Restoring a Damaged Photo

Wow, way too long since my last post!  I have been rushing to get client projects done by Christmas and they're done!  Now I'm "off" for the rest of the year.  Whew!

One of my favorite project was this very damaged photo (above).  My client had rolled it up years and years ago and put it into a cardboard tube, thinking that would help keep it safe.  Well, you see the result.  Terrible cracks and bends!

I scanned it, then worked some Photoshop "magic," and here is the end result:

My client was very pleased!  She got 7 prints, one for herself, and 6 to give as gifts.  What a priceless gift for her siblings; the restored portrait of a very special relative.  And when you consider that she spread the cost of this project over SIX gifts, each gift was very reasonable indeed!

I'm hoping to post some new freebies very soon, so check back often!

RESCUED-Precious but Damaged Baby Photo

Here it is again - one very damaged photo:

The repair and restoration process is now finished:Every time I work on a project like this I learn more.

New techniques, more control, a better eye.

A rewarding project for me - the rescue of a precious photo from my client's childhood.

At the two fundraisers I attended recently as a sponsor/vendor I was amazed at how many people, when they saw samples of my work restoring old photos, told me of old, damaged family photos they have at home that they didn't know what to do with, nor had they realized how well their photos could be restored. Talk about excitement! While in the past the bulk of my work has been custom-designed scrapbook layouts, at the moment there's been a big shift toward photo restoration.

So if you've got old and precious photos that are in sad shape, call me! Don't delay because the more time goes by the worse their condition will become. I'll scan them and repair and restore them. I can even add color if you like, or a sepia tint for that gorgeous vintage look. You'll get your originals back, unchanged, plus the restored versions as digital files, AND beautiful prints for your album or your wall.

Just click on the "Contact" button on the right-hand side of this blog and send me an email, or call toll-free anytime (866) 521-DIGI (3444).

Progress on Photo Repair and Restoration

Remember this?

I worked on it more today. It's been quite the challenge. I have been learning some new techniques now that I've upgraded to Photoshop CS3 and so it's been a bit slower than usual. But So. Much. FUN! I live for this stuff.

Here it is after today's work:

It's pretty much done but will leave it to "settle" for a day or two and then look at it again. I'm leaning a little toward thinking the eyes/forehead area may be a little too light....yet at the same time if I consider the highlights in the little girl's bangs, perhaps the lightness of the upper part of the face is due to the type of lighting the photographer used at the time. I'll decide for sure in a couple of days when I look at it again with fresh eyes.

I'm quite happy with the way this is turning out.
I hope my client will be happy, too!

More Photo Repairs - Faded Color and Dust Specks

Before you ask, no, I haven't continued the work on yesterday's black-and-white photo. Working on that photo is intense! There's so much damage, and I have to zoom in and work slowly and carefully, almost pixel by pixel in some areas. I needed a break so I decided to work on some other photos; old faded color photos with minimal damage to repair. Here are two of them.

This first picture is my younger son, Michael, at about 3 years old, so it is from about 1982:
You can see that the color is faded and there's some kind of white stain along Michael's arm, stomach, and leg. He was dirty and muddy from gardening but that still doesn't explain the white! Hard to see here but there are also a lot of dust speckles in the background trees.
This is my result after cleaning up the dust specks, correcting the color, and removing the white stains.

The next photo is Michael again, a couple years later, maybe 1984 or so. There's less damage to this photo, but again the color is faded as is very typical of color photos from that time frame, especially when stored improperly (what can I say, I didn't know any better).

I corrected the color and removed the minimal scratches and spots. I decided to also crop this photo since I don't know the little guy in the background and wanted to clearly focus on Michael. Finally, I slightly blurred the background trees to further bring the focus on Michael and the slide in the foreground.

What do you think?

Oh, by the way, these photos were both scanned from prints. I'm excited to have digital copies now! You can bet I'll be making digital scrapbook layouts with these.

Stay tuned for more photo repair, restoration, and enhancements!

Photo Repair and Restoration Project In Work

At the fundraiser on Saturday I met a number of people interested in having old, damaged photos repaired and restored. Here is the first project I have been working on today; a photo of my client as a little girl. A very precious photo, but it's taken quite the beating over the years:
It's painstaking work, and it's not done yet, but here is the result so far:
Better! Still have a ways to go, though, most of the work left to do is on the right side of the photo. It's so rewarding seeing this photo come back to life! I'll be working more on the contrast and tone of the photo as well as finishing the repair where cracks and tape residue have done their damage.

The restoration continues tomorrow. I'll post another version after I've made more progress.