haven't got tissue paper between the pages, that also makes a difference, I've found; parts of a photo pressed against another photo fade differently from parts pressed against the album page. There's probably a thesis in this somewhere... Anyway, as others have said, you should be okay if you have the negatives; if not you may be able to improve them with Photoshop, but you're unlikely to get them exactly right unless you remember the exact colour yourself.

[sophie_1003]

There is a shop in Coventry that might be able to help, I was only looking in the window as I was waiting for someone but they had some before and after things of photos that were faded, had creases in, had been torn etc and had all been fixed.

[crapmemory]

My photos all have tissues between the pages. I don't have the negatives and I don't have a scanner. Sophie was the photographers you saw part of a chain or independent? I am in North London.

[jno]

anyone with Photoshop (or similar programme) can sort out creases, scratches, and overall fading; but you can't restore colours that are no longer there, except by guesswork.

[sophie_1003]

I have no idea, but it was selling cameras as well so maybe pop along to our nearest Jessops or something and they'll be able to advise

[crapmemory]

Think I will try Jessops or similar. Thank you all for your replies.

[mjwman]

Things change rapidly.
I was Kodak tech support for a long time and know that the Magenta dye was the least stable until the end of the 90's. Also the unstabilised PVC used in albums gave of fumes that degraded the image.
Luckily, programs like Photoshop, can replace the dyes lost, but this needs attention to every individual image.