Who does restorations as a full time profession?

[Sonya K]

Hey everyone,
I am looking to get in touch with anyone who is doing restorations as their full time job.
I am currently in the process of opening up my own business in this field and I would like to "pick your brains" a little bit, if you don't mind...

Sonya

[Ausimax]

Hi Sonya,

I can't help you at all, I am very much an amateur hobbyist struggling to improve my skills by doing this, probably all those that do restoration professionally are so tied up with work and finding time for OPR that they have not been active on the forum,  so this post will at least help keep your thread alive.

Regards, Max

[Sonya K]

Thanks Max.  I appreciate your support.

I started out self taught.  Took a couple PSCS2 courses.  Read several books on restorations in PCSC2, and worked through the exercises.  I really am a hobbyist too, however, I have been presented with an opportunity to take my skills to the next level and in the process, open a business for myself.

Since all my experience has been with volunteer work, I'm presented with somewhat of a dilemma when it comes to what to charge for my services.  I don't even know where to begin.

I have a wonderful business idea that is being supported by Service Canada (Unemployment Benefits), through a Self Employment Benefit Program.  However, there are things that I need to figure out and put into a business plan, and I have absolutely no idea where to start.

I mean....how on earth do you estimate how long it is going to take you to complete a photo?  I started one that I thought would be not too bad, but I've now started it over for the third time because I didn't like the results I was getting.

I'm even looking for a website that might help me or someone who isn't in our volunteer group, but that anyone might be in touch with that I could look up and make a phone call to.

I'd hate to have Service Canada invest all this time and money into my business plan, only to fail. :-[
Which isn't the right attitude to take....but I'm really...really nervous :-\

It would be nice to connect with someone who was closer to me.....like maybe in the same country or province would be good even....

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to my Canadian counterparts out there.....
Happy Oktoberfest too.....that just started today.  Cheers!

Sonya :D

[Ausimax]

Sonya,

I certainly hope that this works out for you, I am sure you have the ability needed, check out this site:

http://www.innographx.com/

It also has a forum where you may be able to get more info about pricing, you could also ask on the forums at Worth1000

http://www.worth1000.com/

You may have to set a scale of charges for routine work that is not to intensive and then quote on each individual major restoration job.

The problem is that when you are charging someone for the restoration work their expectations will be high and they may expect more than can be delivered, you would have to be selective about the photos you took on, I would not like to be doing some as bad as those here and having to decide on a fair price for my work, that would be acceptable to the client.

You may be able to get referrals from local photography shops and printing agencies, most probably provide some restoration services but they may not be too specialised, leaving an opportunity for you to accept that work from them.

Sorry I can't be of more help to you, however I certainly wish you all the best of success in your endeavours, it may take a while to get established, but at least you are building a foundation for your future.

Regards,

Max

[glennab]

Hi Sonya

I don't know if Canada has a counterpart, but here in the US we have a wonderful volunteer group of retired executives called SCORE, who give their time to people who want to get information about starting and running a business.  I wanted to go into business about 10 years ago and consulted with one of these wonderful people.  He gave me literature about business plans and things of that sort and also spent a lot of time giving me the pros and cons of what I wanted to do.  In the end, I decided to work for a publisher rather than go it alone, but SCORE gave me honest, pull-no-punches information that helped me make my decision.

As for prices, there's a company here in the states called Publishing Perfection that offers software and educational materials, and I know that they sell books for different areas of the country called "How to price your work."  Might be worth contacting them.  Their web site is www.pubperfect.com and their toll-free number is 1-800-826-9874.

It takes a lot of courage to strike out on your own, and I wish you the best of luck!

GG

[Carol]

Hi Sonya,

I do photo restoration professionally but not full time at the moment.  I'm rather pregnant, caring for a toddler at home and also in the process of starting up a second small business that involves using my photoshop skills, but is not restoring photos.  This is also why I haven't been very active with OPR lately.

Pricing is always difficult, especially for those of us who are more creative rather than the ruthless business type.  I provide a simple guide so that customers can get an idea of what may be expected, but always quote on individual images.  I often find that an accurate quote cannot be given until I scan or copy the image and see just how much work is involved.

I presented a seminar yesterday and was asked how I figure out how much a restoration will cost.  Is it based on hours?  My response was, "if I charged by the hour, nobody could afford me."  If I am retouching for a magazine or studio, I have no hassles charging an hourly rate.  I find this work easier and less time consuming.  Restoration however is usually very time consuming and I am guilty of underquoting.  I assess each image to get a general idea of how long it would take.  I classify it as level 1, 2, 3 etc. and have a pricing structure which I refer to from there.   If I had to rely on this for my sole income, however (or didn't have a generous husband to support me like I do), I would probably need to charge more than I do.

Some restorers are generally happy to provide a 'good enough' service.  I don't like to send an image back unless it is as good as I can possibly make it.  I have lost lots of jobs where my quote has been considered too high.  These are usually those people who do not understand the work involved and expect a five hour restoration to cost only $25.  I have actually had a couple come back to me after they have tried the service provided by the local minilab, only to find that the restoration they paid $25 for included little more than colour correction and cropping when they had expected major flaws to be repaired.

Most of my work now comes from word of mouth, repeat business and referrals.  I enjoy doing presentations for Genealogy groups, etc and family history expos.  I also get occasional jobs from our local picture framer who adds his own commission on top of what I charge him. 

I think it would be really difficult surviving as a full time restorer, but if you are able to pick up regular retouching work from studios etc. you may do OK. 

Good luck!

Carol

[cmpentecost]

Hello to all,

Any suggestions as to what to charge for an hourly rate for restorations, or should it be a flat rate, based on the amount of damage assessed?  I have my first "paying client" stopping by tomorrow with a couple of cherished photos of her late daughter.  I have no idea of the amount of damage, other than that the photos are stuck to the glass.  I was thinking of $40/hour, but....I've spent 4-5 hours plus on some restoratons, and that starts to get expensive.  She did tell me cost was no object, but.....that doesn't mean I'll gouge.  I know this isn't a business I could get involved in that would pay the mortgage, but a little spending money would be nice.

All thought and opinions are appreciated!

Christine

[kstruve]

Although I don't do restorations for a living, I would agree with Carol's pricing model.  I hope you don't mind, Carol, but I'm going to give out the link to your pricing page:

http://www.pixelbypixel.com.au/pricing_guide.html

Carol seems to have a good system in place.  I agree with her concept of charging by the level of damage - not charging by the hour.  Charge by the job.

Just my $.02 on pricing ... pardon the pun.

Kurt

[cmpentecost]

Excellent!  Thank you Kurt.  I do agree it's better to charge more of a flat rate than hourly.  I'm going to take a close look at Carol's website, and, probably structure my pricing similar to hers, based on US dollars.  (I hope you don't mind Carol!).

Thanks again.

Christine

[Carol]

Hi all,

I certainly don't mind.  Keep in mind however that I do not rely on restoration to keep my family fed and clothed.  Thankfully, it is a secondary income.

I am actually considering some changes to my own pricing structure.  I will shortly be introducing an extra charge for supplying the images on CD. It will only be a small charge to cover basic costs and the time it takes to convert the restored images to required size and format. 

Carol

PS.  My good news!  I have been very quiet on this and other forums lately as I have been very busy with my new baby daughter.  Evelyn Grace was born on Monday 18th December.  My best ever Christmas gift!!!! :loveit:

[glennab]

Hi Carol

Congratulations on your new baby daughter.  What a wonderful Christmas gift!  And a beautiful name as well.  Please give her a huge welcome-to-the-world hug for me.

Happy New Year!

GG

[cmpentecost]

Congratulations Carol on your new little bundle of joy.  What a wonderful Christmas gift!

I'm finishing up my restorations for my "first paying client", and it's gone well.  I still will have a bit of tweaking to do on my pricing guide, but I've been doing a lot of research on the internet to get ideas of what others are charging.  Likewise, this vocation will not be paying the mortgage, but just enough to give me some extra spending money.  I have already earmarked the money I receive to be applied to a new camera lens I've been wanting.

Congrats again on little Evelyn!

Christine