History Happened in Colour

Article and all photo restorations by Craig Goodall, Creative Services Manager

When an individual lives with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia and memory loss, their memories are a vital link to who they are, who they love, and who influenced and affected their lives.

As we get older, our past history, especially the fonder memories, can be replayed in our mind’s eye. However, the recollection of the reality of those events can be tainted by factors such as time or medical conditions.

Unfortunately, conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia can not only damage past memories, but they can also affect the individual’s perception of current events or their environment.

Before photo restoration

After photo restoration

Keeping the Past Real

Photographs are arguably the most important visual link to our memories and can be vital in keeping our past alive. When our memories fail, a photo can repaint the reality, emotion and historical context of a life in the past – they can help a person retain a grasp of reality, even within their present environment.

Badly damaged black and white photos of family members, friends or historical events can result in a limited recall of the person or event.

If such photos are used to assist people with remembering their past, for example with reminiscence therapy, they will most likely not have the same impact as a realistically restored photo can provide. This is due to the fact that history happened in colour – a reality which carefully restored photos can deliver.

Highly realistic photo restoration is a new process which is available to help an individual remember key elements of a memory including textures and colours.

Most importantly for those involved in the care and support of adults with conditions such as memory loss, it can provide an opportunity for improved reminiscence therapy and a tangible link between their past and present lives.

Photo Restoration

You may have seen a poorly restored photo, where obviously ill-fitting or misaligned textured blocks of colour have been overlaid on top of the original black and white photo. Ideally, the goal of high-quality photo restoration is to add realistic elements back into a damaged or greyscale photo, restoring it to a place where it becomes real again and reminiscent of the actual event or person it captures.

The extent to which the restoration work is unnoticeable – and the onlooker is unaware that the photo has in fact been restored – is potentially going to assist in productive therapy sessions. We can often notice if something visual is fake and it might mean that we are no longer interested in the item or situation. Think of a movie you might have been engrossed in watching and then a badly created special effect appears on the screen… Suddenly the viewer is disconnected from the world they were so invested in and they lose their connection with the story.

Before photo restoration

After photo restoration

The Process

Creating a realistic photo restoration is time-consuming. Gone are the days of employing traditional painting techniques on top of a damaged photo, with software programs such as Adobe Photoshop now the norm for any colourisation or repair work. Any photo can be scanned or photographed and digitally opened in restoration software.

Internet research should be conducted into the colours that could have existed in the original scene. Is information about the clothing still available in order to confirm the colours? What about the textures? A photo may be so damaged that a ‘guestimate’ must be employed to create the missing elements, such as the dog’s head in the family portrait featured in this article. Skin textures have to be considered.

When the portrait of the young woman featured in this article was restored, the original photo was damaged and no skin texture information was available. In order to incorporate this important element, skin textures can be scanned from an alternative source and digitally manipulated to make the subject’s skin texture look realistic.

Before photo restoration

After photo restoration

For a high-quality restoration, digital painting skills are also required and, with close attention to detail, a good result can be achieved.

Correct use of lighting and transparency also increases realism within photo restoration. As an example, the restoration of the black and white photo of the bride and her sister included here was enhanced by adding transparency to the bride’s veil, so the light and green leaves can be seen behind the lace material.

A person’s memory is a vital element of who they are, and anything hindering the realism of their memories can increase the sense of loss.

Reminiscence therapy can help carers and those working in the care industry to tap into a discussion with the person they are supporting, thus improving their understanding of who the person was and who they are now.

Restored photos can play a very productive and powerful part in this type of therapy and deliver benefits for the person with memory loss and those who are supporting and caring for them.