The Story Behind the Picture

If you have visited my Esther's Place shop, you undoubtedly have seen samples of my custom photo jewelry and gifts using this photograph. This young woman is my grandmother Anita Carr Talbott (1917-2013).

This photograph is one of my favorites of her and one I use in many of my sample pieces.  But what you don't know is the story behind the photograph.

The photo dates to 1937 and is actually my grandmother's wedding photo. Like many young girls (women) of her time, she did not wear a fancy white wedding dress. She was from a southern Virginian farming family of modest means and that was an expense just not considered. Instead, she wore a nice dress/suit and hat.  Don't you love the hat!  (I really wish hats were back in style.)

My grandmother passed away this past October at the age of 96.  In the months prior to her death, I interviewed her many times about our family history and the stories behind many of the family photographs. She took one look at the above photo and declared, "I never liked that photo of me!".  I was shocked - everyone in the family loves this photograph. Oops.  Sorry, Grandmom!

Okay, Readers, your turn!

What great story have you learned from a family photograph?

Will You Edit My Photograph?

One of the common questions I am asked at Esther's Place is, "Will you edit my photograph?".

 

The answer - I do perform basic edits to a customer's photograph.  I do not perform major edits such as repairing a photograph.

Often I need to crop the photograph to highlight the individual. 

 

I might crop the photograph as a whole.

 

Or I might crop just the person I need to use from the photograph.

 

I will also adjust the exposure of a photograph if needed to create a clearer image to use in various settings.

 

 

If  there is a question of how a photograph will work in a custom order, I will e-mail my customer a sample edit of how their photograph will appear in their chosen setting.

 

As always, if you have a question about a photograph you wish to use, just e-mail at EsthersPlace[at]yahoo.com.

Resources for Preserving Family Photographs

It is no surprise that I love vintage - or should I just say old- photographs. I have quite a collection that covers several family lines.  I also have a number of unidentified photographs. Most of the photographs are loose, not in albums or scrapbooks.  (I am very appreciative of my ancestors who made and saved scrapbooks!)

Unidentified Tintype

So, the question is just how do I protect and store these old photographs?  

I'm no expert in this area.  I'm still a newbie when it comes to preservation of photographs.  I do know how to research, though.  (Google is my friend.)
 
Below I have listed a few of the websites I have found very helpful as I work to preserve my photos. I hope you find them helpful as well.

• How to Preserve Vintage Photographs  - An eHow website on the basics

• The American Museum of Photography - Great resource

• American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works  - Provides a lot of information on preserving photographs of all types.  From their main page you can find information on preserving many different types of family heirlooms.

I confess I find the scope of my personal preservation project overwhelming.  Deciding where to start was  difficult.   I finally just picked one photograph and started there.  Funny, just picking one photograph got me going.

Share your preservation stories.  I'd love to hear and learn from others working to preserve their family photographs.

 
   

Photograph Q & A

I often get questions about the type of photographs I use when creating custom orders for Esther's Place.  This is my attempt to answer your questions about type of photograph, the size of a photograph, etc.

1. How do I get my photographs to you? Simply scan your photograph and e-mail it to me at Lissongenealogy[at]yahoo[dot]com.  That's it.

2. Will you edit the photographs?  I will make only minor edits and/or crops to a photograph as needed to create your item.

3. When ordering the Scrabble Tile Christmas ornaments, can I use the same photograph if it has several people in it? Absolutely. From the photograph below, I created 4 (out of a set of 6)  of the Scrabble Tile Ornaments.

4. What happens if a photograph just will not work for a chosen custom gift item?  I will contact you before I begin creating your gift item of choice if I have concerns your photograph will not work due to size or quality.  Older photographs can be quite variable in their quality, but can also be very "forgiving" when using to create custom items.

5. Do I have to use an "old" photograph? Absolutely not!  All of the custom items in Esther's Place work great with contemporary digital photographs.  Each custom item will look great with a photograph using your children, your grandchildren and even the family pet.

Did I miss your question?  Contact me and I will be happy to help you.