photo restoration services.

[richard121383]

Has anybody here tried to make any money out of photo restoration? The only reason I ask is that I may set up my own web site offering retouching of old/new photographs. It would be on a hobby basis and only if I make money to feed my habit (photography I mean), then I will be more than happy. I've seen there are a few web sites offering this service and charge, what I think, fairly high rates. Is there a lively market for this kind of service or am I wasting my time. Anybody who has done it, any pointers or advice for me?

Thanks

Richard

 

[Doug MacMillan]

Richard,

Go to http://www.retouchpro.com/ . You may find some interesting information there.

Please don't take this wrong, but your post is similar to the ones in the pro forum where every other D60 amateur wants to go in the wedding business. It seems every other person who's bought a copy of PS7 wants to go in the retouching business. While that's fine, I think it's almost insulting to the wonderful retouching professionals out there who have spent a lot of time learning their craft. Retouching services charge "fairly high rates" because good photo restoration is a labor intensive task. When there's significant damage, it takes a true artist to do a decent restoration job. The minor repairs seem easy, but do you have control over what your clients bring you?

My experience with photo restoration dates back to when I had a photo studio and we offered restoration work. We farmed the work out to restoration labs, who made a work print and used airbrushes, pencils and other techniques to restore. Thank goodness for Photoshop!

If I were to try to go into the business, I'd gather as many old photos from family and friends as I could find. I'd try to get ones representing every type of job you may see, from minor damage to reconstruction. Do the work as if it were a job and see how long it really takes. I'd also work on the samples at retouch pro and compare my results to others. I'd then determine if I would be willing to trade my spare time for what I could make at it.

If I decided I had the talent and wanted to pursue it, I'd visit a local frame shop and see if they would be willing to work out a deal with them. If you put up an attractive display showing your capabilities, they could accept the work for you. I'm sure they'd want a cut, but you can point out that this will bring them framing business.

At the minimum, I think you need:
Katrin Eismann's Book
A calibrated monitor and printer
A professional graphics tablet.
The European Epson 2200 (2000?)
Artistic talent
Business sense
Patience
Time

If you decide to pursue it, please respect those who feed their family, not just buy more toys with photo restoration by not undercutting them with unrealistically low prices. You'll be cheating yourself and them.

Regards,
Doug

Has anybody here tried to make any money out of photo restoration?
The only reason I ask is that I may set up my own web site offering
retouching of old/new photographs. It would be on a hobby basis and
only if I make money to feed my habit (photography I mean), then I
will be more than happy. I've seen there are a few web sites
offering this service and charge, what I think, fairly high rates.
Is there a lively market for this kind of service or am I wasting
my time. Anybody who has done it, any pointers or advice for me?

Thanks

Richard

 

[Carolyn Watts]

Doug
Why the European Epson 2200?

Go to http://www.retouchpro.com/ . You may find some interesting
information there.

Please don't take this wrong, but your post is similar to the ones
in the pro forum where every other D60 amateur wants to go in the
wedding business. It seems every other person who's bought a copy
of PS7 wants to go in the retouching business. While that's fine,
I think it's almost insulting to the wonderful retouching
professionals out there who have spent a lot of time learning their
craft. Retouching services charge "fairly high rates" because good
photo restoration is a labor intensive task. When there's
significant damage, it takes a true artist to do a decent
restoration job. The minor repairs seem easy, but do you have
control over what your clients bring you?

My experience with photo restoration dates back to when I had a
photo studio and we offered restoration work. We farmed the work
out to restoration labs, who made a work print and used airbrushes,
pencils and other techniques to restore. Thank goodness for
Photoshop!

If I were to try to go into the business, I'd gather as many old
photos from family and friends as I could find. I'd try to get
ones representing every type of job you may see, from minor damage
to reconstruction. Do the work as if it were a job and see how
long it really takes. I'd also work on the samples at retouch pro
and compare my results to others. I'd then determine if I would be
willing to trade my spare time for what I could make at it.

If I decided I had the talent and wanted to pursue it, I'd visit a
local frame shop and see if they would be willing to work out a
deal with them. If you put up an attractive display showing your
capabilities, they could accept the work for you. I'm sure they'd
want a cut, but you can point out that this will bring them framing
business.

At the minimum, I think you need:
Katrin Eismann's Book
A calibrated monitor and printer
A professional graphics tablet.
The European Epson 2200 (2000?)
Artistic talent
Business sense
Patience
Time

If you decide to pursue it, please respect those who feed their
family, not just buy more toys with photo restoration by not
undercutting them with unrealistically low prices. You'll be
cheating yourself and them.

Regards,
Doug

Has anybody here tried to make any money out of photo restoration?
The only reason I ask is that I may set up my own web site offering
retouching of old/new photographs. It would be on a hobby basis and
only if I make money to feed my habit (photography I mean), then I
will be more than happy. I've seen there are a few web sites
offering this service and charge, what I think, fairly high rates.
Is there a lively market for this kind of service or am I wasting
my time. Anybody who has done it, any pointers or advice for me?

Thanks

Richard

--
Carolyn

 

[Philo Calhoun]

I wonder about the rec for the European epson (which would be the 2100). The American 2200 works great. It just omitted that grey calibrator, which was much more limited anyway compared with a good printer profile.

Has anybody here tried to make any money out of photo restoration?
The only reason I ask is that I may set up my own web site offering
retouching of old/new photographs. It would be on a hobby basis and
only if I make money to feed my habit (photography I mean), then I
will be more than happy. I've seen there are a few web sites
offering this service and charge, what I think, fairly high rates.
Is there a lively market for this kind of service or am I wasting
my time. Anybody who has done it, any pointers or advice for me?

Thanks

Richard

 

[Marlene DeGrood]

Doug MacMillan wrote:
Doug,

Very well stated! I've been a professional "events" photographer (specializing in 4 wheel drive off road) for 20 years. I shoot on film, have my own custom color lab, and print 16x20 images with the event name and year imprinted into the photo so it looks like a poster. Ever since the "amateurs" got a hold of digital cameras and a printer, they think they can do what I do. Not the case. I did give up one job when my exclussive rights were violated by the coordinators allowing in a guy with his digital camera to shoot and sell digital prints, coffee mugs, mouse pads etc. The participents hated his work and were extremely angry with the sponsors for allowing that to happen.

This is my total lively hood and it's tragic when some amateur wants to make a few extra bucks off of his/her hobby and take away the food off of my table. My expenses are huge and I pay high taxes on my profit. How many amateurs even report their "extra" income to the IRS?

So thanks again for what you have written, I'm glad that there's someone out there who realizes the damages that amateurs can have on the professional's livelyhood

Richard,

Go to http://www.retouchpro.com/ . You may find some interesting
information there.

Please don't take this wrong, but your post is similar to the ones
in the pro forum where every other D60 amateur wants to go in the
wedding business. It seems every other person who's bought a copy
of PS7 wants to go in the retouching business. While that's fine,
I think it's almost insulting to the wonderful retouching
professionals out there who have spent a lot of time learning their
craft. Retouching services charge "fairly high rates" because good
photo restoration is a labor intensive task. When there's
significant damage, it takes a true artist to do a decent
restoration job. The minor repairs seem easy, but do you have
control over what your clients bring you?

My experience with photo restoration dates back to when I had a
photo studio and we offered restoration work. We farmed the work
out to restoration labs, who made a work print and used airbrushes,
pencils and other techniques to restore. Thank goodness for
Photoshop!

If I were to try to go into the business, I'd gather as many old
photos from family and friends as I could find. I'd try to get
ones representing every type of job you may see, from minor damage
to reconstruction. Do the work as if it were a job and see how
long it really takes. I'd also work on the samples at retouch pro
and compare my results to others. I'd then determine if I would be
willing to trade my spare time for what I could make at it.

If I decided I had the talent and wanted to pursue it, I'd visit a
local frame shop and see if they would be willing to work out a
deal with them. If you put up an attractive display showing your
capabilities, they could accept the work for you. I'm sure they'd
want a cut, but you can point out that this will bring them framing
business.

At the minimum, I think you need:
Katrin Eismann's Book
A calibrated monitor and printer
A professional graphics tablet.
The European Epson 2200 (2000?)
Artistic talent
Business sense
Patience
Time

If you decide to pursue it, please respect those who feed their
family, not just buy more toys with photo restoration by not
undercutting them with unrealistically low prices. You'll be
cheating yourself and them.

Regards,
Doug

Marlene
http://www.thedigitalspectrum.com

 

[Doug MacMillan]

Doug
Why the European Epson 2200?

My only reason for recommending the Epson 2200 (2100) is for print longevity. I know this is a highly debated area, but the consensus of opinioin seems to be that prints from printers that use pigmented inks last longer.

Perhaps I shouldn't have been so specific. I think it's important that the customer is given a print that won't fade in a few years.

If you worked with a frame shop, this could be turned into a marketing tool, pointing out that proper archival framing is critical to insuring the longevity of the print. If the customer is going to the trouble of restoring a photo of their grandparents, wouldn't it be nice if they did what they could to make sure their grandchildren will have the image?

This makes me think of another point. I would never give the customer a digital file of my restoration work. I would also print a copyright on the back. If they want to argue it's their photo, agree with them. Point out all the hard work belongs to you. They are buying a finished product, not the processes used to create the finished product. Asking for the work materials is like me asking Michelin for the tire molds when I buy one of their tires. This won't keep them from scanning and printing themselves, so I'd do my price structure so I made all the money "up front" on the restoration process. I'd then make the actual print prices attractive enough that they'd be less likely to steal your work. I'd make sure I pointed out that "archival" methods and special equipment were used to create the print. Folks want to believe what you tell them, as long as it makes sense. Just make sure what you tell them is the truth.

Doug

 

[clausiam]

Has anybody here tried to make any money out of photo restoration?
The only reason I ask is that I may set up my own web site offering
retouching of old/new photographs. It would be on a hobby basis and
only if I make money to feed my habit (photography I mean), then I
will be more than happy. I've seen there are a few web sites
offering this service and charge, what I think, fairly high rates.
Is there a lively market for this kind of service or am I wasting
my time. Anybody who has done it, any pointers or advice for me?

Richard,

It can be done but it's a lot of effort to put into something that most likely won't make more than a little "fun-money". I went through this exercise about a year ago; doing several free restorations for friends and family to have a "portfolio" if you will. This took many hours. Then setting up a website (more hours) and starting the process of getting listed and ranked on Google (more hours). At one point I managed to become number 9 on the list when searching for "Photo Restoration" and I got several clients then. But then Google changed their (somewhat secret) algorithm for calculating ranks and suddenly I was no longer in the top 100. This pretty much killed my site in terms of traffic and clients and I have not had time since then to try getting the ranking back up. Also if you're like me and take pride in the work you do, don't think that it's easy money. You typically end up spending more time than you think in finetuning the restoration. I had one client where I quoted $70 which was insane (I can see now) since I ended up spending about 15+ hours on it. I wouldn't do that again!

Overall I think if you do this it should be for the fun and if you make any money in the process consider that a bonus. If you have a full-time day job and a non-Photoshop life as well there just aren't enough hours in the day to do this seriously.

--
Claus
http://www.photoedits.com - Photo Restoration and Editing Services

 

[Bart M.]

Marlene,

Well, I guess I'll be the voice of the "amateur." The bottom line is in the world of photography; neither you nor any other "pro" has the right to have exclusive privileges to sell your product. There are people out there that do not want to pay the high prices the "pros" get for a portrait or a wedding. I can undercut a pro wedding photographer significantly because I don't have any overhead - other than a high-end digital camera and a Kodak dye-sub printer for any prints up to 8x10. I'm nowhere near the best photographer in the world, but I do know I can hold my own to some of the other "pro" work I've seen. It's not the intent of the "amateur" to take away your lively hood, but instead do something they enjoy doing and make a little money at it. Besides, the clients most "amateurs" attract are not the ones that have more money than brains and pay an absurd amount for wedding shoot and end up with 'not-much-better-quality' than a well talented "amateur." There's room for both "amateurs" and "pros" and there always will be.

BTW, to add icing to the cake, I don't even keep a copyright to my work. I give the client a CD with all the original pictures and they're free to reproduce them however they want. I'll never forget our wedding photographer wanting to charge us over $100 for a copy of an 8x10 (this was back in 1994) and this is my little way of retribution. He never got the $100 and we ended up taking the original to a photo store and copied it on their photocopier for $8 (yea, I know it’s illegal, but charging over $100 for an 8x10 should be too). The print looked perfect and we still have it today. Some “pros” simply take advantage of people with the ridiculous prices they charge and the availability of high-end digital cameras, Photoshop and good quality printers are leveling the playing field.

To make a short story long, not all “amateurs” do shoty work and some deserve to be paid a fair price for their work.

Bart
http://www.thedigitalshutter.com

Very well stated! I've been a professional "events" photographer
(specializing in 4 wheel drive off road) for 20 years. I shoot on
film, have my own custom color lab, and print 16x20 images with the
event name and year imprinted into the photo so it looks like a
poster. Ever since the "amateurs" got a hold of digital cameras
and a printer, they think they can do what I do. Not the case. I
did give up one job when my exclussive rights were violated by the
coordinators allowing in a guy with his digital camera to shoot and
sell digital prints, coffee mugs, mouse pads etc. The participents
hated his work and were extremely angry with the sponsors for
allowing that to happen.
This is my total lively hood and it's tragic when some amateur
wants to make a few extra bucks off of his/her hobby and take away
the food off of my table. My expenses are huge and I pay high
taxes on my profit. How many amateurs even report their "extra"
income to the IRS?

So thanks again for what you have written, I'm glad that there's
someone out there who realizes the damages that amateurs can have
on the professional's livelyhood

Richard,

Go to http://www.retouchpro.com/ . You may find some interesting
information there.

Please don't take this wrong, but your post is similar to the ones
in the pro forum where every other D60 amateur wants to go in the
wedding business. It seems every other person who's bought a copy
of PS7 wants to go in the retouching business. While that's fine,
I think it's almost insulting to the wonderful retouching
professionals out there who have spent a lot of time learning their
craft. Retouching services charge "fairly high rates" because good
photo restoration is a labor intensive task. When there's
significant damage, it takes a true artist to do a decent
restoration job. The minor repairs seem easy, but do you have
control over what your clients bring you?

My experience with photo restoration dates back to when I had a
photo studio and we offered restoration work. We farmed the work
out to restoration labs, who made a work print and used airbrushes,
pencils and other techniques to restore. Thank goodness for
Photoshop!

If I were to try to go into the business, I'd gather as many old
photos from family and friends as I could find. I'd try to get
ones representing every type of job you may see, from minor damage
to reconstruction. Do the work as if it were a job and see how
long it really takes. I'd also work on the samples at retouch pro
and compare my results to others. I'd then determine if I would be
willing to trade my spare time for what I could make at it.

If I decided I had the talent and wanted to pursue it, I'd visit a
local frame shop and see if they would be willing to work out a
deal with them. If you put up an attractive display showing your
capabilities, they could accept the work for you. I'm sure they'd
want a cut, but you can point out that this will bring them framing
business.

At the minimum, I think you need:
Katrin Eismann's Book
A calibrated monitor and printer
A professional graphics tablet.
The European Epson 2200 (2000?)
Artistic talent
Business sense
Patience
Time

If you decide to pursue it, please respect those who feed their
family, not just buy more toys with photo restoration by not
undercutting them with unrealistically low prices. You'll be
cheating yourself and them.

Regards,
Doug

Marlene
http://www.thedigitalspectrum.com

 

[Todd Meyers]

I thought the European one also does direct printing onto the face of a CD-R?

Has anybody here tried to make any money out of photo restoration?
The only reason I ask is that I may set up my own web site offering
retouching of old/new photographs. It would be on a hobby basis and
only if I make money to feed my habit (photography I mean), then I
will be more than happy. I've seen there are a few web sites
offering this service and charge, what I think, fairly high rates.
Is there a lively market for this kind of service or am I wasting
my time. Anybody who has done it, any pointers or advice for me?

Thanks

Richard

 

[Philo Calhoun]

I wouldn't recommend that. The real cost of the 8x10 is the time (and experience) of the wedding photographer getting the "once in a lifetime" shots correct. I understand that the proof of quality is the product, not the credentials of the photographer or retoucher, but I do think that if one has commissioned a photographer or retoucher to do some work, one should pay them fair value for it. If one thinks it is too much, one should not have commissioned them. It is not that hard to get the information up front on costs.

Bart Moore wrote:

I'll never forget our wedding photographer wanting to charge us over $100 for a copy of an 8x10 (this was back in 1994) and this is my little way of retribution. He never got the $100 and we ended up taking the original to a photo store and copied it on their photocopier for $8 (yea, I know it’s illegal, but charging over $100 for an 8x10 should be too). The print looked perfect and we still have it today.

 

[Bart M.]

Maybe I left out a key point...

The photographer WAS PAID A VERY HIGH PRICE FOR THE WORK! This was simply a 2nd copy of a print we already paid for, amoung MANY others. $100 for a 2nd copy of an 8x10 is wrong any way you slice it.

Bart
http://www.thedigitalshutter.com

I wouldn't recommend that. The real cost of the 8x10 is the time
(and experience) of the wedding photographer getting the "once in a
lifetime" shots correct. I understand that the proof of quality is
the product, not the credentials of the photographer or retoucher,
but I do think that if one has commissioned a photographer or
retoucher to do some work, one should pay them fair value for it.
If one thinks it is too much, one should not have commissioned
them. It is not that hard to get the information up front on costs.

Bart Moore wrote:

I'll never forget our wedding photographer

wanting to charge us over $100 for a copy of an 8x10 (this was back
in 1994) and this is my little way of retribution. He never got
the $100 and we ended up taking the original to a photo store and
copied it on their photocopier for $8 (yea, I know it’s illegal,
but charging over $100 for an 8x10 should be too). The print
looked perfect and we still have it today.

 

[JerryAllen]

Please don't take this wrong, but your post is similar to the ones
in the pro forum where every other D60 amateur wants to go in the
wedding business ...

How true. I have done an extensive amount of restoration work for friends and family and I actually think I could do it for profit ... however ... you have to wonder how many "hobbies" have gone sour once they become your "business". Doing this for my friends and family is an entirely different matter than for clients. Friends and family accept what they are given for free and are grateful for it. Also, I can pick and choose what I want to do and when I want to do it. Not so with a paying client ... and ... trust what Doug is saying about this being long and tediouis work. On some of the images I have worked on my hand was so tired it ached, but I did not mind because it was a labor of love ... not necessity. Think long and hard before you screw up your hobby by making it a business. Cheers ...

Jerry

 

[Joe Pa]

As an amatuer photographer, I have great respect for the work of some professional photographers, as they combine the best of both technology, and artistic espression. These professionals are in a class by themselves and I doubt spend much of their time worrying about the impact semi-pro or amatuers looking to buy new toys will have on their ability to earn a living.

If you are good, your work will speak for itself, and justify the prices your wish to charge. If the customer isn't willing to, or can't afford to pay your prices, then they most likely won't do businesss with you anyway. Why begrudge or discourage someone who shares your passion for this field from increasing their experience, portfolio, and/or equipment by working with customers that wouldn't pay your prices.

It's called competition, and in the USA, it should be encouraged and expected. If I love retouching and am willing to provide the service at a lower price than you, and I meet the customers needs, then I consider myself a smart business person. It happens everyday in every other field out there, ask GM and Ford how they felt about Toyota, and Honda, and now Hyuandai. Why do you feel your field deserves special consideration from fair competition?

Joe

Doug MacMillan wrote:
Doug,

Very well stated! I've been a professional "events" photographer
(specializing in 4 wheel drive off road) for 20 years. I shoot on
film, have my own custom color lab, and print 16x20 images with the
event name and year imprinted into the photo so it looks like a
poster. Ever since the "amateurs" got a hold of digital cameras
and a printer, they think they can do what I do. Not the case. I
did give up one job when my exclussive rights were violated by the
coordinators allowing in a guy with his digital camera to shoot and
sell digital prints, coffee mugs, mouse pads etc. The participents
hated his work and were extremely angry with the sponsors for
allowing that to happen.
This is my total lively hood and it's tragic when some amateur
wants to make a few extra bucks off of his/her hobby and take away
the food off of my table. My expenses are huge and I pay high
taxes on my profit. How many amateurs even report their "extra"
income to the IRS?

So thanks again for what you have written, I'm glad that there's
someone out there who realizes the damages that amateurs can have
on the professional's livelyhood

 

[Marina B.106944]

Doug,

Very well stated! I've been a professional "events" photographer
(specializing in 4 wheel drive off road) for 20 years. I shoot on
film, have my own custom color lab, and print 16x20 images with the
event name and year imprinted into the photo so it looks like a
poster.

Marlene, I believe Richard was talking about photo retouching, not photography. All photographers are not retouchers and all retouchers are not photographers.

Ever since the "amateurs" got a hold of digital cameras
and a printer, they think they can do what I do. Not the case.

There are many "amateurs", on this forum alone, that can do what you do. Look around.

I did give up one job when my exclussive rights were violated by the
coordinators allowing in a guy with his digital camera to shoot and
sell digital prints, coffee mugs, mouse pads etc. The participents
hated his work and were extremely angry with the sponsors for
allowing that to happen.
This is my total lively hood and it's tragic when some amateur
wants to make a few extra bucks off of his/her hobby and take away
the food off of my table. My expenses are huge and I pay high
taxes on my profit. How many amateurs even report their "extra"
income to the IRS?

I don't know of any accomplished photographer worrying that somebody selling coffee mugs, mouse pads or photo retouching will take food off of his/her table. What would that say about his craft? Is Cadillac worried about used car salesmen putting them out of business? Of course not.

 

[Marlene DeGrood]

I think you're missing the point. Some poor client gets sold on getting a cheaper product by "just as good" a photographer or photo retoucher. So the client passes the professional over and gets less than standard work from the cheap guy. Well the cheap guy gets paid for the work by the unhappy client but fullfilling the contract and the professional gets the client back, but the pro still lost income and the amatuer doesn't care if he/she gets repeat business, they'll just move on to some other sucker. Unless you're in the business you won't understand what this does. I've gotten many jobs back but the loss of income, the money that went to the one time "other guy" , amounts to a substantial amount. I'm not talking off the top of my head, I have 20 years experience with amatuers.......the sisters, brothers, cousins and friends of the client who "could do just as good a job for cheaper". Well, I've always gotten my client back and many times had to go back and clean up after the cheaper guy.

If you're not making your livelyhood from photography......you simply wouldn't understand.

Sure, I can do photoretouching too, but I'm not a professional photo retoucher and wouldn't dream of stepping in saying I could do just as good a job. I think it's called respect.

Marlene
http://www.thedigitalspectrum.com

Doug,

Very well stated! I've been a professional "events" photographer
(specializing in 4 wheel drive off road) for 20 years. I shoot on
film, have my own custom color lab, and print 16x20 images with the
event name and year imprinted into the photo so it looks like a
poster.

Marlene, I believe Richard was talking about photo retouching, not
photography. All photographers are not retouchers and all
retouchers are not photographers.

Ever since the "amateurs" got a hold of digital cameras
and a printer, they think they can do what I do. Not the case.

There are many "amateurs", on this forum alone, that can do what
you do. Look around.

I did give up one job when my exclussive rights were violated by the
coordinators allowing in a guy with his digital camera to shoot and
sell digital prints, coffee mugs, mouse pads etc. The participents
hated his work and were extremely angry with the sponsors for
allowing that to happen.
This is my total lively hood and it's tragic when some amateur
wants to make a few extra bucks off of his/her hobby and take away
the food off of my table. My expenses are huge and I pay high
taxes on my profit. How many amateurs even report their "extra"
income to the IRS?

I don't know of any accomplished photographer worrying that
somebody selling coffee mugs, mouse pads or photo retouching will
take food off of his/her table. What would that say about his
craft? Is Cadillac worried about used car salesmen putting them
out of business? Of course not.

 

[Doug Mac65597]

Maybe I left out a key point...

The photographer WAS PAID A VERY HIGH PRICE FOR THE WORK! This was
simply a 2nd copy of a print we already paid for, amoung MANY
others. $100 for a 2nd copy of an 8x10 is wrong any way you slice
it.

Bart,

In an earlier post you stated: "Besides, the clients most "amateurs" attract are not the ones that have more money than brains and pay an absurd amount for wedding shoot and end up with 'not-much-better-quality' than a well talented "amateur.""
Do you feel this is your situation?

Doug

Bart
http://www.thedigitalshutter.com

 

[Marlene DeGrood]

Doug
I went to your website.......nice work......actually......excellent work!!
Marlene
http://www.thedigitalspectrum.com

 

[Marina B.106944]

No, you're missing the point. It's called competition and it's a reality in the business world. It has nothing to do with respect. I was raised in this competitive environment. My mother was a professional artist. She worked in acrylic and oil paint. She raised four kids single handedly on her art alone. And might I add that we lived well. Never was food taken from our table by an "amateur" artist. Her work spoke for itself. She exhibited and sold her work in galleries worldwide as well as on the art-show circuit. She did well in juried shows and unjuried art/craft fairs. Also made money on commissioned work. Like I said, her work spoke for itself. If someone couldn't afford her work, they bought something cheaper. At the same time there were plenty who could and were more than happy to pay the price for it. BTW, anyone who receives money for a product/service is a "professional", while those who aren't compensated are called "amateurs". The terms that should be used in this discussion are "talented" and "untalented" Untalented artists and photographers can't make a living, talented ones can. If one's work can't stand up to the competition it's time to change careers. I certainly don't have the talent my mother had, that's why I'm not an artist. I understand this thing called competition and I, like you, would be worried about the food on my table. Nursing is where my talent lies : )

I think you're missing the point. Some poor client gets sold on
getting a cheaper product by "just as good" a photographer or photo
retoucher. So the client passes the professional over and gets
less than standard work from the cheap guy. Well the cheap guy
gets paid for the work by the unhappy client but fullfilling the
contract and the professional gets the client back, but the pro
still lost income and the amatuer doesn't care if he/she gets
repeat business, they'll just move on to some other sucker. Unless
you're in the business you won't understand what this does. I've
gotten many jobs back but the loss of income, the money that went
to the one time "other guy" , amounts to a substantial amount. I'm
not talking off the top of my head, I have 20 years experience with
amatuers.......the sisters, brothers, cousins and friends of the
client who "could do just as good a job for cheaper". Well, I've
always gotten my client back and many times had to go back and
clean up after the cheaper guy.
If you're not making your livelyhood from photography......you
simply wouldn't understand.

Sure, I can do photoretouching too, but I'm not a professional
photo retoucher and wouldn't dream of stepping in saying I could do
just as good a job. I think it's called respect.

Marlene
http://www.thedigitalspectrum.com

 

[Bill M]

Get this subject of of this forum please.

Richard,

Go to http://www.retouchpro.com/ . You may find some interesting
information there.

Please don't take this wrong, but your post is similar to the ones
in the pro forum where every other D60 amateur wants to go in the
wedding business. It seems every other person who's bought a copy
of PS7 wants to go in the retouching business. While that's fine,
I think it's almost insulting to the wonderful retouching
professionals out there who have spent a lot of time learning their

, C-210

 

[steve john]

About five years ago, I started doing restorations for friends, family and co-workers. About two years ago, I was in my local camera shop where I am a regular customer. They had been doing in-house restorations and had just fired the guy that did them. The manager of the store had seen several examples of my work and asked me if I could do a "rush job" for the store. I did and the customer loved it. I started doing restorations for this company, that owned three camera shops altogether. Last year I picked up a couple more stores by word of mouth. I haven't been impressed with most of the websites that offer restorations services. Looking at examples on the internet and looking at before and after prints are two different things. Also, I think people are a lot more willing to give up a family keepsake for a period time to a local camera store than mail it across country. In my area, most stores do the easy restorations in-house and only the difficult one get sent out. These are just my humble opinions and observations. Try some of your local camera stores and advertising your services at a local level. Good luck!
Steve

Has anybody here tried to make any money out of photo restoration?
The only reason I ask is that I may set up my own web site offering
retouching of old/new photographs. It would be on a hobby basis and
only if I make money to feed my habit (photography I mean), then I
will be more than happy. I've seen there are a few web sites
offering this service and charge, what I think, fairly high rates.
Is there a lively market for this kind of service or am I wasting
my time. Anybody who has done it, any pointers or advice for me?

Thanks

Richard