How to Restore Old Photos With Photoshop
There are few things we valuable more than old photographs, whether they are family photos or historical images preserved in a university archive. They give us a direct connection with the past in a very personal way that textbooks alone can't convey. But sadly many of these old images are in rough shape, either because of neglect, accidents, or just the passage of time. Fortunately, it is often possible to use Adobe Photoshop to restore old photographs, repairing any damaged, smudged, or discolored areas.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Scan your old photograph using the best quality setting in your scanner software, and save it to your hard drive.
-
2
Open Photoshop. Then go to File, and select "Open." Browse to the image file, and open it.
-
-
3
Go to the Toolbar and select the "Patch" tool. Make sure that in the Options at the top it is set to "Source." You will see in the example that there is a large tear running near the top of the photograph. Use the "Patch" tool to make a selection around this damaged area.
-
4
Now drag the cursor to a nearby spot you would like to draw your patch from. You will see a preview as you drag. Note: The same method can also be used to repair large stains.
-
5
Select the "Clone Stamp" tool. If there are any remaining spots, lines or smudges, hold down the ALT key and click near (but not in) the area you want to fix to select a source. Then paint over the area you want to fix.
-
6
Remove any noise from the photo by clicking "Filter," then "Noise", and click "Reduce Noise." Set the "Strength" to 10, the "Preserve Details" to 10%, and the remaining settings to 0 (these are suggested settings, and you should adjust them up or down depending on the preview as you make the adjustments).
-
7
Remove the red tint that sometimes spoils old color photos by going to "Image" and clicking "Auto Color."
-
8
Remove dust from your photo by going to "Filter", then "Noise" and clicking "Dust and Scratches." Adjust the settings so that the preview gives you the best compromise between dust-removal and overall sharpness.
-
1
