Examples of our restoration work

[Vikki]

Kathleen & Chris, thanks for the postivie feedback.
I love the dog painting too. I used several Photoshop filters, and another plugin called Fantastic Machine's Paint Engine. The effects were applied globally. The I used to achieve the effects don't always produce the same results, but I'm working on it.

Re: the man on the porch. If I remember correctly, that was a tough one. I probably used CMKY channel mixing, plus masking, and burn and doge. I was totally amazed by the results. I looked at the original as a challenge, and never expected it to turn out so well.

[jeaniesa]

Wow, Vikki - I LOVE your work! (Yes, I looked at every picture too.) I can only hope to be that good someday. Knowing how many hours I've spent working on my grandparents' wedding photo, I'm having a hard time imagining how long it took you to do some of those restorations. If you don't mind, can you share how long it took you to do that one of the group of children on the corner? I'm just amazed at what you were able to do with that one.

And the woman on the sidewalk in the white dress with tape down the length of her - can you share how did you do that?

And the man in the front of the house where you removed the discoloration! I really have to study that one and try some of your tips because I've got a few photos like that that I need to work on!

Thanks for sharing, Jeanie

[jeaniesa]

Working backwards...

Chris, I vote the same as everyone else - the wedding photo and grandfather are spectacular!

The one of your grandparents is really neat. I might steal the idea for my great aunt. You asked what would make "the others" pop out like the wedding and grandfather photos. I'm not sure with this one, but I wonder about where the eyes are looking and the perspective of the two photos. Could you make the eyes such that they are looking in the same direction? Also, your grandmother's photo is cropped right at her neck - if it were me, I might try to reconstruct a little of the shoulders to match your grandfather's photo. Then soften the background - perhaps a soft, mottled hue rather than the solid light yellow. That might help to make your grandparents "pop out" more. (I have NO experience with any of these suggestions - just things that I might try if it were me.)

Grandma Moses looks like a tough one. One thing that I notice right away is that the bonnet and bow seem too white (for my eyes) in the restored photo. Perhaps try making two scans - one to "expose" Grandma correctly, the other to expose the bow correctly - then combine the best parts of each picture. Also, the rest of the picture doesn't have much contrast. I would look at the levels (histogram) to improve that. I think Grandma will pop out quite a bit after you increase the contrast. I love the mat you put around the oval - it creates a beautiful overall effect! Again, I have very little experience with this - it's just what hit me when I looked at the photo.

Thanks for sharing - your work is beautiful!

Jeanie

[jeaniesa]

DJ, sorry to take so long to pick up on this thread. Thanks for starting it - I love looking at everyone's work. Unfortunately, I don't have much to share - you've all seen the two photos I've seriously worked on.

I love your work because you're so creative. E.g., the man at the bar turns into a painting, the boy montage, sleepy pup, etc. Seems like you're really good at thinking outside the box. "Two women restored" is a masterpiece - and I LOVE the vibrant colors of the stereoscope!

The ONLY thing that I can see that I might have done differently is the HE111 plane. It looks a little too yellow to my eyes. I think I would have gone to grayscale (then created a duotone if that looked too harsh) before going back to RGB (or CMYK) for the coloring. The foreground and highlights on the plane are a different tone than I would have chosen. But, given that I don't have much experience, that feedback might not hold much weight.

Thanks again for starting this thread. I've discovered a lot of possibilities for what may come my way in the future.

Jeanie

[Vikki]

Thanks Jeanie!
I don't keep track of my time, so it's hard to say how long I spend on something. I work sporadically I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, so I will spend how ever long it takes to get it done to my satisfation. Some days everything just clicks, and it's a quick job, other days, I could work from dawn to dusk. Obviously, I can't charge by the hour and so I have a fixed rate. I just don't think it's fair to charge someone for my crazy work style. (Each of the ones you mentioned would be $75).

PS: The beauty of working at home, for yourself.....I don't like being on a timeclock. For me, it's stifling and inhibiting. I don't measure my work by how long it takes, just the final result.

TECHNIQUE: I pretty much use the same old steps on everything (with the exception of photos like the porch photo). In most cases, 90% of my work is done with the clone tool. I also use the technique of blurring, adding a little noise, taking a SNAPSHOT, and cloning from that. More recently, I've been working with the CMYK channels to fix problems before I get started on the details.

I'll tell you what I DON"T use (and I see this mistake a lot). The SMUDGE tool. I highly recommend that people steer clear of that, it's just not natural and produces a "painted" appearance.
I also never use the DUST & SCRATCHES tool - I don't get enough control.

My big tip would be - work in very small, light steps.

I problably said more than you wanted, but sometimes I get carried away. I hope some of this was helpful!

[DJ Dubovsky]

Thanks Jeanie for the encouraging comments on my work. I will have to look into your idea of using duotone to color the plane. I have never worked with duotone so it will be a new technique for me. Thanks again
DJ

[jeaniesa]

Originally posted by Vikki
I problably said more than you wanted, but sometimes I get carried away.

No, no, no! You definitely did NOT say more than I wanted! (I often worry that I say too much - please anyone feel free to tell me if that's the case.) Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

It helped me to hear that you work sporadically AND are a perfectionist. ME TOO! I'm afraid that my perfectionism will be my downfall in this business though. (I think I'll start another thread on that in the business section, as it's a real concern for me.)

Also, thanks for the tips on technique. It really helps to hear from someone who's obviously been doing it a while.

Jeanie