[David Moon]

I've been toying around with taking up colorizing old photos as a small venture in The Villages and am trying to gauge if there's any demand? I've been doing it for a few years as part of a historical nonprofit I'm part of. I was also a graphic designer for many years prior. It's actually very therapeutic.

Any thoughts?

Natural looking skin tones are very tricky. Here's something I did recently.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by David Moon

I've been toying around with taking up colorizing old photos as a small venture in The Villages and am trying to gauge if there's any demand? I've been doing it for a few years as part of a historical nonprofit I'm part of. I was also a graphic designer for many years prior. It's actually very therapeutic.

Any thoughts?

Natural looking skin tones are very tricky. Here's something I did recently.

Would this be one of those Go Fund Me things?

[David Moon]

No, it's a service. GoFundMe.com is generally for charity.

It makes a nice gift.

[David Moon]

Here's another example. So, it could be a childhood photo, parents, grandparents, a spouse, etc.. I've also done city scenes, homes, and landscapes.

[villagetinker]

David Moon, very nice work these look very good. To gauge your demand, I would suggest possibly providing some additional info, like:
Do you clean up old photos, remove scratches or folds, stains, fading?
Do you provide other services, like digitizing photos?
Do you provide digital copy, or a finished print, or both?
Does the person have rights to make additional copies of the restored or colorized photo?
Do you have a price range in mind?

I think there is a local organization that helps setup small businesses, I cannot recall the name, maybe some one else can provide that.

On a side note be careful of the restrictions of running a business out of your house. I wish you good luck, as I think you may have a service that is not generally available.
Hope this helps.

[David Moon]

Thank you and thank you for your questions.

I can remove minor imperfections, staining, scratches, and discolorations/fading. The better the photo condition and quality, the better candidate for colorization. If it's something I cannot do, I'd tell you up front.

Yes, I would rather scan a photo myself at a high resolution. I do have a professional Epson scanner (in comparison to a $99 office scanner or all-in-one). In a few months, I will be able to scan images 16"x24" in one pass at very high resolution. I work with old photos all day.

Digital copy is always included. Any Walgreens can print them out to poster size. I also have recommendations for affordable art (archival quality) printing.

The rights to reproduce are yours.

Pricing depends on the image. A normal portrait (one person) would be about $40, which includes digitalization. I'm just not blocking solid colors, so there is some time and thought put into each image.

Originally Posted by villagetinker

David Moon, very nice work these look very good. To gauge your demand, I would suggest possibly providing some additional info, like:
Do you clean up old photos, remove scratches or folds, stains, fading?
Do you provide other services, like digitizing photos?
Do you provide digital copy, or a finished print, or both?
Does the person have rights to make additional copies of the restored or colorized photo?
Do you have a price range in mind?

I think there is a local organization that helps setup small businesses, I cannot recall the name, maybe some one else can provide that.

On a side note be careful of the restrictions of running a business out of your house. I wish you good luck, as I think you may have a service that is not generally available.
Hope this helps.

[champion6]

Regarding gauging the demand, you might contact a camera club in TV or attend a meeting. Good luck!