Photo Restoration in Adobe CS5
Adobe Photoshop is a powerful software program for restoring damaged and aged photographs and images. It allows you to perform color corrections and remove blemishes and tears that may have otherwise ruined the photograph, and in some cases it may bring out an entirely new dimension to the composition. Using the program's healing, clone and cropping tools in combination with adjustment layers, you can create an improved version of your photograph without damaging the original file.
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Instructions
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Open the "Layers" palette and click on the "Background" layer, which contains your image. Select "Layer," then "Duplicate Layer" from the control menu at the top of the screen.
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Restore original or more vibrant color to your photograph by using Photoshop's brightness and vibrance adjustment layers, found in the "Adjustments" palette at the right of the application. Slide the brightness slider to the left to dull the photo color or to the right to increase brightness. Balance these adjustments by shifting the contrast slider in the same window until you have achieved the desired brightness levels. You can make more subtle color and saturation adjustments using the "Vibrance" adjustment and sliding until the elements of your photo are restored to a desired level. Select "Window," then "Adjustments" if you do not see this palette.
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Remove scratches or creases in your photo using the "Clone Stamp" and "Healing Brush" tools from the Tools panel at the left of the Photoshop application. These tools allow you to set a source that will act as a filler for the areas of your photo that are creased or scratched and then apply this filler to the damaged areas. Work slowly with these tools to achieve the best, most realistic-looking results. Less experienced users can also eliminate scratches and creases more easily using the "Content-aware" features of the "Healing Brush Tool" and the "Edit," "Fill" command from the control menu. These features take data from your photograph and automatically fill in the regions you specify with appropriate texture and colorization.
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Reduce noise in your photograph by using the "Filter" menu at the top of the screen and selecting "Noise," then "Reduce Noise." Use the resulting dialog box to adjust the noise settings to achieve the desired results. Eliminate lens flares and other photo blemishes by using the "Spot Healing Brush Tool" from the Tools panel. With this tool, use the bracket keys ("[" and "]") to decrease or increase the size of the brush according to the size of the blemish and just click on the blemish once.
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Straighten and crop any crooked images using the "Crop Tool." Select the tool from the Tools panel and click and drag over the area you want to crop. You can move the area by clicking and dragging it within the crop box borders. Straighten the image by aligning one of the horizontal edges of the crop box with the natural horizon of the photograph. Type the "Enter" key to commit the crop and Photoshop will automatically straighten it.
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Save your work by selecting "File," "Save As" from the control menu. Enter a file name and location for the restored image and click "Save" in the dialog box.
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