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December 2009 Newsletter
December 29, 2009
Thank you for your interest in our newsletter. If you do not wish to receive our news and specials, please let us know.
In this newsletter (our very first!) we will be discussing the following:
- Happy Holidays
- What to expect
- January Special
Happy Holidays!
We are proud to say that the holidays brought our first client! Our client had 11 photos, from simple repair work, to major restoration. We repainted a whole corner of one, including a shoe, a car grill and headlight, and we repainted a shoulder and face on another. Please view our before and after gallery to see a few of the results.
What to expect
We wanted to write a little bit about what to expect when you choose to get your photos restored. First of all, there should be no need to mail your photos away to anyone. If you were to do that, you would first need to make sure to get a good digital scan for your own records, in case the photo is lost or damaged in transit. Once you have this high resolution scan, then you may as well use that scan to submit to your photo restoration company of choice as opposed to mailing it. Once scanned, your photo restoration work can be done down the block, or across the world. If you do end up mailing your photo, please take a look at these suggestions for shipping and handling.
Once you choose a company, and depending on the original condition of the photo, your project may take 15 minutes or ten hours. For example, if large parts of the photo need to be repainted, this could take many hours. For example, if a portion of a building is missing, this can probably be "cloned" from other parts of the building. This is generally not considered repainting, and is generally handled by "cloning," which is sampling portions of the existing photo and using that data to regenerate missing pieces. On the other hand, if part of a face is missing, or part of a car or other object which does not "repeat" itself, this will probably entail actual painting with Photoshop's brushes, pixel by pixel.
You should first recieve an estimate for the scope of the project. If you are not sure about the estimate you get, you should always feel free to contact as many people as necessary to ensure you are paying the going rate for the given work. Also, please expect to pay a deposit, generally in the 50% range. Once you agree to the estimate and pay your deposit, work will begin.
We can't emphasize this enough... make sure you compare portfolios and that you like the portfolio of the company you choose. Not everyone is as adept at photo restoration as others. But also don't expect more than can be achieved. For example, if you submit a small, blurry photo, you cannot expect an 8" x 10" perfectly clear image as a final result. Blurry photos in general are difficult to work with. There is not much that can be done with a severely blurry photo. Also keep in mind that starting with a low resolution image will not allow a very good print. Have you ever printed a photo from the internet? Most photos online are set to 72dpi, which is a low resolution and a small file size, allowing the image to load quickly for dial-up users. For print, the opposite is needed. You will need a high resolution image with tons of data, making for a very large file. So make sure to start with a high resolution (preferably 600dpi minimum) scan to ensure the best results.
Once the restoration is complete, you should be allowed to view a smaller version online or by email for approval. Once approved, you will generally be charge a final payment and your high resolution images will be provided to you, where you can then take them to be printed. Oftentimes, photo restoration companies offer printing services, as well as framing services. At My Restored Photos, we work with local printers and framers to provide you with the best results.
January Special
My Restored Photos is offering 50% off our regular hourly rate of $30 per hour for the whole month of January. This means only $15 per hour for photo restoration work! Please contact us today for an estimate!
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