This photo originated on a cheap webcam, not much to work with. Given the poor condition of the original file, this project was a particularly challenging restoration. The solution was the “painterly” approach to editing. That is, to bring out this young woman’s haunting beauty required brush strokes in directions that followed 3D contours, layer after layer, adding and subtracting opacity at each level, while paying close attention to the smallest details. The result is an image that glows from within.