Trying to describe what we do at McIntyre Studios is difficult, as suggesting to anyone that their cherished images are anything less than perfect is not something we would like to do! So we prefer to say that we 'improve' your pictures.

Of course some photos arrive at the Studios with very little needing doing and so we resist the temptation to 'over gild the lilly'! and simply suggest how your image might look in several different aspects or crops. The key is choice, and that is what we offer primarily, a range of options for how you would like your personal art to look.

Opposite is a beautifully taken picture of Charlie the boxer. Often clients with pets like the name of the pet included on the picture. This is offered in any font of your choice and the surrounding 'matte' can also be any colour to match your decor or complement the picture.

In this instance we have also supplied an alternative aspect landscape option with the use of a beach backdrop.

Here is a perfect example of how we might 'improve' an image.

The original picture, as you can see, is beautiful and a testament to the photographer. There are elements though that can be altered when creating a piece of personal art.

Firstly, the balloons in the background and the wall hanging could be left as they are to provide vibrance to the picture, however in this case the client felt they were 'detracting' from the foreground subjects slightly. So we sepia toned them and took them out of focus to add a feeling of depth to the picture.

Another issue was an orange cast to the picture, which again may have been desired by the photographer at the time but in this instance it was felt that the tones would not have matched with the decor in the room this piece was to be hung in.

Finally, we smoothed skin tones, highlighting the complexions of the subjects and providing that final flourish the finished piece of artwork.

There are times, as we all know, when we have the perfect picture taken of us, only for one major element to be absent or one negative one all too obvious!

The picture opposite was sent to us for a consultation as a photograph on paper and the couple were delighted with the end result!

Firstly we had some cosmetic work to do before tackling the obvious with this picture. The tones across the whole of the photograph were quite washed out, either due to fading on the paper or a smoky atmosphere at the time it was taken. There was also the usual 'red eye' and several stains and marks.

Once these were corrected we set about finding a suitable backdrop to the image. The photograph was originally taken at night so the obvious and only choice to match the skin tones was a night time scene. We provided this scene ourselves in the studio but often clients like to have a favourite holiday spot backdrop or countryside view. If of course you have a specific idea in mind, let us know and we will endeavour to find the right back drop for you.