Computers and Genealogy: a fruitful combination.

Part 4. Image Editing and Cataloging Programs and Genealogy

(Continued, Part 3)

As you collect more and more data about your family you will also collect more and more documents, old photos, on-line images, etc. The obvious questions then become – What to do with all of these images? How do you file them? How do you name them? How do you fix problems that may occur with older photos (color fading, scratches, tears, etc.)? In this article I will attempt to answer, in general terms, the above questions in order to give you a starting point in developing your own image cataloging/fixing scheme.

The very first thing I would like to say is “SCAN EVERYTHING”!! Every piece of paper that I use for my genealogical work gets scanned and the resulting image file stored on my computer. This includes photos, documents, and (I must admit this one may be over the top a bit) even database entries on Ancestry.com, RootsWeb, and other on-line sources. My reasoning is simple – I want to make at least one back-up copy of everything that I have found regardless if it is a photo, passport, birth certificate, or on-line information. The easiest way is to make a digital image of the information in question and then store it on your hard drive. As an additional benefit, if you routinely backup your computer’s files (and you know YOU SHOULD!!) then you will also be making additional copies of your genealogy data.

I realize that some of you may not have a scanner attached to your computer. The prices of desktop scanners have fallen considerably over the past several years, and purchasing one that is more than adequate for the job should not be too expensive. Right now you can purchase a pretty good scanner on Amazon.com for about $100USD. If you do decide to purchase a scanner, make sure that it will scan in color and that it has a scanning resolution of at least 300dpi and have a color depth of at least 24 bits. Also, I would recommend getting a scanner that has as large a scanning area as possible. Those of us who live in the United Sates are used to dealing with 8.5x11 inch paper (standard US Letterhead) - don’t forget, however, that most of the copies you get from the Polish archives and most other European documents in general may very well be on A4 paper which is slightly larger. If you cannot see your way clear to purchase a scanner give some thought to using your digital camera to make copies of your documents and photos. Although not as convenient as a scanner, a camera can be a life saver when you are away from home doing research in a library or visiting a remote location.

When you save your scanned images please remember to save them in TIF format, especially scans of photos that you intend on editing later. I make it a habit to save my original scans into a folder reserved for them and any then save any edited images into a different folder. This allows me to keep the unedited originals for future use.

OK, now that you have your genealogy documents digitized, the next question is “How do I catalog them?” Getting all your certificates, photos, and other documents digitized is great – but if you can’t locate a specific file later when you need it then it would seem like a lot of good work wasted. What you need is a way to identify and locate a particular image quickly and easily.

There are various methods that you can use to catalog your images. One of the easiest and cheapest is simply to set up a folder and store your images inside it; you can use the file names to help you identify the contents of the image. This method would work well for a relatively small number of files, but will quickly become unmanageable as the number of files (and therefore unique names!) increases.

Another approach is to use an “image cataloging” program. This is the method that I personally prefer and have been using for at least the past five years. There are several good such programs available with the most popular being Adobe Photoshop Elements (the Organizer), Picasa (free software from Google), and ACDC Photo Manager. I’m sure there are many others available but these three are the ones that I have tried and would recommend. All of them offer the ability to add keywords and “tags” to your images to help you organize them. They also offer the use of “thumbnails” within the program to make it easier to see what each image is without loading the original.

I personally use Photoshop Elements (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/) and have been very pleased with it. Although not free (as is Picasa) it is very easy to use and, as a bonus, also gives you what is arguably the most powerful image editing program available. Its Organizer functions are easy to use and well thought out. It can easily handle thousands of files and images without problems (I myself have more than 10,000 images catalogued) and is very quick.

If you want to save some money and not purchase a program then Picasa from Google is the way to go. Its photo organizing features are probably just as good as any other program available and it offers some basic editing features. Google has just released a new version of the program and, although I have not tried it, it looks very interesting. Go to http://picasa.google.com/ to take a look at it.

ACDC photo software is also very well respected. Their Photo Manager is a stand-alone program that offers everything that is needed to catalogue and share your photos. Although the Photo Manager program does not offer any editing capabilities, the company offers a bundle deal with their Photo Editor program that makes it very competitive with Photoshop Elements. You can get more information on the ACDC programs here http://www.acdsee.com/.

Once you have set up a filing system for your images then it is time to decide on which image editing program to use. In addition to those programs already mentioned, there are numerous other ones to choose from. Some of the more popular commercial ones are: Paint Shop Pro X2 (www.corel.com); Serif PhotoPlus X2 (www.serif.com); and PhotoImpact X3 (www.corel.com). Some free packages are: GIMP (www.gimp.org); PhotoFiltre (http://photofiltre.free.fr/frames_en.htm); and paint.net (http://www.getpaint.net/). All of the above programs are more than capable of meeting most people’s needs when editing images for genealogical purposes.

Once you have decided on which editing program to use you then need to PRACTICE with it!! Take a few image files of various subjects and PLAY with the program. Open the image and practice changing the contrast, sharpness, and colors. Most of the programs support the use of “layers” when editing images. This is a powerful tool that allows you to modify how the image looks without changing the image itself. Sort of like drawing on the layers of an onion with the original image at the bottom.

Another technique that you should familiarize yourself with is photo restoration. Since we are genealogists we will probably have more old photographs and documents than most people. The older photos tend to discolor and fade with time. Same thing is true for old documents such as newspaper clippings and certificates. Becoming proficient in the various techniques used to restore the appearance of them will enable you to make them look almost new and preserve them for future generations. A book that I have found especially helpful in explaining the different problems encountered in photo restoration and the methods used to correct them is “Digital Restoration from Start to Finish” by Ctein. The book is loaded with example pictures (before and after) and the author explains everything in a step-by-step manner that is easy to follow.

I myself have settled on Photoshop Elements for both my cataloging and editing needs. I find the program easy and intuitive to use and more than powerful enough to handle the editing situations that I normally find myself attempting. Another thing I like about the program is that it is based on Adobe Photoshop. Because of this, I find that most of the information and resources that are available for Photoshop is also applicable to Photoshop Elements.

As with other computer programs, you need to tryout several of them and then decide on which one you feel best suits your needs. Just as the choice of a genealogy program is personal, you need to feel at ease with whatever image editing program you use.

January 10, 2009

Part 5: Backing Up your Files

Author: Bob Janice

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