PHOTO RESTORATION and
IMAGE MANIPULATION
by Steve Caraco
- PHOTO RESTORATION
BEFORE and AFTER samples:
A worn, torn (in three pieces!) small (2" x 3") photo, discolored, with tape all over it is restored to a clean 8" x10" photo, ready for framing!
This
baby portrait was almost completely destroyed - stained, water
damaged, faded, even chewed by a dog! Nothing a few hours work
couldn't fix.
This
oval 5x7 photo was SO faded, you could barely make out the facial
features. Check out the second photo, which is greatly improved.
This 8x10 portrait
was completely STUCK to the glass, and was ready for the trash.
Now it's a beautifully restored portrait, and it was even enlarged
to an 11" x 14" ready for framing.
A
seemingly "too far gone" photo is restored to full
brightness (photo courtesy of Sheila Toppi)
Here
you can see both BEFORE and AFTER in the same photo. The three
small photos in the front were faded, and badly stuck to the
glass. They have been restored, enlarged, and beautifully matted
and framed.
I
didn't manage to save a "before" image of this photo,
but trust me when I tell you it was in rough shape! It was completely
torn in half, with cracks, stains, and other problems throughout.
I completely re-created the background around the oval, restored
the photo, and enlarged it from a small 3" x 4" print
to an 11" x 14" heirloom.
- IMAGE MANIPULATION
The men in
this photo didn't want to be reminded of the wedding where the
photo was taken, so it was altered to change the out-dated white
tuxedos to more conservative suits and ties, using Adobe Photoshop
7.0. Click on any of the photos above to enlarge them, to see
detail.
+ 
= 
The
man in the white shirt is deceased, and the family wanted a photo
of him with his brother, grandfather, and father together. Such
a photo did not exist. All they had were the first two photos
you see above. The first two photos were painstakingly combined
(using Adobe Photoshop 7.0) to produce the final photo of all
four men together. Click on any of the photos above to enlarge
them, to see detail. Notice in the second photo how the man on
the left's hand is cut off. In the final photo, items are moved
and/or created to present a "complete" image. A job
like this one usually costs about $150 to $200.
- Hardware and Software used for my photo restorations:
- COMPUTER HARDWARE:
- Apple Power Macintosh G4 (dual 867mhz G4
processors)
- 2GB of RAM, 1.2TB of hard drives
- Samsung 204B 21" color LCD monitors
(2)
- Canon i9900 Color Bubblejet Printer
- HP Designjet 130nr wide-format inkjet printer
(up to 24" wide by 50 feet long)
- Canon 9950F color flatbed scanner
- Kensington Expert Mouse Pro (USB track ball)
- Apple Pro Extended Keyboard
-
- SOFTWARE:
- Mac OS X version 10.5.1
- Adobe Photoshop CS 3
PRICING:
Pricing for photo restorations can vary greatly. Price depends
mostly on how badly damaged the original photo is. Minimum charge
for photo restoration is $20.00. Most jobs range from $50 to $75,
with some more complex jobs easily reaching $100 or more. For
an estimate, send me an email with a low-resolution scan of the
original photo, along with any special instructions, and I will
get back to you with a price estimate.
I can accept original photos of any size, from 1" x 2" all the way up to 16" x 20". Your original photo will be returned unless you specify that you don't want it.
-
- OTHER SERVICES I OFFER:
- SEE THE MAIN PAGE FOR ALL INFO.
A worn, torn (in three pieces!) small (2" x 3") photo, discolored, with tape all over it is restored to a clean 8" x10" photo, ready for framing!
This
baby portrait was almost completely destroyed - stained, water
damaged, faded, even chewed by a dog! Nothing a few hours work
couldn't fix.
This
oval 5x7 photo was SO faded, you could barely make out the facial
features. Check out the second photo, which is greatly improved.
This 8x10 portrait
was completely STUCK to the glass, and was ready for the trash.
Now it's a beautifully restored portrait, and it was even enlarged
to an 11" x 14" ready for framing.
A
seemingly "too far gone" photo is restored to full
brightness (photo courtesy of Sheila Toppi)
Here
you can see both BEFORE and AFTER in the same photo. The three
small photos in the front were faded, and badly stuck to the
glass. They have been restored, enlarged, and beautifully matted
and framed.
I
didn't manage to save a "before" image of this photo,
but trust me when I tell you it was in rough shape! It was completely
torn in half, with cracks, stains, and other problems throughout.
I completely re-created the background around the oval, restored
the photo, and enlarged it from a small 3" x 4" print
to an 11" x 14" heirloom.
The men in
this photo didn't want to be reminded of the wedding where the
photo was taken, so it was altered to change the out-dated white
tuxedos to more conservative suits and ties, using Adobe Photoshop
7.0. Click on any of the photos above to enlarge them, to see
detail.
+ 
= 
The
man in the white shirt is deceased, and the family wanted a photo
of him with his brother, grandfather, and father together. Such
a photo did not exist. All they had were the first two photos
you see above. The first two photos were painstakingly combined
(using Adobe Photoshop 7.0) to produce the final photo of all
four men together. Click on any of the photos above to enlarge
them, to see detail. Notice in the second photo how the man on
the left's hand is cut off. In the final photo, items are moved
and/or created to present a "complete" image. A job
like this one usually costs about $150 to $200.