Things You'll Need:
- Photoshop Elements or PaintShop Pro
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Step 1
Scan your photographs if you do not already have them on your computer. You can buy a quality scanner and scan the images yourself or you can take them to a store that offers photo developing. Most photo developers also have the ability to scan old images and save them to a CD for you.
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Step 2
Open Photoshop Elements, a photo-editing software for beginners.
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Step 3
Go to "Quick Fix". The "Quick Fix" button appears at the top of the Elements screen. When the "Quick Fix" window opens, your photo will appear in the center of the tool. If you want to see your original photo and the altered photo side-by-side choose one of the "Before and After" options from the drop-down "View" list.
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Step 4
Use the Smart Fix slider tool. It appears under the "General Fixes" tab. The Smart Fix tool will auto-correct most of the photo,s flaws. You can use this tool twice in a row to get more drastic changes. In a badly damaged photo, the first fix generally brings out the correct colors and the second sharpens the image.
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Step 5
Remove minor blemishes and cracks with Photoshop Elements' other tools. The Spot Healing tool will automatically cover a mark by using the pixels around it for guidance. The Clone Stamp tool allows you to copy a target area on the image and transfer the pixel information to another spot on your image. When you have mastered these two tools, you can eliminate small blemishes with ease.
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Step 1
Open the scanned image in Paint Shop Pro.
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Step 2
Cover rips and other blemishes with copy and paste. To cover a mark, go to a spot on the page that looks the same as the spot you are trying to fix. For instance, if you are trying to cover a mark on a wall, go to another section of the wall. Use either the circular or rectangular selection tool to select a section of the photo and use Ctrl+C to copy. Use the selection tool to select the mark on the photograph and use Ctrl+P to paste. The section that you copied will now cover the section where the mark is.
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Step 3
Use the Retouch Tool. It looks like an index finger getting ready to smear, and that's exactly what it does. If there are very small blemishes, use the Retouch Tool to gently smear the surrounding pixels just enough to cover the bad spot.
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Step 4
Try the Scratch Remover Tool to remove cracks and scratches. This tool works best on a simple, solid-colored surface. It works much like the Spot Healing tool in Photoshop Elements, using the pixels immediately surrounding the damaged area to fill in the color information.
