Genealogy Chat

I am hoping to visit a few of my mum's cousins in the coming month in order to copy some photos. I am not sure if they all have computers/scanners so I am not sure how to go about this if they are unwilling to lend them out. Would the only possible way of doing this be to go with them with the photos to a photography shop such as Snappy Snaps or Boots or is there another way around solving this problem? Any suggestions please. thanks, Louise.

well, if they know you are going to look at photos and are unwilling to lend and dont have the means to reproduce them , you aren't going to get copies, are you? sorry dont mean that to sound rude jess

Have you already mentioned it to them? The best thing would be to explain in advance that you'd like to copy them & ask if you can borrow the photos. Tell them you will be really careful with them & will return them immediately & hopefully they won't mind. I have borrowed photos from some of my older relatives & none of them have minded. Good luck, Carole

Hi, I have a digital camera and find that I can get quite good results by taking a photo of a photo. It may be worth taking your camera and setting it on the highest quality.

Hi Carole, No I haven't mentioned it to them yet as I am quite nervous about asking, I haven't seen them for quite a while a feel a bit cheeky asking. Thanks for letting me know of your sucess, it gives me a little hope they might let me borrow them. Hi Helen, I had thought of that but thought I probably wouldn't get very good copies. But I will take it anyhow, and try my luck. I just wanted to find out my options before phoning them. It might turn out that they are very keen or have a scanner in which case there wouldn't be a problem. Thanks for your help Helen and Carole. Louise :-)

I have a digital camera that has got a setting for taking images of photo's, alternatively, my printer will scan negatives and print the finished photo or save it on my pc, check to see if yours will do this, and then ask if they have the negatives? and could you borrow them. Roy

Hi Roy, I didn't know you could do that! I have a Dell three in one printer/scanner/photocopier. I don't suppose that would be up for the job but maybe Boots or Snappy Snaps can do that for me. Anyhow, thanks for your help. Louise :-)

I'd put my laptop and scanner in the car, leave it there to start with, and, if they're willing, set it up and scan them there and then. I have had several meetings with 2nd and 3rd cousins over time, and have managed to gain quite a few photos I wouldn't otherwise have got - but take it easy, don't arrive 'mob handed' and unpack a bootful of equipment!!!!!!! I usually find that a 'swop' of photo's works better than just a borrow - do you have any others you could do prints of that might be of interest to them? Regards Looby

Thanks Looby and Rosemary for your suggestions, I am now more hopeful that I will be able to get copies with a bit of careful planning. Much appreciated. Louise :-))

I have photographed a lot of old photos using my digital on the finest setting, and with a bit of enhancement after they've been downloaded into my computer I find the results are usually better than the original. Using a tripod rather than hand-holding the camera improves quality tremendously. Don't use flash, particularly on glossy photos, as this produces a reflection. David

Hi David, I'm wondering if my camera will be up to scratch but after many of you suggesting this I am definitely going to give it a try. I might practise with a few of my old photos myself. Many thanks, Louise

Hi Yvonne, I will see if I can pick up a cheap one. Thanks for letting me know of your sucess. I have only had my digital camera for about five months and it isn't top of the range (Canon with 4.0 megapixels) so but i will take a look inside the instructions to see what it says. I'm really suprised to hear that so many have had sucess doing this so I am glad I put this thread up as I thought trying to take photos of the photos was a bit of a daft idea when I thought of it. Louise :-))

Hi Louise, I can understand them not wanting to let precious photos out of their hands but photos are such an important part of this research. They add substance to all the printed words. Ask them, nicely, to get the photos copied and you will reimburse them the cost. Kathlyn

I think your digital will be well up to the job! Get plenty of practise before your visits, - you may need to use the close focus setting - often denoted by a flower. And take spare batteries with you - they may have lots you want to copy! Good luck.

I recently went to Ireland and so couldn't borrow photos-I took my trusty digital with me and took the photos into good light--so no flash reflection, and photoed them, then I took my chip to asda edited the photos and hey presto i have photos of my ancestors!! You can get a resonbly cheap digital camera for £20 quid, it does the job, just buy a memory chip to go with it so you can take lots of photos! You can look at each one in turn and snap away until you get a relatively good photo Carol

Thanks for all your advice everyone. I have bought some rechargeable batteries so will make sure they are fully charged and take a spare set as well. Cheers, Louise