Photographers- enhance inscriptions on Tombstones?

Question

Any photo editing tricks to make inscriptions more readable on tombstones.  I mess with contrast and sharpness, brightness, color.  Any other tricks?

Answer 1

Technically It depends and starts with the original photo. A raw file versus a low bit compressed jpeg file changes the kinds of software tools to employ. A combination of magnification, hue, saturation, contrast edge enhancement etc etc usually helps. Using these software techniques at extreme settings and in combinations sometimes works. Magnifying or viewing the images to the pixel level along with the software adjustments you've listed can provide the histogram data, (visual) to suggest edges. 

The most difficult images are those that are underexposed. I use Adobe Photoshop. 

There are some good tips at this reference: https://ask.metafilter.com/142268/Photo-enhancement-for-old-tombstones     

Answer 2

yeah...what Jerry said :)

typically, the problem is that many, if not most, tombstone photos are very poor quality and low resolution (probably taken with someone's old phone, or other poor quality camera. If the pixels aren't there, there's really nothing that can be done. Its not like in the movies when they zoom in to read the license plate from a satellite image -- it just can't be done.

Comments

I take the photos myself and I have a good camera. But some old headstones are hard to read even in person

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that's true that they can be hard to read, even in person.

In those cases, you need good lighting tricks like Pip suggests. You may have to experiment, as the stone color and engraving depth can vary greatly and effect the contrast.

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I take a lot of cemetery photos myself and will usually use Lightroom for post-work usually to increase contrast. With difficult to read ones I have found the de-haze tool and clarit tool help bring up the lettering so I can read it well enough to transcribe. The most difficult ones are those headstones so worn (the ones used as flagstones in churches which people walk over nearly everyday for example) that there are no depressions deep enough to bring out. I have parked quite a few for later review where only a word or two or letters were discernible.

Answer 3

This is not a photo editing technique but... One of the best ways to enhance the inscription is to shine a strong light from the side. This will “shadow” the inscription. This works best if the sun is not shining directly on the front of the stone. A stand with a couple of mag lights works best so you’re not having to do two things at once. You’d be surprised at what will show with this method.

Comments

I like this :)

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Wow, I will have to try that.  I had heard that you can use paper and pencil and try to scratch the image onto the paper.

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I agree with side-lighting. Light-based methods will not damage the stone, and will not even be suspected of doing so.

Unfortunately, not all lights are created equal. To have the most flexibility to take photos in various light conditions, you need a very strong light such as provided by a photo flash unit.

If you search for "off-camera flash tombstones" you will find examples and instructions on this technique. Here is a before-and-after example:

These two photos were taken of the same stone, the same day, with the same camera.

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Now that’s the best example I’ve seen. Nice work, Jamie!

Answer 4

Golden rules: 1) The original must be the best quality you can manage with the camera you have. Ergo, you need light. Take shots on bright days. Wait for the light to shine on the headstone. Is morning or afternoon the best time?

2) The better the resolution, the more chance you'll be able to make out details like engravings. Pixels alone don't determine resolution. Most cameras promise a lot of pixels. But a dpi of 72 is insufficient. 300 dpi is pretty good.

3) Once you have a picture with good light and good resolution, if you still can't read the inscription you can fiddle with contrast using freeware. But Photoshop has many more tools. Find someone to show you basic tools, cause it's complicated. Note that Photoshop elements is sufficient and much cheaper.

4) When uploading the picture is compressed but if you've done everything right it should look good.

Answer 5

If you are going to take the picture yourself - on a sunny day - carry a spray bottle with just WATER -in it.  Spray the stone, wait until the face starts to dry.  Usually that water in the inscription will darken the contrast  in the carving and you get better results.

Cemeteries can be strict about grave rubbings, and people chalking up the stones, which can damage more fragile stones, but usually spraying just water is ok.

Answer 6

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33059891

another way to try to enhance the writing on an old headstone is to get extremely thin aluminum foil and wrap the front part of the stone. The thinnest aluminum foil you can find the better.  I found a stone at Find-A-Grave where there is an example of the original stone, and what the aluminum foil shows up.

I hope that this helps you.

God Bless.

Comments

The writing  with the foil brings up the lettering. I think the thinnest foil ever is Dollar tree I purchased it in a pinch one time , I think I still have it somewhere. Again nice job.

Answer 7

In Regard to capturing the image yourself : I really like these references:

https://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/64_gravestones.html

http://mycanvasblog.com/tombstone-photography-guidelines/

There are many other good sources .. 

C'est Bonne Magnifique !