Photographs, especially family photos or those taken for special occasions, are often a treasured part of our lives. However, with time, prints - especially older ones - may fade, crack or get damaged in some way. Black Tent Photography provides a comprehensive photo restoration service for a very reasonable cost. We start with a scanned version of the photo and restore it using high-end image processing software. The results can be supplied to you on disc, via email or file transfer; if you would like prints of the restored photo(s), please see our price list for the cost of prints.
We can also scan transparencies, even Kodachrome, which used a unique process which is no longer available, and are notoriously difficult to scan without colour shifts. We have one of the very few Kodachrome scanning profiles still in existence, enabling us to scan Kodachrome slides with a very high degree of colour accuracy. We can also scan Agfa, Fuji, and most other makes of transparency. Our scanning software will remove dust and scratches, and the resulting files can be printed out and look as good as you remember them.
Prices for photo restoration vary depending on the amount of work required to restore an individual photo. For examples please click here; for costs go to our Photo Restoration Prices page.
You can send us the photo(s) you wish to have restored by post to: Black Tent Photography, 145 Durham Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS19 0DS. If you send irrepleacable photos by post, we would recommend using Royal Mail's Special Delivery service; at least you have guaranteed next day delivery, and compensation if your photos are lost or damaged. We prefer to work with original prints and transparencies, as we use high-end scanning hardware and software to get the best results. However, we understand that people may be reluctant to entrust their photos to the tender mercies of Royal Mail. If you really feel you can't part with your prints/transparencies even for a short while, send us your photos on disc, or via email or file transfer (see below) over the internet. Scan your photos (or have them scanned by someone else) at a high resolution (we recommend at least 720 ppi, and in colour, even if the original is black-and-white), first of all making sure that the surface of the print, and the scanner bed, are clean and free of dust (dust and fibre filaments introduce artifacts into the photo that were not there prior to scanning). The best way to do this is to use a proprietary cleaner (available from stores such as Staples and PC World) and a lint-free cloth. You can either transfer the scanned photo(s) onto a CD or USB memory stick and post them to us, or you can email them to us on black-tent@virginmedia.com , or alternatively use a file transfer service such as Dropbox (preferred method).
On receipt of your photo(s) we will send you a quote for the restoration (remember to enclose - or send - a return address or email address for us to contact you). The cost will remain as in the quote even if the restoration work takes longer than estimated. If you would like prints of your restored photo(s), please state this when sending your photo(s), giving the size of print(s) you require, so we can include the cost in our quote. As stated above, prices for prints can be found on our price list page. Bear in mind that small imperfections may remain in the image even after restoration; for example to remove every little speck of dust would in some cases increase the cost too much because of the extra work involved. These may not show up in smaller prints, but would be magnified and therefore visible in larger prints. This is just something to consider when choosing a print size.