Colorizing old photos
 

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.


http://historicchattanooga.org/wp-co...17/02/cnfp.jpg

Would this be one of those Go Fund Me things?

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

It makes a nice gift.

http://historicchattanooga.org/wp-co...19334844_n.jpg

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.

http://historicchattanooga.org/wp-co...02644853_n.jpg

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.

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.

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