Twelve questions.
Most of these come up in the first email from a family. If yours isn't here, write us at hello@keptandkin.com — we answer in the morning, by hand.
How long does a single photograph take?
For a clean intake — a good scan, light damage, no colorization — three to five business days from the day you approve our intake reply. For severe damage or colorization, allow seven to ten days. Memorial bundles run two to three weeks unless you’re on the rush path, which is six days.
What kind of scan or photograph works best?
A flatbed scan at 600 dpi is ideal. A high-resolution iPhone photograph, taken in good window light on a dark surface, works for the majority of cases. If your scan isn’t enough, we’ll tell you in the intake reply and offer to send you a prepaid shipping kit for the original.
What if my photograph is torn, water-damaged, or missing a corner?
Bring it. Tears, missing corners, and water damage are the work we do best. Severe damage adds a small surcharge ($20–$60 per photograph depending on extent), but we quote it in advance — no surprises later.
Can you remove a person from a photograph?
Sometimes. We don’t do silent removals — if you’re asking us to take an estranged or deceased person out of an image, we’ll write back and talk it through with you first. Some of the time we’ll decline; some of the time we’ll do it with a specific edit you’ve approved. We don’t add people who weren’t there.
How does the voice clone work, and is it legal?
We use a professional voice-cloning service to build a custom voice from a short consented recording (a voicemail, a recorded prayer, a wedding video clip). The voice then reads a letter your family wrote. We require documented consent from the executor of the estate or a living relative with documented authority before any work begins, and a signed release covering the specific use. State laws vary — Tennessee, California, and New York all have postmortem rights-of-publicity statutes — and we err on the side of declining when consent is unclear. There is a separate Voice Clone Use Agreement we’ll send you before any voice work begins.
What happens to my originals after you’re done?
They come back to you, by insured mail, in a separate package from the prints and framed work. We retain a high-resolution digital scan in your private order folder for ninety days after delivery (in case you want a reprint), then delete it unless you’ve asked us to keep it longer. Your photographs are never used to train AI models, sold, or shared with anyone outside our small studio.
Do you do colorization of black-and-white photographs?
Yes. Colorization is included on family bundles and above; it’s a $25 add-on on single photographs. We aim for natural skin tones and period-appropriate palettes — the result should look like a hand-tinted photograph of the era, not an Instagram filter. If a family member knew the person’s eye color, hair color, or what dress they wore, tell us; we’ll match it.
Can you frame the photograph and ship it directly to my mother?
Yes. The family bundle and memorial bundle include a framed centerpiece. We can ship the framed piece directly to a recipient address (we recommend the digital proof come to you first so you can approve before her surprise). The package arrives in plain white-label boxes — no studio branding visible from the outside.
What if I’m working against a funeral date?
Write us first thing. We have a six-day rush path for memorial bundles ($150 add-on) and a three-day path for single hero photographs needed for the easel. If your timeline is tighter than six days, we’ll be honest about whether we can hold the quality bar — and if we can’t, we’ll point you to a faster alternative.
Why is this more expensive than the DIY AI tools?
You can do this for $5/month with a DIY tool. Most people who try, give up partway through — the failure mode is "the AI hallucinated my grandfather’s face." A human reading your intake note and reviewing each photograph by hand is the difference. We use the tools where they help and stop the work anywhere identity is on the line.
Why is this less expensive than my local restoration artist?
A local artist often quotes $200–$500 per heavily damaged photograph and rightfully so — the work is real. We use restoration engines to do the descratching, sharpening, and color recovery faster, and apply human judgment where it counts (face, composition, identity-critical features). The result is comparable to a $200 hand restoration at the $59 single-photograph price point.
Who is behind the studio?
A small team — currently a founder-led studio with one human reviewer. We’ll always tell you who’s touching your photographs. As we grow we’ll keep the studio small enough that the same person reviews every photograph in your order. (Our team page goes up once we hire a second reviewer.)