Damage will happen to photos. It's inevitable. Time is not kind to our memories. I have worked with many people to restore their special memories. Sometimes the photos have been damaged as a result of a flood, which sadly will never stop destroying the photo. Flood damaged photos should be scanned immediately because the mildew will continue to grow and destroy the photo. Other times I've had to recreate a photo that was torn to pieces. Those are extremes, really.
The reality is that most photos go through some amount of wear and tear over time. Some of these photos below were from a box of photos my mother handed to me. She first panicked when she learned that photo albums from around the 1950's through about the 80's were usually not archival safe and would deteriorate her photos. She remedied that by taking all of her photos out of all the photo albums and placing them in a box, which caused it's own level of destruction, which appears in the form of hairline scratches and debris.
My rate is $25 per hour with a minimum of a half hour. The photos below are to help give you an idea of the kind of restoration your treasure may require, but it is recommended to contact me for a quote.
Make sure your photo is scanned at a minimum of 300 dpi. The larger the files size the easier, faster and higher quality the work will be.
This set would be considered minor restoration. There is some damage, but nothing that requires reconstruction and some color correction is needed.
Approximately 1/2 hour restoration
This set would be considered medium restoration. The damages would consist of minor tears, water damage, fading, scratches, dust and other unsightly blemishes.
Approximately 1-2 hour restoration
This set would be considered a challenging restoration. There is damage that requires reconstruction and some imagination to rebuild what is missing. Photos like these are best to ask for a quote first. I spent about five to six hour on both photos. Anything in this catagory would likely take a minimum of three hours.