A bit of a rhetorical question because I am fairly certain it can be done, but as there are so many graphic professionals on this forum I would really welcome your advice.

This photo



is precious to a member of my family. He wants an 8 x 6 version for his wall. There has been a LOT of damage as you can see. What is the best way to get this done?


Yours hopefully

CC

?!?

I think with a little care and attention and a not so inconsiderable amount of time it could get back to something like it's original state.

Mark

There are several photo repair sites, they give me confidence that it can be done. I was wondering if anyone here either does this kind of work or can recommend me to a place they know to be good.

Have a look around locally for a photo lab - they often do retouching, or can point you in the direction of someone who can.
I doubt my skills are man enough for the task, but maybe someone else here might be able to help.

If asked nicely, I will do that work. If I can be paid for it, even better. CC, if you like you can PM me to discuss further.

CC, to give you an idea of what can be done with it, here's my work in progress.
Now think what someone with some talent could do.



Bear in mind, I'm not used to doing this work and there's software out there that's geared towards this type of stuff that I don't have.

The costs for the online services seem pretty low (around the £25 mark).

I can scan the photo to a large size and then send it to them I suppose.

Well, thanks for the vote of confidence there.

*goes off in a huff*

I reckon the nose and areas damaged by what I can only guess is tape would be a real problem. The photo will end up being part artwork, part photo.

Poor Heather, though. I hope she’s not too upset by CC’s cruel rejection....

Have you ever read past a post and then really really wish you hadn't?

Heather I will contact you.

ContriteCat

Why not turn it into a competition or a poll

I was very tempted to post a "funny" 'shop involving a cartoon nose, but surprisingly my sensitivity got the better of my silliness. I'll be very interested in seeing the result, because like Paul says - thin lines and speckles are easy to edit out, but growing a whole new nose calls for true artistic talent, or a DNA sample. I rather wonder how far your £25 would go in an on-line shop. Well, I imagine it would go east a long way - but you know what I mean.

Just don't turn it into another f*cking sticky.

Ooh, yeah! Let's! Just to annoy Nick.

CC, don't fret over missing a post in a thread. I've done it soooo many times.

*scratches CC behind the ears*

It might be interesting to post a full res of the image and see how many people can fix it, and show the results.

Looking at the picture, I doubt anything but guesswork could help with the nose, unless there are other reference photos to help people get the right shape. I suspect that what you will get back will be more of an artist’s impression than a photograph.

The nostrils are still visible, and subtle shading of the repaired area would work okay, I think. Unless the lady had a huge wart or a seriously broken nose at some stage, I think it would be quite possible to restore sympathetically.