Rebuilding a Missing Corner
When a piece of a photograph is gone, the question is not whether it can be filled but whether it can be filled honestly.
Drag the handle to compare the original with the restored version.
The photograph
A woman in a work apron standing in front of a large bush or hedge, photographed in a garden. Mid twentieth century.
The damage
A large triangular section of the top right corner had torn away completely, taking a good part of the background with it. The remaining surface was scratched throughout, with staining along the right edge and a general loss of contrast across the frame.
The work
The missing corner was rebuilt from the foliage that continues into it — this is the ideal case for reconstruction, because the lost area contained background rather than a face. Hedge is forgiving: it has texture and randomness, so a rebuilt section blends without leaving a visible seam. Had the corner contained a person, I would have told the client plainly what could and could not be recovered. Scratches and staining were then cleared and the photograph colourised, with the apron kept a soft off-white rather than a bright modern white.
This was a torn and cracked photo restoration job — see more on torn and cracked photo restoration.
| Service level | Advanced repair with colourisation |
| Price band | £30+ |
| Turnaround | 2 days |
Other Restorations
Torn Baby Portrait Rebuilt from Fragments
One of the most damaged photographs I have worked on, and proof that a print in this condition is not beyond saving.
A Colour Print Lost Under a Yellow Cast
Colour prints from the 1970s and 1980s fail in a very particular way, and it looks far worse than it actually is.
An Edwardian Child Portrait in Colour
Seeing a child from a hundred years ago in colour is the moment most clients tell me they had not expected.
Have a photograph like this?
Send me a scan or a clear phone photo. I will tell you honestly what can be recovered, and what it will cost, within three hours.
