5 Photo Restoration Mistakes

Top 5 photo restoration mistakes

More a list of where to improve and where not to tread if you can help it. We are always learning after all.

Background replacement

Don’t! Only do this as a last resort. Do not replace the background because its easier and you haven’t the patience, to restore the damage is just wrong. You will struggle to get a good match, you will lose the authentic look of the image and it will most likely look wrong and look like the background has been replaced.

Ghost cracks

Do not leave evidence of the cracks or tears you restored. If you restored them they won’t be there!. Leaving shadows or dark lines where there was once damage, is a telltale sign the image has been restored.  Remember if it has been “restored” you won’t see any signs you lifted your Wacom Pen!

Blurring everything

This is as bad as and lazy as replacing the background. Blurring everything is a quick way of making the damage disappear. It also leaves the image very blurred and very smooth and smeary. If you don’t have the skill to restore the damage out without blurring it, be honest and pass the image to someone who can restore it.

Cropping out the damage

The customer most likely wants their image restored not cropped down to a small piece of the original. Only crop out damage if you have cleared it with the client. Better to restore it and impress them with your restoration skills rather than take the lazy path and crop.

Colouring badly

Don’t use flat colours set to “colour” mode when colouring an image unless it is called for. Faces are not one colour of orange! They are subtle, contain many hues and shades. Once again if it is something you are unable to do convincingly, pass the job on, learn the skills and then next time you will produce something that your customer will love and you will be proud of.

Remember if it looks like it has been restored, takes a bit more care and attention.