YouTube Thumbnail Designer — Archival Photo Restoration & Compositing (Music History Channel)

I run a growing YouTube channel covering classic rock, Motown, and soul band breakups/history (think music documentary style). I need a skilled thumbnail designer who specializes in working with real archival photos — not AI-generated faces — to create high-quality, high-CTR thumbnails. What I need: Take real (often low-res or older) archival photos of musicians and restore/upscale them to crisp, YouTube-ready quality (1280x720 minimum) Composite multiple source photos into a single cohesive thumbnail when needed (matching lighting, grain, and color across different source images) Preserve an authentic photographic look — no over-smoothing, no plastic/AI texture. I want it to look like a real, high-quality photo, not a generated one Add bold, high-contrast text treatment (I'll provide reference examples of my current style — white/red text, dramatic layout) Deliver a finished thumbnail that looks great both as a small mobile thumbnail and full-size What I'll provide: Source archival photos for each video Reference examples of my current thumbnail style/layout Clear direction on hierarchy (who's the "lead" subject vs. secondary) To apply, please include: 2-3 portfolio examples showing before/after archival photo restoration or compositing work (not AI-generated thumbnails) Your typical turnaround time per thumbnail Your approach to preserving film grain/texture during restoration/upscaling Trial task: I'll provide one sample photo and layout reference — please quote your rate for a single trial thumbnail before we discuss ongoing work. I publish 4 -8 videos/month and am looking for a long-term working relationship if the trial goes well. Budget: open to discussing based on experience and portfolio quality — please quote your rate.