ABOUT SUSAN

Being a lover of the arts, Susan began this journey as soon as she could hold a crayon. Throughout high school she excelled in various medias. Invariably this included photography. Her passion for photography was aided by her father’s equal love for this art form.

In 1976 he opened Phill Potter Photography in Greely, Ontario. It was a part time business focusing on Portrait, Commercial, Custom Framing and Photo Restoration. Starting small, working out of a basement studio and darkroom, it quickly grew to the point where Phill’s wife June quit her job

and the studio was open full time.
By this time, Susan had completed the Algonquin College’s Photographic Technicians’ course and was employed at a studio in Ottawa. But, it wasn’t long before her talents were needed at the family studio.

Susan developed her skills in Photo Restoration by trail and error, much research, and taking courses. Initially it was studying under Vera Madigan, and then at the Winona School of Photography in Chicago. All of this training focused on pre-computerized photo restoration. This proved to be of immense help when Photoshop came along, as much of this program is based on these early methods.

By the mid 80’s it became apparent the business needed more space. The decision was to stay at the same location and add on. Hence a studio of 2000 sq. ft appeared with plenty of work areas for all facets of the business. For Susan it was a state of the art darkroom and an area designed for the computer work. It was a joy to ‘go to work’ every morning.

Phill Potter Photography closed in 2012. From this, Susan Potter Photo Restoration was born. Operating out of her premises, Susan has had numerous clients in family and commercial work.

She offers clients services in many area. Much of this being the usual restoration of damaged or faded photos. But her expertise is often required when there is severe damage, or persons/items need to be added or removed. Colourizing of black and white photos is something she much enjoys. And for some real old time stuff – there’s Deurogatypes, Tin Types and Glass Negatives. Working with clients items and museum collections has made her very comfortable in this type of restoration.