Photo Restoration Blog

Archive for the ‘photo restoration’ Category

A photo restoration is always a pleasure especially when its of someone famous and when its appreciated with a few kinds words. Photo restorations that mean something to me and to the customer, hit that much more of a note, they pull the heart strings.

Sir Norman Wisdom Photo Restoration

“A wonderful service and a wonderful restoration job done on a very old nearly ruined photo. Many, Many thanks”

I watched Norman Wisdom on telly with my dad when i was young and this is how i remember him from his films in the late 50′s. Funny, always smiling and full of energy, what a great man he was. Thanks Norman! This is my payback to you for all your efforts, your picture restoration.

Photo restoration involves all kinds of techniques. I am not big on replacing backgrounds but sometimes its needed. An example would be an old photo taken inside a house. The wallpaper on the wall is all but obscured by damage. How do you go about repairing the repeat pattern?

As with any photo restoration there are many ways to go about the problem. You could try to restore one of the patterns on the wallpaper and try clone it over the wall to make the pattern repeat. It might be that its so damaged you need to replace the paper all together.

Heres how.

This technique can be used with any shapes or patterns or texture to make a wallpaper.

1- Make a new image with 500 x 500 pixels

2- For this example ill use a preset brush. Select the brush tool from the Photoshop tools pallet.

Selecting a preset brush

Choose one, a leaf will do.

Now select the tiny paint pot to the right of the size slider on top of the preset brush pallet and you will see a whole new set of controls. These control the shape dynamics of the brush. I wont go into these in too much detail but you can just copy the settings from the next screen grab. Dynamics allow you to change the way the shapes are thrown down on the page, the angle, colour, randomness, pressure, spacing, a whole bunch of things. You probably never thought you would even use these controls in photo restoration did you?

selecting some settings from the brush dynamics palette

Once selected choose two colours to paint with and paint on the canvas a few times. You could just as easily skip this step and use an image for the middle of the design.

Then select Filter/ Other/ Offset from the filter drop down menu. Select +250 on both sliders and tick the check box wrap around.

The reason for this is we can add another pattern in the center to create a convincing repeating wallpaper. Paint in the middle with some other colours, or you could paste an image in the middle.

Now create a new canvas say 4000 x 3000 Now from the top menus select Edit – Define Pattern, save as pattern name you prefer. Then Edit / fill / pattern and select your pattern and fill your background or new image with that pattern

Once you have as much of a repeated wall paper as you like make sure the layer is selected. From the top drop down menus select Edit/Transform. from here you can Warp, scale, Skew and add Perspective to the image you have created.

Using your imagination and textures from the photo or perhaps even wall paper samples found on the net, you could produce a very convincing wallpaper to replace the existing one in your photo restoration.

Thanks to you all for making 2010 a great photo restoration year and heres looking forward to another challenge packed 2011!

During the last year we have noticed many more photo restoration companies coming on line and the competition is stiffer than ever. With your help we will continue to strive and push forward.

During the past year we have restored some interesting photos, from record attempts in aviation and cycling, historic moments from the Titanic and we have been on TV and on going negotiations for the restoration of some historic war photos.

I personally have some advice for those of you visiting the blog for the first time.  Are wondering how to assess this company as someone who can help restore your photos?

When choosing your restoration company, do the have a land line phone number?, do they only list a mobile or not a all but hide behind a “contact us” web form? No email address is visible? Why is that?

Can you contact your photo restoration company?

If the company is working full time in photo restoration why would they use a “form” for you to contact them. Surely they would be at a workstation restoring photos? Therefore they would have a phone next to them, wouldn’t they?

Be wary of those that don’t have a land line phone number as they are more likely to be part time and are not an expect in photo restoration!

Is the company you are interested in undercutting everyone else you have looked at? More likely they are failing as a business and are desperate to get the work. If they only charge a small amount for their restoration be sure to know where the restoration work is being carried out.

We don't under cut prices, we value our services, watch for those that do, they may be hiding something

Its perfectly possible the work is being farmed out to eastern countries where labor is cheaper. That’s ok if you like the restoration style in this part of the world, which is airbrushed and soft, exaggerated colours and smoothed over skin, so much so it looks like porcelain. Contact is likely to be slower as well and if you need any adjustments to your photo and the time zones are very different be prepared for a long wait for a response.

Sticking with local companies to your country will not only boosts your economy but gives you speed of turn around and workmanship. That is of course if they are a full time restoration artist. Knowing you can contact your artist in working hours and that they respond swiftly to your requests is both reassuring and professional.

I hope to help you all again this year with your continuing photo restoration projects.