Photo Restoration & Repair
From $25
Digital repair for one faded, scratched, torn, stained, or creased photograph
- Careful cleanup and repair of visible damage
- An enhanced high-resolution digital file
- Your original scan is preserved unchanged
Genealogy, photo preservation, and keepsake design
Every family has a story worth finding.
Choose the help you need, from family-history research and Ancestry tree building to photo restoration, scanning, printing, and heirloom keepsake design.
Explore services Services from $25 clear starting prices and a simple list of what is included
Researching since 2002 Every finding personally reviewed Privacy-minded process
Your research path
- 01Choose the right serviceResearch a family question, build a tree, restore photographs, or create a keepsake.
- 02Share what you knowThe request form guides you through the helpful details one step at a time.
- 03I review and decideI may accept the request, ask a question, recommend another service, or decline it. No payment is due unless I accept.
Evidence first
Restore, print, and preserve the photographs behind your family story
Photo restoration, scanning, printing, and family archive services.
Send a request first. I will review the number, size, condition, and format of your photographs, then confirm the exact work and price before payment is due.
Photo Colorization
From $25
Thoughtful color added to one black-and-white photograph
- Natural-looking color and tonal correction
- A colorized file plus the original version
- Colors are artistic estimates unless references are provided
Photo Scanning & Digitization
From $50
Up to 50 loose photographs scanned and prepared as digital files
- High-resolution scans, cropping, and basic correction
- Clearly named files in an organized folder
- Private digital delivery; USB available by quote
Photo Printing & Lab Ordering
From $15
Up to three standard 4x6 prints from print-ready digital files
- Small print orders produced directly when appropriate
- Larger and specialty orders prepared for Mpix
- You approve the size, crop, finish, and full price first
Family Photo Archive Organization
From $125
Organize up to 250 existing digital photographs into a usable family archive
- Folders arranged by family, event, place, or time period
- Consistent filenames and a simple collection index
- Names, dates, and places added when you provide them
Old Photo Identification & Dating
From $50
Up to one hour studying one photograph and its family-history clues
- Review of clothing, setting, photographer marks, and inscriptions
- Comparison with the family information you provide
- A written estimate with evidence, limits, and next steps
Legacy Books & Keepsake Design
From $250
A custom-designed keepsake using your photographs, captions, and family stories
- Professional layout by an experienced graphic designer
- A print-ready digital file and one round of changes
- Printing, extra pages, research, and extensive restoration quoted separately
Do not mail or drop off irreplaceable originals until I have accepted your request and confirmed the handling arrangements. Digital restoration changes a copy, never the original photograph.
My restoration promise: I repair damage as faithfully as possible while preserving the people, facial features, expressions, clothing, and meaningful details in the original image. If AI-assisted tools are used to reconstruct missing areas, I treat the result as a careful visual estimate and explain when significant details could not be verified from the original photograph.
Choose your research path
Clear packages for different family-history needs.
Each package explains how much research time is included and what you will receive. You are paying for my time and work, so I cannot promise a certain number of new discoveries.
One Family History Question
$100
One person, date, place, or family mystery, with up to 3 hours of research
- I search the records most likely to help
- A list of records and websites I checked
- An easy-to-read summary and next steps
Ancestry Family Tree Build
$250
One person, their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents
- Built inside the Ancestry tree you own
- Supporting records attached when available
- A summary of findings and unanswered questions
Tree Review & Cleanup
$150
I will check up to 25 people in your existing tree
- Check for duplicate people and details that disagree
- Find names, dates, and relationships that need better proof
- A step-by-step list of corrections
DNA Match Research
$175
Up to four hours researching your DNA matches to help identify relatives, uncover family connections, and find clues about unknown branches of your family tree.
- I organize matches into likely family groups
- I compare matches with trees and historical records
- I explain possible relationships and how certain they are
Family Tree Poster Design
$95
$95 includes a high-resolution digital file; printing and shipping cost extra
- Professionally designed by a graphic designer
- A high-resolution PDF you can print
- One round of changes included
Family History Book Design
From $395
Up to 20 pages using family information and research you already have
- Up to 20 professionally designed pages
- Photos, records, maps, timelines, and family trees
- New research, printing, and shipping cost extra
Searching for a living relative?
Safety hold
I am not accepting requests to find or contact living people at this time. I can still help with historical family research and DNA-match organization, as long as the goal is not to identify or locate a living person.
For safety, I never share anyone’s current address, workplace, private phone number, or other private contact information.
For Ancestry and other online trees, you keep ownership of your account. Invite me through the website’s sharing controls. Never send a login password.
Examples of what you can receive
See what your family history can become.
These sample images show how your finished book, online tree, DNA report, or family tree poster may look.
Illustrative sampleFamily History Book Design
Custom family history book
An heirloom-style book combining family stories, records, photographs, timelines, maps, and source-based research.
View this package
Illustrative sampleAncestry Family Tree Build
Sourced online family tree
An organized direct-ancestor tree with relationships, dates, places, and attached source records.
View this package
Illustrative sampleDNA Match Research
DNA match findings
Match groups, shared-family clues, confidence notes, and recommended records to investigate next.
View this package
Illustrative sampleFamily Tree Poster Design
Custom family tree keepsake
A professionally designed, print-ready family tree made for framing, gifting, or a family reunion.
View this packageThese are examples, not real client projects. All names and details are made up to protect privacy. Your finished project will depend on the service you choose, the materials you provide, and the records or image quality available.
Services from $25Each service clearly explains the starting price and what you will receive.
A timeline before I beginI review the details and let you know what to expect before starting.
Careful work, clearly explainedI explain what is included, what can reasonably be improved or confirmed, and where uncertainty remains.
researching
About your researcher
Hi, I’m Melissa.
I’m an independent genealogist and family-history researcher with 24 years of hands-on experience. I began in 2002 by continuing my grandfather’s lifelong genealogy work. Since then, I have built family trees, worked through difficult family lines, volunteered my time transcribing census records and contributing cemetery information, and helped locate biological parents after decades of searching.
My research goes beyond collecting names. I compare dates, places, relationships, and details across census records, vital records, newspapers, obituaries, cemetery records, family trees, DNA matches, and archives. When records disagree or a family line becomes difficult, I follow related people and historical clues, then clearly separate what the records support from what still needs more proof.
I graduated magna cum laude from Frostburg State University with a degree in Art & Design, a concentration in Graphic Design, and a minor in Art History. I also earned an associate degree in Art/Graphic Arts from Allegany College of Maryland. My design, photography, writing, and visual-organization skills help me notice small details, organize complicated information, restore family photographs, and turn research into family trees, reports, timelines, and books that are easy to understand and meaningful to keep.
Family preservation is personal to me. I hand-transcribed my grandfather’s complete diaries and scanned them into a digital archive. That project required patience with handwriting, careful handling, consistent organization, and respect for the original material. I bring the same care to family diaries, letters, photographs, and collections entrusted to me.
24 years of genealogy researchHands-on family-tree and historical-record research since 2002.
Careful evidence comparisonNames, dates, places, relatives, and sources are checked together before conclusions are made.
Professional visual communicationMore than 20 years in graphic design, with experience in photography, layout, and clear storytelling.
Research made understandableComplicated findings are organized into plain-language reports, timelines, trees, prints, and books.
Transcription and archival workI have volunteered transcribing census records, hand-typed complete family diaries, and scanned original materials for long-term preservation.
Language study for historical recordsI am studying German and Spanish at a beginner level, approximately A1 to A2. This helps me recognize common words, names, and record terms in older documents, while checking uncertain translations rather than guessing.
Common questions
Know what to expect before you begin.
Which package should I choose?
For genealogy, choose the package closest to your question, tree, DNA, poster, or book goal. For photographs, choose restoration, colorization, scanning, archive organization, photo identification, or keepsake design. If you are unsure, choose the closest option and explain your goal in the form. I will confirm the right service before you pay.
How are photo-service prices calculated?
The listed price is the starting price for the simplest scope described on that service page. The final price depends on the number, size, format, condition, and complexity of your photographs. Send a request and, when possible, a private viewable link to a few sample images. I will review them and confirm the exact scope and price before payment is due.
Can I mail or drop off original photographs?
Only after I accept your project and confirm the handling arrangements. Do not send irreplaceable originals with your first request. Local drop-off is by appointment. If shipping is approved, use careful packaging plus tracked and insured shipping. Whenever possible, restoration and colorization are completed from a high-resolution digital scan so the original is not altered.
Will a restored or colorized photo be historically exact?
I repair and colorize carefully, but missing detail and unknown colors cannot be proven from the photograph alone. I work to preserve faces, expressions, clothing, and the original composition as faithfully as possible. If AI-assisted tools are used to reconstruct missing areas, those details are careful visual estimates, not historical proof. I will explain when significant details were digitally recreated. You receive a separate edited file, and the original scan remains unchanged.
Can you print my finished photographs?
Yes. Small standard orders start at $15 for up to three 4x6 prints from print-ready files. Larger quantities, enlargements, archival papers, and specialty products can be prepared and ordered through Mpix, an independent professional photo lab. You will approve the size, crop, finish, shipping method, and total quoted price before I place the order.
Can you create and print a family history book?
Yes. Custom book design starts at $395 for up to 20 pages using family information and research you already have. New research, extra pages, extensive writing or photo restoration, printing, binding, extra copies, and shipping cost extra. You approve the design preview before printing begins.
When do I pay?
There is no payment when you send the request form. If I accept the project, I will email you the agreed scope, amount due, expected timing, and a private payment-page link. The page repeats those details and offers my verified PayPal and Cash App links. Work begins after payment is confirmed.
Do you accept every request?
No. I review each request for fit, availability, safety, and whether the records or access needed for the work are reasonably available. I may accept it, ask follow-up questions, recommend another service, or decline it. You owe nothing if I decline your request.
Do you guarantee a certain number of findings?
No. You are paying for the research time and work listed in your package, not a guaranteed discovery. Some records were never created, were lost, or are not available online. Even if I find little new information, I will complete the included work and tell you what I searched, what I found, and what could not be confirmed.
What is the refund policy?
No payment is requested until after I review and accept your project. Once I begin the agreed work, payments are final and nonrefundable because the fee covers the research, restoration, scanning, organization, or design time listed in your accepted project, even when records are limited or an image cannot be fully repaired. This is subject to the Terms of Service and any rights required by law.
Do I give you my Ancestry or DNA password?
No. You create and control your own account. If tree or DNA access is needed, I will explain how to invite me using that website’s sharing settings. Never send your password or the downloadable raw DNA data file from your testing company through this website.
Do you identify or locate living people?
No. I am not accepting requests to find, identify, or contact living people. I also never provide a person’s current address, workplace, private phone number, or other private contact information.
Ready when you are
Start with what you know.
The next page asks only for the details that fit your genealogy or photo project. No payment is collected with the form. I will review your request and contact you by email with the next steps.