If the relationship you are illustrating started before smartphones, most of your material is prints in a box — faded, creased, and possibly stuck to the inside of an album sleeve.
This is a better starting point than it appears.
Why damage matters less here
Enlarging or reprinting an old photo exposes every flaw; the damage is the output. An illustration is not a reproduction — it is a new drawing that takes information from the source.
So a crease across a photograph does not become a crease in the page. Colour that has shifted orange over thirty years does not make the page orange. What matters is whether the photo still contains the information you need: roughly what the place looked like, roughly what was happening, who was there.
Most damaged photos still contain all of that.
Where it does matter
One exception: the reference photos that determine likeness.
If the only photo of someone's face is faded, scratched across the features, or so small the face is a few dozen pixels, the character will be a weaker likeness. Damage that removes facial information cannot be recovered by illustration — there is nothing to work from.
Practical approach: use the clearest available face photo for reference, even if it is from a different year or a different occasion than the story. The reference photo does not have to come from a moment in the book. It only has to show the face clearly.
Photographing a print properly
Most people photograph old prints badly, then conclude the photo is unusable. A few things help a great deal:
- Daylight, indirect. Near a window, not in direct sun. Never use flash — it blows out the middle of a glossy print.
- Directly above, parallel. Photograph straight down, not at an angle. Angled shots distort faces.
- Take the print out of the sleeve. Plastic adds glare that looks like damage.
- Fill the frame. Get close enough that the print fills most of the picture rather than sitting small in the middle of a table.
- Flatten it if you safely can. A gentle press under a book for an hour helps with curl. Do not force a brittle print.
A phone photo taken this way is usually as useful as a scan.
Choosing between several bad options
If you have three poor photos of the same moment, pick on this order:
- Faces visible and in focus — beats everything else
- The most specific background — a room you can identify beats a plain wall
- Colour or damage — matters least
You are picking for information, not for how the photo looks.
What to do with photos of people who have died
This comes up often with long relationships, and it deserves a straight answer.
Old photos are frequently the only images of a parent, a grandparent, or a friend who was part of the story. They can appear in a book the same as anyone else, and for many people that is the reason for making one.
The same rule applies: the clearest available photo of the face gives the best likeness. If the only photo is poor, the character will be an approximation — worth knowing in advance when the page matters that much.
Technical notes
Whatever the source, what you upload should be a clear JPEG or PNG, up to 12 MB. A phone photo of a print is fine. A flatbed scan is slightly better but rarely worth the extra effort unless you are scanning many at once.
Where to start
Sort the box into two piles: faces and moments. From the faces pile, pick the single clearest photo of each person — that is your reference. From the moments pile, pick the ten to twenty you would be sad to leave out, regardless of condition.
Then start your book, or see choosing photos for the wider selection question.
FAQ
Will creases and fading show up in the illustration?
No. The illustration is a new drawing rather than a reproduction, so damage in the source does not carry into the page. What matters is whether the photo still shows what happened and who was there.
What if the only photo of someone's face is damaged?
Use the clearest face photo you have, even from a different year or occasion — the reference photo does not need to come from a moment in the book. Damage that removes facial detail does limit likeness.
Should I scan prints or photograph them?
A phone photo taken in indirect daylight, straight down, with the print out of its sleeve, is usually enough. Scanning is marginally better and worth it only for large batches.
Can I include people who have died?
Yes — old photos are often the only images of people who were part of the story, and they can appear like anyone else. The clearest available face photo gives the best likeness.
Does resolution matter?
Less than clarity. A small but sharp photo beats a large blurry one. Upload a clear JPEG or PNG up to 12 MB.