Photograph Basics: Preservation and Care

Do not touch the surface of a photograph with your bare hands. Even if you wash your hands, they still generate oils. Your fingerprints will eventually eat away at the surface of a photograph and damage the image.

Keep away from light. Light will fade a photograph, and the heat generated will from the light source will accelerate the deterioration of the image.

Keep dirt and dust away from photographs. Dirt and dust contain chemicals that can react to the materials in a photograph. Mitigate this by storing materials in archival enclosures.

Do not store photographs in humid and hot conditions. Attics and basements should be avoided if possible.

• Fluctuations in temperature and humidity causes instability in the chemicals that make up a photograph. The chemical process that made the photograph can be reinitiated when there are fluctuations and can damage or destroy a photograph.

Contain photographs in acid free/lignin free materials. If you put a photograph next to acidic materials like newsprint the acid in the paper will stain or otherwise react to the photograph causing irreversible damage.

• Fun fact: Did you know that acid free paper can reacidify if there is lignin in the paper? Look for lignin free when storing archival materials.

Identify your photographs if you want them to be useful in the future. If nobody knows what Great Aunt Tilly looks like but you, once you are not around, she might end up at a flea market or worse.