Three takes and just as many tokens later, he had the right shot. I came home from work that night and he presented the photos to me as a gift. I wished I could have been there but I was also glad for the time my husband spent with my son. I loved the little photos, even if they weren't the best quality.
Like many memory keepers, I have dozens upon dozens of photos. I chose to file my little gems safely away to document another day. Fast forward to the present. I pulled open my photo file and discovered my little gems again. Only, now they were in pretty rough shape.
I should have scanned the photos right away. The original crisp image would have been preserved. Keep in mind that some items such as plane tickets or receipts may also fade in this manner. Can you imagine if I had added these to my scrapbook album and opened it later to find this? Scan anything that you think might deteriorate. If you are not sure, play it safe. Scan it anyway!
Now it came down to whether or not I could salvage the photos. I scanned them and loaded them into photoshop. The photos were already in black and white. If you try this with color photos, I recommened converting them to black and white first. I experimented with a variety of black and white filters and changed the brightness to help darken the images. You will need to experiment with your particular photos or receipt to find what looks best.
My results are not as crisp as the regular images were originally, but I am pleased I was able to improve the way they looked. They are very grainy but they still capture the moment very well.
Captured in Three Takes by Christy Strickler |Supplies Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper: JBS Mercantile; Letters: Jillibean Soup, Lillybee Designs; Wood Veneer: Studio Calico: Stickers: Echo Park; Ink: Ranger: Stamp: Poulain; Brads: Basic Grey; Flair: Panda Eight Designs; Other: Vellum
I can only imagine what my husband was saying to my son all those years ago as he tried to get just the perfect photo. I arranged the photos in a row as though they came from a traditional photobooth. I used wood shaped men to represent my husband at each shot. Talk bubbles encompass what I imagined him saying to my son. I felt the ticket paper was perfect for a layout about Chuck E Cheese. I used bright papers to help the grainy photos pop out from the layout.
Whether you are a scrapbooker or you are creating pocket pages for Project Life, be sure to scan photos or receipts that might not be printed on high quality paper. You don't want to come back later to find that they have faded.
Supplies
Most items from this layout are from the JBS Mercantile August papercraft kit. Some kits still available while supplies last.
Additional Resources
When a Photo Series is the Best Storytelling Approach- an article at Get It Scrapped
I think you did an awesome job salvaging the photo, Christy! I love how you used the photo booth arrangement, and keeping the photos on a smaller scale helps with the look of the pictures!!
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