Post-Submission FAQ

How do you decide which photos to restore first? 

All individuals &/or families will be asked to nominate one "MOST CHERISHED" photo. "MOST CHERISHED" photos are stored in their own unique selection album so that retouchers know which to prioritize. You will also be asked to designate a few special runner-ups: photos 2-10. Remaining images (#11-25) are placed in albums categorized by volunteer skill level.

CARE for Sandy encourages its Restoration Volunteers to make selections from our ADOPT ME! Most Cherished and ADOPT ME! TOP 2-10 albums, first. Volunteers are also encouraged to choose photos which match their level of expertise and availability. Consequently, an exact 'order' cannot be determined.

Will ALL of my photos be restored?

Have you submitted 8 photos? Probably. Have you submitted 20 photos? Maybe. Have you submitted 50-100* photos? Not likely, but ya never know! Restoration completions will depend how many have been submitted and how badly each original has been impaired. Lightly to moderately damaged photos which match beginner to intermediate skill levels are much easier to repair, thus will probably be returned to families in vaster quantities. Severely damaged advanced images may take days if not WEEKS (yes! we said weeks!) to restore apiece, which is one reason why such services would normally cost hundreds of dollars. That said, staff is making every effort to ensure that every family's photos receive equal attention.

During our first 6 months, families have received up to 22 completed restorations. The greatest number of adoptions we've seen per family thus far, though anomalous, is 57**. (An 'adoption' is a Restoration In Progress.) Though these numbers will not be apt examples moving forward, as we had far fewer images during our 'early' months, which benefitted our initiate families greatly. We're currently helping 147 families.

*From 11/10/13 - 2/24/13 we offered up to 100 scans. **From 2/25/13 - 4/1/13 we offered up to 50 scans.

How long will it take to digitally restore my photos(s)?

There is no one answer to this question. Timing will depend on a variety of factors: how many submissions are received, how many Restoration Volunteers step forward to volunteer and the severity of a given photo's damage. 85% of returned restorations are also sent back for further coached improvements. Your first image may be 'adopted' within the first two weeks! Or it may take two months before your first is selected. As for all or most of your images? Wish we possessed a crystal ball. That said, once a given scanned photo has been chosen and formally assigned, CARE for Sandy is asking all Restoration Volunteers to commit to ship shapin' each select within no more than *3 months. Thanks for your patience!

*Our volunteers have agreed to commit to a 3-month time frame on good faith, but CARE for Sandy cannot absolutely guarantee completion within 3-months. Time will tell if volunteers stick to their word/do not go AWOL. We'll do our very best to encourage volunteers to keep their adoption promises.

How can I tell when an image has been chosen by a volunteer?

We suggest frequent visits to our ADOPTED! album. If you spot one of your photos here, this means that a volunteer has chosen 'your' photo to restore. Notate the volunteer name and date below your photo to calculate (*counting no more than 3 months forward) how soon each particular photo might make it's way to you. We occasionally send status updates when mailing restorations too, to let you know how many of your images are currently being restored. 

We can also provide your family "code" to use as a search term in our Flickr photostream, to admire all of your family scans in one locale. You can then visit each uploaded scan to review its current status. Send an e-mail to request your "code" or a general update.

*Our volunteers have agreed to commit to a 3-month time frame on good faith, but CARE for Sandy cannot absolutely guarantee completion within 3-months. Time will tell if volunteers stick to their word/do not go AWOL. We'll do our very best to encourage volunteers to keep their adoption promises.

Are there types of damage that cannot be digitally repaired? How high should I set my expectations?

Good question. Restoration Volunteers will able to digitally repair most imperfections — including minor to moderate mildew, mold, water & smoke stains, flame-tarnished edges, general discoloration, nicks, scratches and tears. But our honest answer is, “Yes.” Certain images may be too severely compromised to fully repair. By example while it may be possible to fuse a mauled or missing nose or hand with that of an alternate no-cost creative commons image, if an entire face has been compromised, it may take DaVinci’s lovechild to save your portrait. Then again if a given photo’s background is too damaged or complex to convincingly reconstruct, but its figures seem ‘okay’, a partial or approximate restoration may be achieved. In a worst-case-scenario situation our volunteers may opt to create a vignette, blur heavily blemished areas, remove an individual from a group shot (if they cannot be saved) or strip in a new but similar background.

Here's an example which exemplifies "too dirty and damaged to repair", unless a family has very few photos remaining + has designated a given photo as "Most Cherished".



CARE for Sandy will be assessing all submissions individually, and will let ‘you’ know what to expect from ‘your’ restoration(s).

How and when will my restored photo(s) be sent to me?

CARE for Sandy will notify you by e-mail once a volunteer has completed your photo's restoration. You will receive two compressed digital (.jpg) files of your image as Google Drive download links. One (RGB) for inkjet printers. One (CMYK) for laser printers. If you've submitted more than one photo, each will arrive separately — pending completion. E-mail suprises will continue to arrive in your inbox for months (if not years). So make sure to let us know if your e-mail address changes.

CARE for Sandy hopes to eventually provide photographic prints, as well. You'll be contacted by email or phone, if and when this occurs!

Shoot. You mean I won't be able to gift a finished restoration for holidays, birthdays or anniversaries?

We are not paying volunteers to help restore photos, thus cannot demand that a restoration be completed by date xx/xx/xx. But watch our ADOPTED! gallery closely! If you spot one of your photos here, this means that a volunteer has chosen 'your' photo to restore. Notate the volunteer name and date below your photo to calculate (*counting no more than 3 months forward) how soon each particular photo might make it's way to you.

*Our volunteers have agreed to commit to a 3-month time frame on good faith, but CARE for Sandy cannot absolutely guarantee completion within 3-months. Time will tell if volunteers stick to their word/do not go AWOL. We'll do our very best to encourage volunteers to keep their adoption promises.

Will it be possible to obtain copies of my damaged scans?

This question contains three answers.

( 1 ) Damaged scanned images from our website galleries can be dragged, i.e. copied, to your computer desktop at any time, but because CARE for Sandy was founded to offer "restoration services" rather than "archival services", we won't be able to mail you burned CD/DVDs or provide online retrieval services of your damaged scanned images. The cost, volume and necessary time commitment would overwhelm our already tiny staff! Per info above, we'll be e-mailing you download links to restored digital files —one-by-one— as volunteers complete individual restorations.

( 2 ) If you would be willing to buy a small, light-weight, inexpensive portable usb flash drive (like this one or this one or this one) and can mail it to CARE for Sandy's founder with a prepaid SASE envelope, we CAN copy your scans onto your flash drive and mail it back to you. Drives needn't be larger than 2 gigs. You should be able to buy one for $4-$8 dollars. 

*CARE' for Sandy's founder doesn't wish to publicly display her home address, but is totally willing to share this with families who would like to coordinate a file exchange. Write to careforsandy (at) gmail.com if you would like to send us a flash drive, and her address will be provided.

( 3 ) if you attended an event at which you know we partnered with a professional scanning sponsor, you may contact the respective company directly to learn more about how to retrieve digital copies of all of your damaged scans.

How many restoration specialists have signed up to help with my photo(s)?

Response has been spectacular. Since CARE for Sandy's inception (11/10/12) more than 475 have signed up to help restore photos from countries all over the world including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, oland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine. Even entire high-school & university classrooms as well as entire retouching firms have offered up TLC. 

I'd like to personally thank the Restoration Volunteer who saved my photo(s). Is this possible?

By default CARE for Sandy Submission Rules dictate that NO personal information (save for the city and state in which a given photo has been found) provided by photo assistance seekers will be shared with the public (including first and last names) unless an individual has specifically requested that we do so. Which means volunteers will NOT know who 'you' are, unless you ask CARE for Sandy to make this information public. Your privacy is important to CARE for Sandy.

However if an individual or family requests to connect with a volunteer to say "Thank you!", and if a Restoration Volunteer wishes to share his/her personal contact info, CARE for Sandy will make this possible. 

Restoration Volunteer will also be offered by-lines (located underneath Before + After images) for completed restorations, hyperlinking to one self-promotional page of their choosing. Volunteers may have personal contact info listed on self-promotional pages. Sending a "Thank you!" memo sounds super sweet.