Solo & ID photo restoration — using techniques from 87 independence activist portraits

The peak of Davinci's solo portrait restoration is the restoration of 87 Korean independence activists' memorial portraits — a collaboration with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. These were 100+ year old black-and-white photos, often with only one surviving copy, sometimes from blurry old prints, all restored to memorial-hall preservation standards.

The techniques refined there — average Korean skin tone data, period-specific hairstyle and dress data, B&W print + fading recovery, likeness preservation — apply identically to ordinary family solo portrait restorations.

This work involved a photo where fold lines crossed the face and old storage had spread stains across the eyes. The face was rebuilt pixel by pixel based on the original ratios and shading of the eyes, nose, and mouth, while the surrounding background was filled with natural tones. Faded solo portraits of parents, 70-year-old B&W ID photos, graduation photos with red stamp marks — all restored to the same standard.

"My father did look exactly like that" — family feedback.