You may ask yourself what does restoring photos have to do with genealogy. In my opinion everything  it gives a face to a name and instant imagery to a place. It makes our old photos more presentable and gives them a second chance.

Photo restoration if done by a professional can get to be very expensive depending on vendor and how many photos you may need restored.

I for sure can not afford to pay $35.00 or more per picture. I do my restorations my self and I do it digitally using Paint Shop Pro X5 which runs for about $58.00, believe me you will not regret purchasing it and besides it is way cheaper than Photoshop.

Here is an example of a picture, of my father, that I restored.

Photo of Lauro Garza Marroquin Before Restoration

Photo of Lauro Garza Marroquin After Restoration

I fixed the photo by using the touch up tool on the left hand side panel and also by copying and pasting pieces of similar looking areas in the photo. For a more detailed guide on restoring and fixing your pictures look at this about.com article.