Restoring old photographs always present different challenges. In this case, the colours were restored using three different techniques. The 40-year old image was faded. Like most colour photographs, the differnt colours do not fade at a similar rate.
1. The background was actually re-colourized. There is not much software available to do this. It is not simply a matter of changing the colour to the desired hue. Subtle variations in toning, and luminance need to be taken into account. I use a software called Codijy (link here). It does a great job but is very CPU-intensive, and it took nearly 10 minutes of processing just to colorize the wall. 2. The clothing just needed some simple adjustments in photoshop (levels, brightness, contrast, and hue) This was the easiest part of the restoration 3. The skin tone was more difficult. As there was really no magenta/red toning left in the image, the skin had become too yellow. Changing the hue/color just for the skin, and adjusting for contrast, etc. I was able to get a good approximation of the actual skin colour. Next time I'll give some examples of B&W restoration.
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 I know: it doesn't look like much. But here's the point: This painting is about 32' wide, and about 42" tall.
The frame is a very simple, straight profile with a white satin lacquer. So what's so special about that? Well, the moulding is 3 1/2" wide. Those mitered corners have to be exactly at 45 degrees, else you're going to have gaps showing. That's not something you can do with a $100 saw from Home Depot. Our double-mitering saw is almost 40 years old, but it does a beautiful job. And what a beautiful painting, done almost fifty years ago as a self-portrait.  I don't do much photography for real estate listings (though I used to). It's certainly a good source of income for many photographers. It's not an artistic endeavor, rather a technical one. I'm going to give you a quick lesson in this type of photography, so you can do it well.
Equipment required: Two lenses. An ultra-wide angle with a field of view of at least 90 degrees, the other a lens that covers about 60degrees. That would be a 35mm lens if you have a full-frame camera. Camera Tripod - A heavy one would be preferable So... Setup your camera at one corner of the room. About waist-height. Make SURE the camera is not tilted up or down. Take five exposures one stop apart, so you get detail in the brightest part of the image as well as deep in the shadows. Make sure you do not shake or move the camera between exposures. (See how the window at the far right of the above image is not blown out?) Combine all five images using software such as Photomatix, Enfuse, Hugin, etc. The software creates one file that will have detail both in the shadows as well as the highlights, but keeps the image looking natural. Total time required on location is usually about 45 minutes, and another 45 minutes of post-processing the images. Crop/resize for your client's requirements. Want to learn more? Call and I can give one-on-one photo lessons on this or any other subject. The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the "quantity" group: fifty pound of pots rated an "A," forty pounds a "B," and so on. Those being graded on "quality," however, needed to produce only one pot—albeit a perfect one—to get an "A."
Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busily churning out piles of work—and learning from their mistakes—the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay. From: Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles  Amber and Darya are a professional duo playing Cellos. They came in for a photoshoot for their marketing materials and their website. That was so much fun! You can read more about them here
 The first time I saw one of Andre's originals, I thought he was a photographer. He draws portraits in a photographic style that is very subtle. There's depth-of-field, motion blur, specular highlights, and other things happening on these drawings that really warrant them a second look. Don't know how he does it, but I enjoy them to no end.
We do quite a bit of art duplication and scanning. Artists like Andre Walker can then sell their work more affordably than just selling the originals. We are proud to host on this website Andre's amazing drawings. Available in prints, framed prints, and stretched canvases. Take a look here  Here's an interesting framing job. A piece of papyrus is sandwiched between two panes of acrylic. Since light now reaches the back of the papyrus, it becomes translucent, and you can see all the details inherent in the material.
Thank you so much Mark for allowing me to take his portrait. It is so refreshing when the client is looking for one or two images, as opposed to: "how many pictures will I get?" Technical: This was taken without flash, only with available light. A cellphone's torch on the book is lighting the beard (yes, that is Mark's real beard). Camera on a tripod, with remote shutter. About 1/2 second exposure at f8, and ISO 100. About thirty minutes to set the scene, adjust the props and compose. Then setup the camera, and take two or three images, just to be safe. That leaves about fifteen minutes for a coffee, and some great conversation with Mark.   So I just had an email today from a student who wanted to 'apprentice' at a photography studio. This is a long way from what he would have been expecting.
Always so nice to get feedback. This Toronto Landmarks canvas was sold through ART ONE gallery, at First Canadian Place, Toronto. Art One November 27, 2018 · See the difference a beautiful Riveros Streetcar photo on canvas can make to your home. Thank you to our friend and customer David for giving us a look at before and after !
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