Precision Photo Restoration & “Digital Surgery”
Preserve your past before it becomes forgotten.
Time is the enemy of printed photographs. UV light, humidity, and simple aging are slowly erasing the images that define your family’s legacy.
Whether it’s a torn portrait from the 1800s or a faded wedding photo from the 70s, I specialize in digital surgery for your photographs. I don’t just filter and print; I meticulously reconstruct missing details, repair cracks, and correct color shifts to bring the image back to life.
The Truth About AI Restoration
You may have seen apps that promise to “instantly fix” old photos using Artificial Intelligence. While AI is a powerful tool, it has a major flaw: it guesses.
When AI tries to sharpen a blurry face, it often invents new features—changing the shape of a nose or the set of the eyes. The result is a sharp photo, but it doesn’t look like your grandmother anymore.
My approach is different.
While I use modern tools to assist the process, I rely on manual artistry to ensure the likeness remains true to the original person. My goal is to restore the photo, not replace the face.
Your Originals Never Leave My Hands
Because these memories are irreplaceable, I do not accept mailed submissions. The risk of a carrier losing your original photo is simply not worth taking.
The Process:
Schedule a Consultation: Fill in my contact form, call or text 571-249-5566. Call ahead if you plan to bring your damaged photos to my studio in Woodbridge. I really need to see it in person. Sending a photo from your phone doesn’t really help.
Assessment: We will review the damage together, and I will give you a transparent quote based on the complexity of the “surgery” required.
Security: I digitally capture your photos in-house using high-resolution camera systems. Your physical originals are stored safely until you pick them up.
Restoration Levels
Every photo is different. Some need a simple color correction, while others require hours of complex reconstruction. I offer tiered restoration levels to fit your goals:
Level 1: Surface Cleanup: Removing minor dust, scratches, and basic color correction.
Level 2: Detailed Restoration: Repairing tears, water damage, and fading.
Level 3: Reconstruction: Rebuilding missing background details or severe damage.
Level 4: The Most Important: I’ll guide you through a process that will make your image even more cherished by all.
Christmas With Sister
This was the only photo my client could find of she and her sister together. The original was a mess. Yellowing image, very dark, cracks, and scratches. Look at the gash on the right side of the “Before” photo! It passes through some very complex detail.
After one hour she was excited about the progress I made, so I kept working on it. I was able to remanufacture missing details in that area and you can even see a bit more into the shadows now as well.
TIME: 3 Hours
Old House
There was very little image left on this faded, cracked image. It was full of dirt and spiderweb scratches. It was part of a bigger order where there was a more important image to work on so I didn’t get to take this to the level of completion I would have liked.
I did not need to remove every little flaw as a result. Even so, you can see what an improvement I made. When I work with an image, I also work with the client to decide how far an image needs to be restored before declaired a finished piece. You wouldn’t want me to spend five hours retouching and restoring and image that wasn’t that important.
TIME: 1 Hour
Dad’s Old Race Car
The original photo was mounted to a plaque that held a trophy above the print. Old and faded from age and too much sun light exposure my client handed it to me with hope in her eyes. Could I do something with the image? I already had ideas brewing.
In the end, I brought back as much as I could. I made it black and white again and left it at that point. I told the client I could have retouched some of the paint chips off the front of the car but they wanted me to leave them there.
TIME: 1 Hour
Vietnam Fighter Group
The sky and the tarmac on this image are full of either dirt or possibly light leaks—didn’t matter, I needed to remove it. This damage made it’s way into the group of men sitting on the wing and below it. They were dark with muted tones. I replaced the sky and cleaned up the tarmac. The men all have more detail in them and are brighter.
TIME: 2 Hours
Not all photos can be restored in just one or two hours. The longest amount of time I spent was 10 hours on one image. It all depends on how important the image is to you.
It’s not about fixing every image you have. It’s about repairing the most cherished.
No photo is ever completely complete!
It’s true. Restoring an image to it true full glory can take many hours and it really isn’t necessary—you just have to get it to a point where it appears to be close. The photos above were all completed in a timeframe dictated by the client—they told me when to stop.
It’s not about making it perfect, it’s about getting it to a point where it looks like what we think it looked like.
It’s not about restoring a every old photo you have either, but rather a select few that really matter. I can give you a quote for each with different levels of quality depending on what will work for your situation.
Photo restorations make great gifts. No, let me rephrase that. They make awesome gifts! Why? Because those of us who are aging find that our families and their history become more and more valuable. So naturally, a restored image from the 1800’s would make an awesome gift.
I’m local. That means, you can hand deliver your precious images to me rather than have to worry if they get lost in the mail.
MARK GILVEY CREATIVE…Because great photo restoration is priceless!