Copying old portraits

[kndreyn]

We have some old portraits of ancestors we would like to copy to share with our family. I'm looking for suggestions on the best way to copy these. The pictures vary in size, but they're around 18" x 24". One person said they could scan them in sections and stitch them together. I could probably do that myself, but I'm worried about damage that might occur during the scanning process. My local camera shop rep. said I could do a good job on them by just taking a digital picture of them with my camera and make the copies from that. Has anyone here done this before? And if so, what kind of success did you have? Suggestions or tips from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

[PhotosGuy]

I've copied matted 16X20" prints with good results. You need 2 lights, set at about a 45 degree angle to the print. Pic below. Use a longer focal length lens to minimise distortion, rather than a wide angle. Try to get the cam at about the center of the pic so it's not pointed up or down. The hanging black cloth & the cardboard on the lens is black on the side facing the print to minimise reflections from the cam & tripod. Shoot RAW so you can make fine adjustments after.

Hint: Some old B&W prints have a yellow color cast. If you shoot a close-up of the yellow cast & set a custom WB, it will remove that yellow & since black IS black (no color at all), the print should come out without needing a lot of PS work. Good luck!

[kndreyn]

Thanks Photosguy. I'm really looking forward to this little project. Your help is much appreciated.

Best,
Keith