I have been working with photography and photo repair for ten years now and I have repaired almost every type of damaged image. Lately I noticed some common questions clients ask me, so I thought I wanted discuss those topics a bit. the most common questions that come up are:
- Do I use A.I.
- What are the steps involved in photo repair
- What programs do I use?
- What does it cost to repair photos and why?
Let's start with discussing AI as it is in headlines daily. With so many advances in technology and especially AI services, photography and photo restoration are affected in both a positive and negative way. I will focus on just photo restoration. More and more you see online ads claiming a one swipe fix to repair photos. But the often times, those ads give a false illusion that photo repair is just a one click fix. Though in some cases that may work pretty well, I have had several clients tell me they tried AI first but could not get the photos to look right or that the faces completely changed.
Now to be honest, in some cases AI does a pretty good job, but there are just way too many variables to know if it will work or if it will fail miserably. AI can do pretty great work with simple images, but in complex repair cases, it is rarely is a quick fix and what you are really getting is guesswork; A replacement image that often, especially with faces, just replaces the details with lookalikes and sometimes with faces that are completely different. Sometimes beards and facial hair are added, or glasses added that were never there, etc. Then you try again and a completely new result pops up. It can become a train wreck. Without any skills to know what to do next, you may have just wasted your money on AI apps and programs.
With my repairs, I rely on AI only when needed. Granted, with most editing software, there is an AI component in almost every tool, but you have much more control manually than you do using a blanket AI app. It is important to meticulously work through each area of the image to repair and clean up as much as possible manually to keep the image as authentic as possible. The positives to AI are that AI can be a very powerful and helpful tool for certain problem areas. It can help expedite the process, but the negative can be a completely different image with unrecognizable faces or objects. It should be used sparingly and carefully. Understanding how to use the multiple tools at your disposal, how to incorporate AI when needed, how to work with layers and how to use multiple composites is essential to deal with complex problem images.
The repair process
So what are the steps to having photos repaired? Step one is the scanning process. If you plan to scan your photo yourself, it is always best to have an image scanned with settings and a file format that will best preserve the data. On my web page, you will see a dedicated section for scanning tips.
The next step is assessment of your image. I view your image on a large monitor and zoom in significantly to see all issues that need to be addressed. For example, at a distance, the photo above already looks problematic, but zoomed in on a large monitor, the extent of the damage becomes much more prominent. The the image is a bit intimidating from a repair point of view. After I assess the photo closely, I then come up with a plan of attack. Quadrant by quadrant is my approach, fix the easier issues then worry about the major damage. Once I have a good assessment, and plan of attack, I will prepare a written estimate based on the amount of repair needed and time it may take to repair it. This leads to the question of programs used and why repairs can get a little pricey.
I have had many clients tell me, " The photo is in great shape and barely needs work", but they have become used to the photo's decline over the years and are not seeing the issues. Specs, spots, dirt, fade etc. Once I receive it and zoom in, I see all of the specs, scratches, fingerprints, stains, etc. Even with obvious damaged images, there are always way more issues not seen with the naked eye. For example, the image below is just a section of the above photo but zoomed in. Just in that one section alone, you can see the countless challenges. Sometimes there is so much damage, it becomes necessary to guess what was there before and figure out how to recreate it.
This photo was a long meticulous process which involved working slowly and carefully, removing damages, re-aligning, cleaning dirty areas, re-creating the lost data, sharpening, dodging and burning, etc.
A photo repair specialist needs to be able to work around problem areas, know how to work with several layers, understand how to composite images, know how to remove stains, add, textures, replace sections, remove fade, restore original color, and colorize black and white images or re-color old photos and more. Any experienced photo repair artist has likely spent countless hours learning and a decent amount of money honing their craft. Those are the talents you are paying for and how costs are factored.
With regard to editing programs, I have a few to choose from depending on the job, but I mostly use Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is an amazing and very complex program with unlimited tools and techniques available. I have been working with Photoshop for ten years, but because it is so involved and ever updating, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface with what that program offers. Keeping up with the latest changes is challenging but essential. As mentioned above, my approach to photo repair is always to repair the photo section by section creating multiple layers and utilizing various tools and strategies for each problem. Below you can see the final repair of the above image.
Your memories and family history should be preserved for generations so it is important to hire someone who has passion and will take the time needed with each image.
If you want a free assessment of your image, visit picrepairs.com for your next repair.
