Need help finding the right restoration artist? If so, rest assured - Best Photo Repair is here to offer you how to advice?for finding the very best photo restoration artist to fulfill your restoration needs. We are here to give you inside tips into the business so that you can?make an informed?choice and avoid costly mistakes.? Throughout BestPhotoRepair.com, you will find advice on?everything related to?digital imaging -?from how to find a quality photo restoration artist? . . . to?do-it-yourself photo restoration tips. We even offer tips on portrait photography and how to find the right wedding photographer for your once-in-a-lifetime event. But before you begin exploring, we would like?to offer some quick tips right here right now for those of you who do not have time to fully explore?the information offered on this?website. Quick Tips at a Glance Quality restoration artists?will provide samples of their work - before and after pictures if you will. Study those photos carefully (do not be fooled by the quality of the actual image as most webmasters will?upload low resolution files so that the website will load quickly for viewers). Ask yourself, do the subjects?in the "after photos" look like real people or do they look like cartoon characters? Unfortunately, many photo restorers?simply do not?have the required skills or artistry?to repair photos without distorting the photo so completely that?the subjects?become cartoon like characters. Unless you want Grandpa to look like Homer Simpson, move on to the next website. Avoid the "don't pay until you receive the photo" restorers.? It may be tempting to?send your cherished photo to?four different restoration artists who do not require payment upfront and then pick the best restored photo and pay only that "artist". But we strongly advise against that method of choosing a restoration artist. Why? There are many reasons. First of all, it's simply an unfair practice. Performing quality restoration work is an art?that?requires a lot of time and tedious work. It's simply unfair to ask four artists to devote their precious time to your photo when you have absolutely no intention of paying three of them for their efforts. More importantly, if you use the?above method of?selecting a restorer, you will essentially be selecting the "best" restored?photograph from four mediocre restored photographs.?Simply?put,?a true artist values his or her time and talent and will not give it away freely. Contrary to popular belief, photo restoration and repair is not about computer magic; it's about art, experience, knowledge, passion, and hard work.?Chances are, if an artist does not require payment upfront, he does not value his?art?. . .?nor?will he devote much time to your cherished photograph. If the artist places no value on his work or time, do you honestly?believe you will be getting the very best results? Selecting an artist who offers a money-back guarantee is much wiser than selecting an "artist" who places no value on his work and therefore requires no payment upfront. Still not convinced? Let me just say this; 25% of?our past clients?attempted the above method of selecting a restoration artist. They sent their photos to various companies?only to?be disappointed?by each and every final result. After wasting precious time . . . they eventually sent their photos to us to be restored properly . . . and happily paid in advance. In all our years of restoration work, we have only been asked for a refund three times. Avoid restoration artists or companies that?promise,?or even guarantee,?extremely fast turnaround times, especially for photos that require a lot of restoration work. "Offering" fast turnaround times is not the same as promising -?or guaranteeing - fast turnaround times. It stands to reason that if a company guarantees a fast turnaround time, they may not be devoting as much time to your photograph as it deserves. We always offer fast turnaround times, when possible, but our first priority is quality work not QUICK results. Photo processing. (This subject is so important, we probably should have listed it first.) Does your restoration artist print?your photos on?a home?printer? Does he take them to the local Walmart or?drugstore for processing? ?If so, you will probably receive a substandard final print and not even realize it until it's much too late. Like photo restoration, photo processing is an art form. Only professional, highly trained technicians?can provide truly?beautiful, long-lasting?prints. And those professional, highly trained technicians can only be found at professional photo processing labs; labs that?do not service the public but instead service only equally highly trained professionals in the industry.??? Do not be afraid to ask if a prospective restorer uses a professional lab. And if they don't, continue the search until you find one that does. We hope you've enjoyed these quick tips for finding a photo restoration service. If you have time, we invite you to explore our site for more tips and suggestions for finding restoration artists and photographers. In addition, if you are a budding restoration artist yourself, you will probably want to explore our restoration tips page. ? Additional Tips for Finding a Restoraton Artist When examining?a potential artist's?work, ask yourself these questions. 1) Are the tones rich and deep?. . . or do they look faded or washed out? (This question applies to black and white images as well) A photograph that has been properly restored will have deep, rich tones, much like a new photograph. 2) Is the photograph sharp and clear? Although the quality and detail of an image cannot always be restored to a like new condition -?especially heavily damaged or poorly scanned photographs, the quality and detail?can be restored to most images. Examine the?artist's "before picture" carefully. Compare it to the "after" picture.?If?the restorer?has failed to dramtically improve the overall quality and detail in the image, he has failed to restore that image properly. 3) Did you scan your image at 300 DPIs or higher? If not, did the restoration artist suggest doing so? Or did he agree to restore the image "as is"? Be cautious?of any restoration artist?who is willng to work on an image that has been scanned at a low DPI (under 300). It is very difficult, if not impossible, to?correctly restore an image if it has not been properly scanned. When examining an example of a colorization, look for these characteristics of a quality artist. Skin tones are warm and realistic. Skin tones contain slight variations. Clothing colors are indicative of the era when the photograph was originally taken. Hair color looks natural and realistic. Colors are not "bleeding" from one object into another. ? Best Photo Repair