How to Do Photo Restorations
Restoring old or damaged photographs is easy, with a little bit of know-how and the right computer software. Before computers, getting a photo restored required paying a professional to touch up the photo manually. But now, even a novice with a home computer can fix an old photo with ease. Photographs of your family are treasures that should never be lost, so take the time to restore them so you can pass them on for posterity.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Buy a photo restoration software program and a digital scanner. Most digital cameras come with at least a basic photo restoration program to do simple projects. You may want to buy special photo-editing software to do a more professional job, especially if the photo has major problems. Some popular programs are: Photoshop, Paint Shoppe, Photo Pro, Adobe Illustrator, Gimp, IPhoto, and Roxio. A digital scanner is needed to transfer your photo onto your computer so it can be restored.
-
2
Scan the photo onto your computer. Save the photo onto the hard drive by placing it in your images file. Name the photo, preferably with the names of the individuals in the photograph and the approximate year the photo was taken. Remember to take the original photo off the scanner and store it in a protected environment so it will keep for many years to come.
-
-
3
Make a duplicate of your photo on your computer. This is usually done by right clicking on the photo and selecting duplicate. You can make several duplicates if you want, that way you can restore the photo using different restoration features. In addition, if you make a mistake with one of the duplicates, you won't have to scan the original again.
-
4
Open up your photo restoration software. Select import and retrieve the photograph you saved in your images file. Save the unchanged photo into the restoration software if that option is available.
-
5
Choose the auto correct features first. In other words, most photo restoration programs allow you to edit certain aspects quickly with one click, such as auto color correction, auto levels, auto sharpen, auto dust and scratches and auto contrast. If your color is off or dull, choose auto color correction, which will brighten and improve the color of the photo. Auto sharpen finds the edges and makes them more defined. This is helpful if the photo is blurry, faded, or out of focus. Dust and scratch is helpful for pictures that have been mistreated and have cracks and lines in them. After each correction is made, save a copy. Make a copy of the improved photograph and save it into your images file and also another copy into the photo restoration program. If you are satisfied with the changes and the photo looks great, you are finished. If not, then try some more editing features.
-
6
Use the clone stamp tool to remove imperfections in the photograph. Make sure you choose a copy of the image, so you don't have to go in and rescan the original should you make mistakes. The clone stamp tool allows for manual adjustments to parts of the photograph that are damaged or imperfect such as water marks, large scratches, tears, ink stains, blemishes, or other types of damage. Enlarge the area you are working on using the "+" icon so you can see the imperfections better. Select the clone tool and click it on a portion of the photograph closest in color to what the damage area should look like. Then click over the damaged area. If it looks improved, select save.
-
7
Fix red eye problems with the red eye correction tool. Enlarge the view of the photo so you can see the red part of the eye. Click on the red-eye tool, and then place the small circle over the red part of the eye. You may need to make the circle smaller or larger depending on the eye. Choose save once you are satisfied.
-
8
Take a photo restoration class. Many colleges and community programs offer photo-editing classes. You will learn how to do advanced restoration.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit Brand X Pictures/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images
