I'd like some opinions on a somewhat unique situation. I was given a picture that had been torn up years ago, taped back together and laminated. It appears that the picture was also laminated before it was taped back together, but I'm not sure if it was laminated before it was torn up. Anyway, when I received the photo, the outer lamination layer had been removed as well as some of the tape, but there was pleny of yellow tape and "goo" left to obscure the photo. The owner of the photo said that since the photo wasn't any good to her as it was, it was OK if I wanted to try to clean-up the photo some (understanding that it might destroy the photo) before starting the digital restoration.
So, I scanned the photo as it was given to me, then carefully removed all of the tape that I was able to with my fingernails and scanned it again. By now, the only thing holding all of the pieces togeth was the solid lamination on the back. The lamination on the front was cracked through and the photo itself was stuck to the front lamination (and in pieces too). I wanted to remove as much of the tape residue as possible, so I used the very potent "un-du" adhesive remover and because of the lamination, I was able to scrape the old, hardened residue with a letter opener. Yes, I was afraid of what the un-du would do to the lamination and yes I was afraid of scratching the lamination with the letter opener and just making things worse. Luckily, neither of those happened and I was able to remove about 90% of the residue. That gave me a much easier place to start with the digital work.
So, now my question... I want to use this restoration as an example of my work, but what do I use for the "before" version in a before/after comparison? The scan I made with the tape attached is how the photo was brought to me and what the client remembers. However, I'm worried about false advertising if I use that version, because I'm not sure that I could have gotten the final result that I did if I'd had to start with that scan. Once I get my website up and running, I can put all three versions up and explain what I did. But, I don't really have room for all three on a brochure. The fact is, if the photo wasn't laminated, I could not have cleaned it up like I did. (Plus, there's a good possibility that a client wouldn't agree to the possibility of destroying the photo.)
I've attached a file that shows all three versions: with tape, after removing all of the adhesive and (almost) final version. Thoughts, anyone?
Thanks, Jeanie
So, I scanned the photo as it was given to me, then carefully removed all of the tape that I was able to with my fingernails and scanned it again. By now, the only thing holding all of the pieces togeth was the solid lamination on the back. The lamination on the front was cracked through and the photo itself was stuck to the front lamination (and in pieces too). I wanted to remove as much of the tape residue as possible, so I used the very potent "un-du" adhesive remover and because of the lamination, I was able to scrape the old, hardened residue with a letter opener. Yes, I was afraid of what the un-du would do to the lamination and yes I was afraid of scratching the lamination with the letter opener and just making things worse. Luckily, neither of those happened and I was able to remove about 90% of the residue. That gave me a much easier place to start with the digital work.
So, now my question... I want to use this restoration as an example of my work, but what do I use for the "before" version in a before/after comparison? The scan I made with the tape attached is how the photo was brought to me and what the client remembers. However, I'm worried about false advertising if I use that version, because I'm not sure that I could have gotten the final result that I did if I'd had to start with that scan. Once I get my website up and running, I can put all three versions up and explain what I did. But, I don't really have room for all three on a brochure. The fact is, if the photo wasn't laminated, I could not have cleaned it up like I did. (Plus, there's a good possibility that a client wouldn't agree to the possibility of destroying the photo.)
I've attached a file that shows all three versions: with tape, after removing all of the adhesive and (almost) final version. Thoughts, anyone?
Thanks, Jeanie
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