I NEED HELP!!!

Just a few weeks ago my family lost my great uncle Joe. My mother found the only know photo of him and my grandmother together were he is in a suit dressed nice.

The issue is that it is a photo, and I want to blow it up to 8*10 for my grandmother..


Is there any trick to do this?

It would mean the world to my grandmother to have a good print of this photo as no one knows that it exists.

Sorry to hear about your loss. There's no trick, and 8x10" isn't large. Just send it to be printed as it is, or if you want you can do a single step resize in Photoshop.

Now if you mean it's a PRINT, then you have to scan it (with a scanner or have a photography shop do it), you might want to tweak it a bit in Photoshop/LR, then print it.

More detail would be useful.

You can also take a picture of it if it's a print. Actually works well.

Years ago, my mother found a photo (~2" x 2.5") of her grandmother in her wedding dress (c. 1905). It was faded and torn. I took it to a local camera shop with a full-service lab. They made a beautiful monochrome 4x6 out of it. I don't remember the cost, but I know it was worth it.

If you can't find something local, PM for name and email of shop owner. He may be able to help you. Not sure I'd mail such a photo, though.

It is a 4*6 photo.. I have a Macro lens and that is what I though about doing is taking a Photo of the Photo so I can mess with it in lightroom and Photoshop

Yeah, give that a shot. Just be careful of reflections. A scanner would probably be better, or any photo shop can copy/enlarge/digitise it for you very easily.

ThomasDidymus wrote in post #17768491
It is a 4*6 photo.. I have a Macro lens and that is what I though about doing is taking a Photo of the Photo so I can mess with it in lightroom and Photoshop

My first choice would be paying a pro that works with old photos to do this for you.

Second choice would be scanning photo.

Third choice would be an app called Heirloom and shooting with iPhone. I've had good success with this, but I'm not sure it is up to the challenge of going from 4x6 to 8x10.

But you have nothing to lose with the macro lens. Try it and see what you can do with it.

Five things are necessary to make a good photographic copy from a print:

1. A good quality original. Enlarging 2x to get an 8x10 will magnify all defects in the original. Post processing might be necessary to clean-up the new image
   
2. The original should be as flat and perpendicular to the camera as possible. If necessary, put a piece of good quality glass over the original to flatten out any curl or bumps.
   
3. A camera mount that allows you to position the camera with the lens precisely centered and perpendicular to the original without casting any shadows from your light source(s).
   
4. Sharp lens, normal to short telephoto focal length, with a reasonably flat field-of-focus. Stop down as needed to ensure good center AND edge focus, but at least two stops.
   
5. Even lighting. Indoors I use two to four (depending on size of the artwork) dayight-balanced LED lights, one or two on each side and at 45-degree angle to the original. You can also do this outdoors on an overcast day, just watch for shadows from your camera and tripod.
   

I would highly recommend using a flatbed scanner for this. If you scan at 600 PPI then you will be able to print the image at 12×8 (if starting from 6×4 print) without doing any resampling in PS, just print it at 300 PPI. Even the scanner built into a basic multifunction printer will do a better job, and with far less effort, than trying to copy using a camera. If you really need t make a 10×8 print, then you will need to crop 2" off the long edge to make it fit the different aspect ratio.

Alan

you've got nothing but time to lose by taking a photo with what you have...so give it a shot...it's not like it'll stop you from having it scanned or done professionally

If you do this, "You can also take a picture of it if it's a print. Actually works well.", do not send the original in. Out of your hands! Never, never.

A scanner and PS is the answer.

There is some pretty good advise already given.
Because the surface of the picture you have has a smooth surface expect reflection issues if you are planning on re-photographing the picture yourself.

Reflection as in Electromagnetic polarized wave, ( glare ).

I would use at ( least a CPL on your lens ).
There is a technic called cross polarization , that is where you place linear polarized film over your soft box or over your strobes or speed light and use a Cpl on your lens.

Cross polarization filters out about 1/3 to half of the light coming from your strobe.

The Book Light science and Magic goes into photographing paintings and pictures and exotic wood furniture with a clear finish .

Key words
Your are trying to photograph a image under a smooth non metallic surface with lighting that casts electromagnetic polarized waves .....

When un polarized lighting is reflected, refracted, and or scattered it becomes polarized.

When polarized light strikes all non metallic smooth surfaces it creates polarized reflection.
AKA ( glare ) .