Self-Publishing Top Tip #1
For the self-published, non-fiction, military author it is often hard to find royalty free photographs for approved use in books. Permissions can be sought from photograph owners. However, it can be very difficult to find the real owner of the image. The IWM and TNA both charge publishers to reproduce their images in commercial publications.
For the self-published, non-fiction, military author it is often hard to find royalty free photographs for approved use in books. Permissions can be sought from photograph owners. However, it can be very difficult to find the real owner of the image. The IWM and TNA both charge publishers to reproduce their images in commercial publications.
All is not lost. Its relatively easy to search out people selling original old negatives. They may have found them in attics, sheds, lofts etc. Very often the owner doesn't have the know how, or even the inclination to develop them. We have an archive of hundreds of negatives which we either discovered on eBay or at car boot fairs and junk shops. Many of our negatives are circa World War Two. If you look hard enough you will find them and it is possible to build up quite a collection.
Very often these negative's are large in size or even reproduced on glass plate. They can be extremely delicate. Vintage negatives are also something you do not want to give to your local Boot's or any other generic photograph developer. A specialist photographic developer may also be expensive. Below we have reproduced the method we use to transform a great negative into a fantastic photograph. Enjoy!
Very often these negative's are large in size or even reproduced on glass plate. They can be extremely delicate. Vintage negatives are also something you do not want to give to your local Boot's or any other generic photograph developer. A specialist photographic developer may also be expensive. Below we have reproduced the method we use to transform a great negative into a fantastic photograph. Enjoy!
Negative Before & After
How to reveal the real picture hidden in your negative:
Step 1
Place your negative over a light box or if you don't have one, tape it to a window pane in a bright room. Another tried and tested method is to place a clear piece of glass or Perspex over the top of a lamp shade. Place the negative on the glass/Perspex and take a photograph from above. (Avoid looking directly into the source of light)
Place your negative over a light box or if you don't have one, tape it to a window pane in a bright room. Another tried and tested method is to place a clear piece of glass or Perspex over the top of a lamp shade. Place the negative on the glass/Perspex and take a photograph from above. (Avoid looking directly into the source of light)
Step 2
With a steady hand, take a photograph of your negative using a digital camera or camera phone. We always use an iPhone for this purpose as it has an invert function and the ability to send the photograph to a computer or iPad/tablet. Do not leave the negative on the light source for too long as it will damage the negative. Don't worry about any rough edges on the negative, as these can be cropped from the image at a later date. Do avoid holding the negative directly with you fingers tips. Skin oils can degrade the negative. We wear surgical gloves for this purpose.
With a steady hand, take a photograph of your negative using a digital camera or camera phone. We always use an iPhone for this purpose as it has an invert function and the ability to send the photograph to a computer or iPad/tablet. Do not leave the negative on the light source for too long as it will damage the negative. Don't worry about any rough edges on the negative, as these can be cropped from the image at a later date. Do avoid holding the negative directly with you fingers tips. Skin oils can degrade the negative. We wear surgical gloves for this purpose.
Step 3
Upload the photograph of your negative to a Photoshop application. All Photoshop applications have an invert function somewhere in their drop down menus. In this example we are using Photoshop 6. By uploading the image to Photoshop on your computer or iPad/tablet its possible to follow the Photoshop screen capture on the right. You can invert the negative into a visible photograph by clicking the invert tab.
If you have taken the photograph on your iPhone you can go to Settings-General-Accessibility-Invert Colours. Then go back to your iPhone pictures and find the photograph of your negative. It will now be a fantastic visible photograph. However, the iPhone method does not allow you to save the inverted photograph as a visible non negative image on your iPhone. You can only view it.
Upload the photograph of your negative to a Photoshop application. All Photoshop applications have an invert function somewhere in their drop down menus. In this example we are using Photoshop 6. By uploading the image to Photoshop on your computer or iPad/tablet its possible to follow the Photoshop screen capture on the right. You can invert the negative into a visible photograph by clicking the invert tab.
If you have taken the photograph on your iPhone you can go to Settings-General-Accessibility-Invert Colours. Then go back to your iPhone pictures and find the photograph of your negative. It will now be a fantastic visible photograph. However, the iPhone method does not allow you to save the inverted photograph as a visible non negative image on your iPhone. You can only view it.
Step 4
Once your image has been inverted in Photoshop you then save it as a Jpeg and crop/resize as required. The final image quality will depend on your camera image size setting. We always save our photographs from Photoshop as a Jpeg at 96dpi which is ideal for both eBook and paperback publishing.
Once your image has been inverted in Photoshop you then save it as a Jpeg and crop/resize as required. The final image quality will depend on your camera image size setting. We always save our photographs from Photoshop as a Jpeg at 96dpi which is ideal for both eBook and paperback publishing.
Step 5
As long as you own the original negatives, this is a great way to obtain royalty free images for your self-published books and eBooks. A big thank you to Mike @stockotrader for the inspiration!
Keep following for more great self-publishing top tips. :)
As long as you own the original negatives, this is a great way to obtain royalty free images for your self-published books and eBooks. A big thank you to Mike @stockotrader for the inspiration!
Keep following for more great self-publishing top tips. :)