Identifying people in old photos

MelHeis

Sometime ago I remember seeing that a company was working on a program to help identify people in old photos. Does anyone know of such a program, a resource or anything that would help in this effort?

I was given a photo album by a friend and only 2 photos have names. I have the location in Ohio but the photographers, of course, are no longer in business. I have not been able to visit the area as of yet.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

ScottSeegmiller

While not an automated way to accomplish your objective, this article offers many suggestions on how you may be able to proceed.

https://familytreemagazine.com/photos/compare-photo-clues-photo-detective/#:~:text=Trace%20the%20Chain%20of%20Ownership,is%20where%20photo%20identification%20occurs.

FamilySearch has a program called compare a face that others have used successfully.

https://alicechilds.com/using-compare-a-face-to-identify-old-photos/

You may want to do a Google Search like this "familysearch AI for face recognition"

Hope it helps. Come back and share your successes.

MelHeis

Thanks! I will check these out and let you know.

RTorchia

There are a few resources out there to help narrow down the photo date based on clothing, hair and facial hair styles, the photo technology used, items in the background, etc. Here's a few I have bookmarked:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Timeline_of_clothing_and_fashion

https://glcp.uvm.edu/landscape_new/dating/clothing_and_hair/index.php

http://www.photosmadeperfect.com/Photo%20Dating%20Page%20Top%20pg/AA%20Mens%20Fashions%20By%20Decade.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography

But just knowing that studio photography wasn't very common until after the mid-19th C., and the earliest known photographs in America were right around 1840 will make you aware of how many photos are obviously misattributed.

ScottSeegmiller

@MelHeis Did you ever figure out who was in the photo?