A condition that affects many old photographs, particularly informal ones that were shot with personal cameras, is a lack of tonal range. That is, the dark areas are essentially all black and the light areas are entirely white, with no detail for the restorer to work with in either area. This was a characteristic of early films and printing papers. Studio photographers could adjust lighting somewhat to overcome these shortcomings, often quite successfully. Unfortunately, restoration cannot bring back what was not there in the first place.

Old photos are frequently out of focus, or have shallow focus, causing foreground or background to go soft. And the grain of the film is often evident, showing up as clumps. The restoration process is a balancing act, attempting to sharpen soft focus on one hand, and trying to eliminate graininess on the other. Usually a compromise must be made.

Old photos often suffer from fading or yellowing. In many cases, if there is any image left at all, restoration can bring it back — often to a surprising degree. Digital technology permits selectively adjusting contrast, which helps return the image to an acceptable tonal range.

Scratches, spotting, and staining can usually be resolved, the success depending on the severity of the damage, and in many cases on what is damaged. Backgrounds and clothing are much more readily restored than detailed areas such as faces.

These samples have been chosen to illustrate what can be done to improve photos in the four levels of restoration we offer.

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BASIC RESTORATION

This photo is slightly yellowed, requires a little spotting, and benefits from some sharpening. The detail in the shirt is pretty much burned out, however. The original is wallet-sized, so does not lend itself to being enlarged a great deal.

This photo appears to have been shot with a basic box camera, using the light coming through the windows. The darks are solid black, and the light areas are burned completely white, meaning there is no detail at all to work with in either area. Removing the yellowing, improving contrast slightly and some spotting helped somewhat. The burned out light areas received a little graying to soften the harshness of the white.

This photo exemplifies the Basic category. It has some minor scratching (on face, for instance) and staining (on the skirt). The original was sepia toned, but had yellowed. The restoration included removing the yellowing and enhancing the sepia toning.

ADVANCED RESTORATION

This photo is badly faded, yellowed and water stained, and the background is mottled. Also, detail is burned up in the light portions of the face. The restoration included adjusting contrast, and eliminating yellowing and staining. The face was defined. Additionally, the entire background was replaced with a vignette and an oval mat was created. The image was toned a dark sepia.

This photo is badly faded and yellowed, and the background is mottled. The restoration included adjusting contrast, and eliminating yellowing. The background outside the oval was eliminated and a new oval mat was created. The image was sepia toned.

This photo is severely faded and yellowed. The background is blotched. The restoration included adjusting contrast, and eliminating the yellowing and blotches. The background outside the oval was eliminated and an oval mat was created. The image was sepia toned.

DETAILED RESTORATION

This photo is faded, yellowed, and spotted. There are dark smudges on the face. And the original oval is faded into the background. The restoration included adjusting contrast, removing the yellowing, and eliminating the spots. The face was reconstructed to eliminate the smudges, and an oval mat was created. The image was sepia toned.

This photo is blotched, and spotted. There is a large dirt deposit on the face. The restoration included adjusting contrast, removing the blotches and spots, and eliminating the dirt deposit. The image was slightly sepia toned for a warm appearance.

This photo is moderately yellowed and stained in several places. There are numerous blobs obscuring facial detail in the first and third children, and also in the background and foreground. The restoration included adjusting contrast, removing the stains, and eliminating yellowing. The faces were reconstructed and the other blobs were removed. The image was slightly sepia toned for a warm appearance.

This photo is heavily yellowed in the center, probably due to being in a mat. There are blotches and spotting, and the face is out of focus. The restoration included eliminating the yellowing, the blotches and the spots. The focus of the face was sharpened and clarified. The image was slightly sepia toned for a warm appearance.

MAJOR RESTORATION

This photo is badly faded and yellowed. It is torn into three jagged pieces. The restoration included correcting the contrast and eliminating the yellowing. The pieces were assembled and the tears eliminated. An oval mat was created, and the finished image was sepia toned.

This photo is torn into sixteen pieces. Restoration included scanning the individual pieces, then reassembling them. The torn edges were eliminated.

This photo is torn on one edge and pieces are missing. The image, originally toned, has faded. The restoration included improving contrast, sharpening the image and removing miscellaneous spots. Missing areas were reconstructed to eliminate the torn edge.