Many people and families have treasured objects passed down by previous generations of their family, often with high sentimental value, that they want to make a photographic record of. Reasons for doing this include making a record of something that is degrading over time to preserve the memory, making prints for display or sharing, adding to a family history or genealogy project, to share with other family members and also for insurance record purposes.

Recover lost detail in inscriptions & engraving

Quite often, inscriptions and engravings on things like watches, jewelery, coins, commemorative plates, cups and medals get worn and become hard to see or read, or are very small making them difficult to see. Often, it is possible with the right lighting and lenses to bring this detail out in a photograph and bring that detail of history back to life.

Record documents or artwork that are too large or unsuitable for scanning

Some old documents are bound into books or too large for scanning. Similarly, artwork can be too large or thick to be scanned, or it may be in a frame that you want to be in the photo, or may need proper lighting to get the full impression of texture or depth that scanning can make look flat. Using the right equipment and lighting ensures fully "square" images with all straight lines being straight, even exposure over the entire document/artwork and no distracting reflections or flares.

Blemish removal and virtual restoration - editing photographs to depict the object before it aged

Sometimes ageing objects have already started fading or degrading and it may be possible to edit a digital image to remove damage or restore colours to depict what the object looked like before it aged, a sort of virtual restoration.