Restoring a family photo: A Journey with Retro Pet Portraits

Pets are not just animals; they are family! This love for our pets is the passion and care channelled into the art of restoring pet photographs, especially when they hold sentimental just like our own family portraits. In this post, we delve into the meticulous process of restoring a damaged photograph of a beloved dog, one of the owner’s favourite retro pet portraits.

Initial Assessment: The Challenge Ahead

Restoring pet photos original image

Our journey begins with a heavily damaged photo. Despite the apparent challenges, our expertise in photo restoration, particularly in the realm of Retro Pet Portraits, allows us to approach this task with precision and care.

The photo is heavily damaged but with some careful thought, it can be restored.

Paw Restoration: A Step towards Renewal

Restoring pet photos restoring the paw

 The restoration process first addressed the dog’s paw. By creatively utilizing a larger foot pad, scaled and rotated appropriately, we recreated the toe pad. This step was crucial in maintaining the authenticity of the photograph. Above that, some shadow has been cloned into the white space as in picture 1

Facial Features: Reviving the Dog’s Expressions

Restoring pet photos the dogs face

Using advanced patch and clone tools, we meticulously cleaned the muzzle, ensuring that the dog’s expression was preserved

Toy Reconstruction: Adding Life to the Frame

Restoring pet photos the dog’s toy

 I have also copied the yellow dog toy from the left and pasted it to the right. I pasted again and flipped the yellow ball and with the patch and clone rebuilt the right-hand side of the toy. I made sure there was some flash shadow around the ball in a slightly red tinted shadow to match the other side.

Restoring pet photos the dogs face restored

Final Touches: Perfecting the Image

The final stages included refining the muzzle, restoring the hind leg using a reference photo, and adding nuanced details like fur texture and shadows – all integral to the art of Retro Pet Portraits.

Restoring pet photos the dogs hind

Here I have used the left side of the leg and clone upward towards the ball. I flipped this leg edge and used it for the right side.

Fortunately, the customer had another photo of the dog lying down and I was able to distort and warp the rear leg to replace much of the missing leg.

Restoring pet photos the dogs hind restored

 From the second photo, I was able to use some belly fur and shade it with the dodge and burn tools. I added some flash shadows behind the newly added leg parts.

Restoring pet photographs final restoration

 I reduced the red tint to the back and grey sofa and zoomed out for the finished product.

Hopefully, you will look after your photos and not need to get your pet photos restored. When you do a Retro Pet Portrait would be the perfect addition to your wall. At Retro Pet Portraits we create one-of-a-kind hand-crafted masterpieces of your pet in funky Retro scenes.