Size is getting to be a harder and harder question to answer with all of the great options out there.  I do recommend the larger size for the heritage photos.  You are not going to want to crop them and you are going to want to have plenty of room to journal.  As far as your mother's album is concerned, what will she want to do with it?  And how many pictures do you have for it?
If you have lots and you know she's going to leave it out, then go for the large size.  If you have a few pictures or you think she'll want to take it around to show off, then a smaller size would be more appropriate. 

Jenna

 

 

 

 

The best advice I can give you is to have them professionally restored.  Be sure that the restorers make a copy of your pictures before they begin in
case of damage.  If you don't know of a restorer in your area, try calling a local professional photographer for a recommendation.  I hope this helps you.

Jenna


Dear Jenna,
I have a bunch of photos I found in my father's house when he passed away. When we touch them, our hands turn black.  Would like advice on how to
clean them.  To give you more information, hopefully helpful--The pictures' age ranges throughout the 1900s, I believe.  Of course, some are
black-and-white, some color.  Also, some are polaroids.  My father was a heavy smoker of
little cigars.  The dirt on the pictures looks like soot.  Could it be?  The pictures were in the upstairs floor of the house which was closed off from heat.  In other words, they were exposed to all seasonal weather conditions for Ohio. They had been up there for at least 10 to 15 years.  Some were in boxes,
some out in the open, a few in frames.  Any assistance you could give me concerning cleaning these would be appreciated.  I want to get them in albums but was
advised by one local photographer not to even handle them until they were cleaned.  Thank you very much for any answers you may have.

Karen

I think that your local photographer was right. At any rate, it is the conservative thing to do.  As you probably know, two of the worst things for photographs are heat and humidity; your photos were doubtless exposed to
both due to storage conditions.  There are cleaning solutions available - try www.lightimpressionsdirect.com .  But if it were me, and the damage was so severe, I would look into professional cleaning at least to compare the cost.  Even if cleaning them all would be cost prohibitive, you could perhaps have the most important ones done professionally and try the rest
yourself.  HTH

Jenna

 

I think that sepia toned pictures usually don't do as well with black.  I like to use medium and darker greens for ones that are yellower and I have seen really wonderful things done with deep purple and dark mauve for rosier
tones.  In general, a good rule of thumb is that the sharper the contrast in the photo the brighter and clearer your decorations can be.  Another way to
approach it is if you know the color of the clothing in the photo.  Since black and white essentially just changes those colors into shades, sometimes that original color can just pop the picture into the right look.  Are you
trying to double mat this?  Another look you can try, particularly if you find a color you like, but it's just too intense, is to use a mat of vellum between the picture and the matting color.  You can leave the vellum plain,
trim it with fancy scissors, dry emboss it or even rubber stamp it, if you want to.  I hope this gives you some options you had not thought of before.

Jenna




Dear Jenna,
     Is it better to use original photos in a heritage album, or to have color copies made?  I have found many old pictures are on a thick cardboard & don't lay
as nicely on the page as the color copies do.  Also, my mother isn't ready to give up her originals, so I have "acquired" photos with the help of color copies. I am interested to here your opinion on this matter!  Thank you!