Before and after scans of a restored old photo
Some of us are good at restoring old photos using Photoshop, and some of us only can admire their work.
I’m in the admiring category.
That’s been particularly true when I wrote a novel set during World War I and first caught glimpses of colorizations of very old photos from the war.
Like many, I was intrigued. How was it done? How skilled do you have to be at Photoshop to pull off some of the restorations I’ve admired?
Fortunately, photo restorer Nick Harris contacted me and agreed to be interviewed.
A British graphic artist by trade, Nick became interested in using his years experience with Photoshop after he restored a photo for his grandparents.
“I found it really satisfying bringing them [the photos] back to life. I then went on to helping others and restoring those precious moments for their future generations to enjoy.
“I really enjoy the reactions I get when they see their restored photo. I’ve even had people say it brought them to tears when they thought their severely damaged photo was beyond repair. Old photos will only continue to deteriorate so it is vital they are saved before it is too late.”
Nick generally spends several hours to restore a black and white photo, while obviously, “the greater the damage the longer it can take.”
A damaged sepia photo looks nearly modern when restored
Some of the photos are 100 years old, particularly the WWI shots. Nick noted the photo at right,
“This sepia photo [on the right] needed a lot of of missing areas recreated, but I am really pleased with the result. One of my favourite restores [at the top of the post] is a funny one, a WWI photo that had been defaced!”
In looking at WWI colorized photos of French soldiers, I was surprised at how vividly blue their uniforms were.
Nick explained some restorations require research into what the original colors were, explaining “if there are particular uniforms or medals in the photo and I know their position or rank I do some internet research,” to make sure he gets the colors correct. But “many times the shades of gray will indicate the original colors,” particularly with skin tones.
“I usually ask the customer to let me know the colours. If a colour is unknown I will look at the tones of the grey and use a bit of artistic licence,” he said.
Amazing how more “real” the people appear when colorized!
Colorizing black and white or sepia photos can take around three to four hours, and even longer in a detailed photo, but the changes and how the photo tells its story are profound. “I really brings a dull photo to life,” he said.
What should you do if you’ve got old photos?
As I’ve indicated before, scan them before they get lost or further damaged and then share those scans with your family.
Nick suggests handling them as little as possible and keeping them stored in a clean, dry place.
Once they’re digitized, of course, they can be enhanced, restored and colorized if you so desire.
But if they are not scanned, that choice isn’t even available.
We’re really happy for the work Nick did for us, and for the generosity of so many others who have shared family photos–even when they don’t even know us.
Take care of your photographic heritage!
Nick restored an old photo for me and we got a much better glimpse of my husband’s great-grandmother. You can see the difference here:
And, he very kindly made a video showing how he did it!
Tweetables
Photo restoration: how and why Click to Tweet
Amazing how more real an old photo looks when colorized! Click to Tweet
How can old photos be saved? Click to Tweet
If you’ve got photos you’d like restored, consider looking at Nick’s photo restoration service.
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