Photographs records important people and events in your life and for this reason, most of them are very valuable and some are even passed on as family heirlooms. However, due to different circumstances such as exposure to sunlight, handling, humidity and breaking down of photographic paper, the photos can deteriorate. Fortunately, you have the chance of reducing and delaying these effects on most of your photos.

One of the main things you need to do is determine what aspect of the photo needs to be restored. This is important because they all come with different methods of caring and restoration. Some of these aspects include the exposure of the photo, its contrast, color correction, removal of aspects or retouching on the faces of the, or adding special effects on the photo.

Once you have established the factors that need to be restored, you need to scan the photo or the film in order to start the process.   You may opt to do this on your own or take them to a reputable photo lab and have it scanned and placed in a CD-ROM.   If you are not carrying out the restoration on your own, you may either mail or take the CD to the photo restoration company or send the scanned photos via email.

If you are restoring the photos, you need to select a photo editing software. There are quite a number of them such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Corel Painter, and others, but you need to select the one that is easy to use and has the necessary tools for the type of restoration you are carrying out.

For cracked photos, you need to repair the creases and then rebuild some part of the face, before restoring the colors, sharpening the image and cleaning up the background. When it comes to extreme fading, start with the most faded side of the photo, and then adjust the brightness, contrast and tone. If your photos are completely damaged, you must clean the cracks, stains and lines in the various areas of the photos before adjusting the tone, contrast and brightness, and then sharpen the image.

Some of the capabilities you can use include colorization to restore the original colors of the skin tone, clothes and eyes. You can also use special effects such as changing the background, adding or removing people from the photos as well as giving makeovers and others.

Once you have carried out all these steps and are impressed by the outcome, you have the option of storing the restored photo in a removable disk or printing it out using high quality paper.  It is important to keep in mind that the process will take time, and you need patience to not only learn and practice the restoration process. Fortunately you will find a large number of websites and tutorials to help you in the process. You can also check out photo forums, where you can exchange ideas and answer questions on various restoration techniques. Some of the websites you can find different information on photo restoration and care include www.retouchpro.com, www.digitalretouch.com, http://www.photorescuer.com, www.lazymask.com.