Featured My Daguerreotype before and after!

Wow! Congratulations.

When I see these at estate auctions in not the best condition I will have to consider this option before I write them off as too far gone.

 

AGAIN!!!! A GORGEOUS job from them!!!!! Thanks Fig for showing us too!!

 

OK, @spartcom5 AND @Figtree3, HELP!!!! HOW did you get your Dags photographed without any camera reflection, both before and after?????? I want records both before and after too.....and trying to get images before I contact them is driving me CRAZY!!!!!! Unless you're both using a light box/tent???? Thanks!!!!!

 

Hi, @Aquitaine . Actually, those particular images were sent to me by the people who cleaned my daguerreotype. I've never mastered the art of it, but there are some tips available out there related to using light coming from angles, etc. Another thing I've tried is wearing completely black clothing and propping the dag up on a pillow and lying on the bed on my stomach, facing the image. That sort of worked.

If you happen to have certain EPSON brand scanners, I understand that those are better for getting scans of cased images than many other scanners are. There is a way that the depth can be set to get the scan. I recently started using an EPSON scanner but haven't tried scanning a cased image yet.

I've also tried not using the flash, and making sure there is no glare on the glass by putting something to block the light. Attached is an early photo I took in 2014 when I first started to try to photograph these. I haven't tried lately. You can see this isn't very clear and is still affected by light. But it's visible. I believe that this one was taken by the method I just described.

 

Here is a page that talks about using a black sheet of foam core to block the reflections. I've heard of this method, never tried it.
https://library.brown.edu/dps/curio/digitizing-the-mirror-with-a-memory/

Oh, and I found that I did take some pictures of the dag before cleaning. This was one of the better images, taken with a digital camera. But I'm sure that a phone would work, too.

 

Hi @Figtree3 back! Thanks for the ideas! I was able to photograph one little poor one and it came out pretty decent.....but good to know that THEY do a before and after!!!! I have scraps of notes that I want to copy WITH a couple so I remember WHICH ones they go with, my reason for doing it myself!!! I now (recently!) have an EPSON XP-1700 (I don't think it's a fancy one!) that I will try scanning one with...can't hurt too much.....the ones I hope to have restored are pretty bad! Thanks again for the ideas!!

 

I had remembered they did an "after" picture but forgot about the "before." Still, I found it in my files, and I know that I wouldn't have gotten one that good. So it has to have been them!

 

Yes! Finedags.com did a stellar job! In total the restoration was $151 and imo was worth it. This dag was in a state where I didnt feel comfortable attempting it myself and I'm glad with the way it turned out. I'm still stunned that they preserved the applied gold while removing the rings of tarnish!

 

Aside from mirrors the worst things I have found is anything in a Victorian frame, the old rippled glass is lovely but it's mega reflective and picks up everything it's facing, It's really difficult to get good photos.