Photo Repair & Restoration
Some photographs matter too much to leave to chance. While automated apps can remove surface marks in seconds, they often invent detail, smooth away texture or reduce the image to something that looks artificial and deliver at a resolution unsuitable for printing.
I provide high-resolution print restorations and digital archiving plus optional printing and framing for families, museums, businesses and heritage groups. With over 25 years as a professional film and digital photographer based in Norfolk, I can provide careful photo restorations of images deserving of accuracy and long-term preservation using both conventional and new software techniques.
I begin each project with considered, manual techniques to ensure the image remains true to the original only using new AI-based software tools to assist in finishing the image when I am sure it can faithfully contribute.
Images are supplied suitable for sharing on social media and websites or as high resolution files in a print-ready format. Printing and framing is optional.
In addition to photo repair, tone and colour corrections I also provide other retouches such as enhancements including portrait and group adjustments, object removal, background changes and other manipulations as required.
Colourisation of old black & white images is optional although not all photos benefit from this.
Case Study 1
This wedding print of a bride suffered some damage in a flood. The original wedding photographer had long retired and hadn’t retained the negatives.
As well as restoring the image I was also asked by the bride if I could do something about her shut eyes. So after cleaning up the marks across the image I used part of an appropriate second image to ‘open’ the bride’s eyes. Finally the image’s colour was restored and sharpening applied.
Case Study 2
Below is an example of one of my early restoration projects completed long before AI software was even ‘a thing’.
Two details worth noting is the subject’s noticeable right eye characteristic and the uniform insignia. The owner wished to retain the hand colouring of this once black & white print and wanted a 10×8″ print. The first restored image to the right of the damaged image is my original digital repair, the second a recent automated AI render.
While impressive and I do now use AI software to assist with some projects, the automated AI image on the right has given the young soldier long hair replacing much of his collar at the back.
He also looks much younger and there is also the loss of the brass button and any uniform insignia. I should add too the AI image was much reduced in resolution.
Automated restoration apps can provide quick improvements for lightly damaged images. However they often introduce artificial detail, over-smooth faces, destroy texture and reduce image resolution. Professional restoration focuses on preserving authentic detail, rebuilding damaged areas carefully and accurately and producing high-resolution, print-ready files.
When a photograph represents family history, heritage, or personal legacy, careful restoration matters.
Case Study 3
The picture below of a weightlifter (and local D-Day hero) taken in the late 1930s provides an example when AI was used in a small limited way. The print was covered in scratches and stains which I first retouched using conventional software tools.
The weight discs in the foreground were almost lost completely to a spill or smudge. After cropping out this section I used AI to restore or ‘reinterpret’ just this area. I then inserted the ‘new weight discs’ into the image.
Finally some tonal correction and sharpening was applied.
What I Restore
- Torn or creased portraits
- Faded black and white photographs
- Damaged prints, colour or black & white
- Severe staining and surface marks and spills
- Missing sections requiring reconstruction
- Historical images requiring tonal rebuilding
- Colour images requiring correction
- Small originals requiring upscaling and sharpening
Each restoration is assessed individually. No automated batch processing.
Print Restoration Pricing
Basic Restoration – from £35
- Dust, minor scratches
- Contrast & tone correction
- Upscaling & sharpening
- Social media ready master file
(£35 is for a single image)
Advanced Restoration – £75–£150
- Heavy creases, tears, missing corners
- Repairing faces or clothing damage
- Other basic retouching as required
- Black & white tonal reconstruction
- Upscaling and optional colourisation
- Print ready master file/s
Heirloom Restoration – £95–£350
- Severe damage reconstruction
- Artistic rebuild of missing areas
- Other retouching as required
- Upscaling and optional colourisation of black & white image
- Print-ready master file/s
- 10″ archival print/s included
Optional Add-Ons
- Express 72hr service: +30%
- Additional archival prints from £10 for a single 8” / less 30% for 4 or more
- Archival Print & Frame Package from £60-£150
- Multiple image composites on a single print
- Onsite copying – for extra large or ‘priceless’ prints I come to you: Price TBA
How does it work?
You have a print or maybe multiple prints you need restoring or perhaps just digitising and archiving.
Unless you are able to achieve high-resolution scans yourself, I need the original prints so I can be sure I have the maximum detail to work with and the minimum compression applied to the file. I don’t accept digital copies of your own taken with a smartphone to work on, sorry, although I can sometimes offer a preliminary assessment using phone images.
Once I have copied your print/s I will contact you to arrange their return. A deposit is payable before I start any restoration work. This is to cover the time I will have so far invested in copying and a small portion of the time I will spend restoring your images.
You can call me on 01493 491834 or email me to arrange a free assessment.
If the image really matters, let’s restore it properly.