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| FAQ
What is digital restoration of photos?
Why should I use your digital restoration service?
Is restoration possible with every image?
At what level of retouching is colorization or sepia-tone images?
How do I get my photos to you for consultation and/or retouching? Is there a consultation fee?
How much will a normal job run and what do I get?
Why don't you send prints as well as the CD files?
Are there cases where you will upload jpgs to the web, or send them via email, so that I may approve a job before you send me the CD?
Why should I restore or digitally archive my photos?
What if I have a question that hasn't been covered in the FAQ?
What is digital restoration of photos?
Restoration and tinting of photos used to mean working directly on the original photograph or a copy. Digital restoration of photos involves the scanning of the original photo into a computer and working with the digitzed image itself in the computer rather than working on the original photo. Prints are then made from restored CD image files. The original photo is not altered.
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Why should I use your digital restoration service?
Individual attention and quality. I began hand-tinting photos twenty-five years ago and made the move to computer five years ago. It is far superior a medium, though if one looks about the web at examples of restorations out there one may not think so. The problem is not only a lack of skill or artistic eye. Digital photo restoration services use software packages especially designed for colorizing images and removing scratches in what can amount to an assembly-line process. The problem with indiscriminate use of these packages, without special attention or technique, is a product of inferior quality despite the many advantages had with digitalization.
Rather than relying on special computer filters to remove scratches and blemishes, which may dull your entire image, I touch-up scratches and other flaws by hand on the computer at the point of damage, when possible on a pixel by pixel level. My coloring of photos is also customized. Others may not do this, or may fail at doing at well because it is time-consuming and also requires acute attention to detail and a high level of skill and experience. Yet, if you compare my prices with these other services you'll find they are competitive.
One of my personal interests is genealogy, so I am aware of how precious old photos are to those who are preserving their familial heritage. For me, every photo which is to be restored is a challenge and a pleasure. I enjoy attention to detail and a love of old photos. Not only do I restore images, I am an artist and thus have the required eye for severe restorations which may need extensive reconstruction.
Take a look around the web at examples of photo restoration. I'm confident you'll find Imagedjinn's restoration and tinting work is of a quality far superior to the majority.
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Is restoration possible with every image?
If an image can be scanned then it can be worked with in the computer. Restoration jobs vary in degree, according to how extensively the image is damaged. On the web site you will find examples involving minor retouching, moderate retouching, and very extensive retouching or reconstruction of an image which is called manipulation or enhancement. There are times when an image appears to be badly damaged but the manner of damage may make for a not-too-difficult restoration. Other times, considerable manipulation may be required. The manipulation section of the web site gives a variety of examples. The best way, of course, for me to determine if an image is or is not a candidate for restoration is to examine it.
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At what level of retouching is colorization or sepia-tone images?
A simple sepia-toning would be a minor retouching (exclusive of any significant repair). Coloring of an image would be a manipulation.
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How do I get my photos to you for consultation and/or retouching? Is there a consultation fee?
If you have a resource for scanning your image, you can email me a 72 dpi jpg for consultation purposes (for which there is no fee). Even if the image quality of the scanned jpg is not the best, I should be able to assess the level of restoration required. If you do not have a resource for scanning your image then you will need to send me scanned images made by a professional on a CD or the photos themselves.
My experience is that many are not equipped to produce scans with which I can work on for restoration purposes, which is why I only accept such images for consultation. Also, I must use high resolution scans for restoration work, and high resolution files are rather large and sometimes too large for email attachements.
If you are sending, by mail, scanned images for consultation or restoration by mail and don't have access to a quality scanner (or aren't proficient with one), my suggestion is that you go to a service such as Kinkos, where a professional can do high-resolution scans for you and burn them to a CD. You then send me the CD in the appropriate mailer.
Scans should be 300 dpi as to work with anything less will mean a loss of important data for printing purposes.
You may also instead send me your original images via mail.
If you are mailing your images, you will to place them between two pieces of cardboard and ship them in a padded envelope designed for shipping of photos (these may be purchased at an office, computer supply store or the post office). If the image is extremely fragile or in pieces, first place it in an envelope and then place the envelope between two pieces of cardboard and tape the edges of the cardboard together (do not put tape on the photo itself). Then put this in a padded mailer and mark "fragile." It is also not a bad idea to purchase insurance and send the package by registered mail, priority or first class. You will be notified by the postal service when we have received your package. I will also notify you via email.
You may also FedEx or UPS your images.
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How much will a normal job run and what do I get?
Please see the pricing page. However, I would say most older photos are in need of moderate retouching.
On top of the charge for retouching, some restoration services will send you, for an extra fee, a photo produced from the digitized image, but if you want to purchase the digitized image they charge yet again another fee. Many services state they will send this photo on glossy paper, giving no other paper choices. Some "farm out" to printers these jobs and those that have in-house professional printing may restore their photos in an assembly-line type process.
What I send is a CD on which the digitized, restored photos have been archived; the original scans I have made of the photos are also archived on the CD. You will not be able to view these unless you have the appropriate software, so I also archive on the CD "optimized" versions of the images as 72 dpi jpgs which you can view on your computer. For those who have web sites this is quite a plus as you can then use these optimized images on your web site.
You would then take the CD to a photo printing service for printing of the images onto an appropriate quality paper.
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Why don't you send prints as well as the CD files?
One should understand that assembly-line restoration services are frequently associated with a photo printing service, so restoration is not their primary concern; you may receive a quality print from them but an inferior restoration which hasn't received customized attention. As for restoration services that say they will provide a print on glossy Kodak paper, they will likely be sending you a print made on the equivalent of a home printer; and though glossy Kodak papers may be fine for some newer images, they are inappropriate for reproduction of old or fine images.
My specialization is in restoration, not printing and my preference is to let the client choose a printing service suitable to their needs. For printing, my suggestion is to use a service which offers Laser prints or Pictography prints on a non-glossy paper that is more appropriate for old photos than glossy paper. It is more expensive but you will also be far more impressed with the results. Such a service is likely also to be up-to-date on the newest technologies in image reproduction that is stable.
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Are there cases where you will upload jpgs to the web, or send them via email, so that I may approve a job before you send me the CD?
Yes. If a job requires manipulation/enhancement (extensive restoration), involves sepia-toning or colorization, then I will also post a jpg (stamped with a watermark) to the web, and send you the URL at which you may look at it and give your approval. Optimized images are exactly that, however, "optimized". Their quality is inferior as they are 72 dpi (dots per inch) as opposed to 300 dpi (dots per inch). Which is also why they are great for the web: speedy. This is another option you will not find provided by other restoration services, but I understand that coloring a photo is not only a matter of artistry but can involve client preferences. There are many ways to color a photo; not just one. And different people want different looks. Also, if you want attire to be a certain color, and hair to be a certain tint, etc., send me your preferences and I will do my coloring based on them. There are times however when certain choices will not be optimum for technical reasons, and if I must make a change I would notify you.
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Why should I restore or digitally archive my photos?
With restoration one gets automatically the digital archiving, as explained above. If one is only interested in digital archiving then each scanned image, with no touching up, is $10. The reason one should digitally archive is to protect your images. Photos fade and deteriorate; it's a fact of life. One may have become fond of an image that has colored with age, and that tint can be duplicated in the digitized and restored image, but just because one is fond of it as it is doesn't mean the image shouldn't be archived and thus preserved from further deterioration.
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What if I have a question that hasn't been covered in the FAQ?
Please feel free to email me regarding any other questions you may have.
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