Photographs are typically one of the most cherished objects within a home. They are cherished because they represent a memory. This can be the memory of childhood, a place you've been, or an activity that you've done. Typically the most important photographs are the images of people that we love. Many people assume that like a diamond, photographs are forever. The old saying "take a picture, it will last longer" remains in many people's heads when thinking about the life of a photograph. The truth is that photographs do last a long time if properly stored and displayed (typically photographs can last between 50-200 years dependant on the type of printing process and paper used).

Unfortunately there are many perils within the home that can affect the life and integrity of a printed image. Ultra-Violet light (the sun) can quickly cause the best images to start to fade. Given enough Ultra-violet exposure, and the image can disappear completely. The print surface is susceptible to scratches and dings caused by mishandling. Much like wood floors, humidity can also cause problems for prints. The paper fibers of the print will expand and contract dependant on the amount of ambient humidity in the air. This can sometimes cause pigments and inks to fade or bleed over.

Many old framed photos have a piece of cardboard behind the image to insure that the print doesn't move in the frame. While the cardboard does stabilize the print, the acid in the cardboard will cause the image to fade and cause colors to shift. Some mattes bordering the print within a frame can also have acid in them. When the photo is removed from the matte, there will be a distinct outline of where the matte laid over the print. The oils in our hands can also soak into a print given enough time. When this happens, the old fingerprints will start to discolor the print where the oil settled into the paper.

Along with all of the normal perils within the home, there are many other opportunities for prints to become damaged, destroyed, or lost over time. It only takes a minute for a curious toddler to color, rip, and tear the priceless photos within an old family album. Ask any family that has lost a home to a fire... Many of the objects within the home can be replaced, however old family photographs are irreplaceable. Or ask anyone that has lost the box containing all of the family photographs during a move. Accidents, mistakes, and bad luck can happen anytime and many of our old photographs are irreplaceable.  

My restoration process provide a way to safely turning your old printed photographs into hi-resolution digital images going forward. This way, you can make as many copies of the photograph as you want and you can give digital copies of the image to anyone you want without risk of damaging the original print. Once the image is digitalized, I can then enhance the image. I can provide a way to digitally repair old prints that have become damaged over the years. During the restoration process, I can also hand-tint black and white images for a more modern look.

My restoration and retouching services are not only for old photographs. I also frequently provide retouching services for newer images. Digital photography has forever changed the workflow of photography. For the first time, editing is available for everyone. Before digital photography, editing was only done by those that were hand printing their own images at home or at a lab. Now people have the opportunity to apply all kinds of edits to images to get the most from the digital capture. One of the first disappointments for many people is seeing their first digital images without any sort of editing. The colors are always muted, the image lacks sharpness, detail appears to be lost in hi-lights and shadows, and color casts can be prevalent. My retouching services provide a way of enhancing your digital images to create the best photographs. This includes correcting tonalities, correcting colors, and local area enhancements to make for the best photograph (clearing up complexion, whiten teeth, and adjust hair). My restoration and retouching services are $50/hr. Call now for your free restoration and retouching consultation to start saving your old photographs.