Restoration opinion

[jtd131]

..............

[sergio2263]

Originally Posted by jtd131

what all do you think needs help in this shot other than the scratches. You guys wanna give it a try?

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/1093/restoration.jpg

I think the guys here would prefer if you give your photo a try and then ask for advice, everyone is very good you'll have good tips.


helen

[lurch]

I do hope you aren't planning to get rid of all the tinsel on the Christmas tree! There's some staining along the left side of the photo, and it has gone yellow, of course. A little too contrasty - if the whites are blown and/or the shadows plugged there isn't much you can do about that. Otherwise it's in good shape. Haven't looked closely for scratches.

[klassylady25]

Nice picture Lurch!!

[TommyO]

jtd131,
You may want to bring out a bit more detail in the center.
Also, you may want to very slightly d&b edges of facial features, arms, etc to allow our eyes to find those parts more easily.

Here is a quick sample of what may be available in the center. You could easily bring out more with a bit more work. Use a duplicate layer in multiply, or use apply image with source set to the blue channel. Then mask as needed.

[0lBaldy]

Had a quick go

[jtd131]

How much would you charge for doing restoration like this?

[TommyO]

jtd131,
I think you did an excellent job with it. It looks great.

Rates always vary, but $40/hr in the southeast US is quite normal. You have to come to some agreement up front with the client as to the minimum and maximum. However, deliverables always include a high res tiff, a high res jpg, the original scan as a high res tiff all on a CD; never give your working psd. I used to always include a print in the size of their choice. For some reason, I always felt guilty for charging for restorations... but I never got an sad face from the recipient.

[sergio2263]

Originally Posted by jtd131

How much would you charge for doing restoration like this?

I agree with TommyO it's best to have a mutual realistic price which the client can afford to pay and you are happy with, I see many people just put a price on restorations without even a second thoughts to their clients thus making them loose their clients. People will only pay what they can afford and without clients you'll have no business so it always pays to think of your clients pockets. I usually charge per quality of the restored photo and not by the hour and ensure that the client knows the price before I carry on.

hope this helps


helen

[Southbay]

Quick stab at it. Curves, dust removal w/history brush, Neat Image, bit of burning, hi-pass soft light sharpen, adjustments/exposure/gamma/offset etc. (edit) Oops, didn't clone the scratches bottom right...

[Kraellin]

very nice, southbay

[Southbay]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

very nice, southbay...

Thanks, Kraellin.

I fool around with a few on this site, but there's so much amazing work being done here that I usually stop short of posting.

As well, I really enjoy the scanning side of things, and do more slides than photos. Slides require only a few standard adjustments, whereas photos have often taken some form of abuse, and as we all know, significant restoration can really suck up a lot of time.

I've rarely spent more than a half an hour on a single image., More than that, and I begin to lose interest. My hat's off, though, to those of you who really roll up their sleeves and work them over.

Since I started visiting this site a while back, I've picked up some brilliant techniques that don't require a lot of time at all – exactly the stuff I've been looking for, to create dramatic improvements without incurring permanent eye strain.

SB

[Kraellin]

...to create dramatic improvements without incurring permanent eye strain.

a lofty goal