Process
- Meeting. It is very helpful if we can meet to talk about the picture - what you are hoping for, what I could achieve with it and the cost. No two pictures are the same and no two people’s needs are the same. Of course, meeting isn’t always possible, but it is preferable. Please ring or email to fix a time.
- Scanning. The first thing I will do is scan the photo to capture its surviving detail. It is the digital file created by this scan that is restored, not the original print. Scanners, like cameras, vary in quality, so I prefer to do this myself. But if you would like to email your photograph to me, please scan prints at a minimum of 600ppi (pixels per inch), making no adjustments to the scanner's default settings for scanning photos, and send it to me at Will@RestoringGlory.co.uk
- Repairing. Typically, this means fixing creases, tears, marks, fading and silver mirroring (where the photo turns a silvery blue when tilted at a certain angle, making the image disappear). This is what I call ‘classical restoration’ because the photo is restored to how it looked before it came to harm. Most photo restorers (including the High Street stores) stop at this point.
- Enhancing. The trouble is, your photo is likely to have other ‘issues’, beyond the damage. It may be a bit dark, or out of focus, or lacking fine detail, and a photo that has only been restored will still have these faults when you take it home. I, however, take the picture to another level, aiming to recreate what the photographer saw but struggled to capture with the equipment of the day. So, if you would like your picture to look better than just repaired, to see it come to life in a way it didn't before, or you want it enlarged without losing clarity, then this is what I do.
- Printing. The restored photograph exists first of all as a digital file, and from this file, prints and enlargements are created as they are needed. I can make high quality prints for you, using colour-calibrated equipment, pigment inks and fine art papers, or you can do this yourself.
- Framing. I can advise on framing, and show you (on an iPad) how your restored picture would look with a particular frame or mount.
