The first thing I do with any photo or document to be restored is to gently clean it. I don't use any kind of liquid solvent; only spray air and super-soft, professional lens tissue; any kind of spot or stain will be removed digitally, as I don't want to risk harming the photograph.
The next thing I do is scan the image at 300 dpi or higher (usually higher) and then bring the image into Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended -- far and away the most powerful, professional image enhancement software available today. I then run my own proprietary sequence of Photoshop automated actions which incorporate a number of filters and adjustments to "prime" the photo for restoration.
Next comes the removal of dust, scratches, crinkles, and (depending on the damage to the original), stains, streaks, tears and edge discolorations. Once the photo has gone through this extensive "clean up," I repair any extensive damage (such as reassembling torn pieces) and/or perform any creative work that has been requested by the client--such as removing people or objects from a photo and/or extricating unappealing background distractions.
Next comes the multi-faceted task of correcting the color and tone of the photo and cosmetically "touching up" the subject of the shot if that subject is a person or personable being, such as a pet. Explaining this process of juggling adjustment layers, layer and vector masking, blending modes, and Smart filters would not be very interesting reading. Suffice to say, the core restoration process occurs at this level, requiring an advanced battery of digital imaging skills and techniques which are far in advance of the photo enhancement programs that come embedded in many of today's printers, scanners and digital cameras. In other words, this is where I do the work that checking a box on your printer cannot do.
The final step is the over-all polish which usually includes rebuilding and squaring the edges of the photo, overlaying custom digital frames (if that is requested), and adding text and/or graphics if need be -- such as putting the names of ancestors over their individual images in an old family photo. If a Family Tree has been ordered, this is where I put my experience as a graphic designer to work, laying each photo into a custom, large format design.
