Do it Yourself Old Photo Restoration

Photo restoration used to be something you needed an expert to do. You would not want to be working on a brittle, old, one-of-a-kind photo and ruin it, so you needed to take it to an expert in the field. With the advent of digital imaging, this no longer is true. You won't be working on the original, but on a digitized copy. While each restoration project is different, here's how to get started.

Basics

Scan the damaged old photo or take a high-resolution image of it with your digital camera. Save the file. As with any project in Adobe Photoshop (you also can do this in Photoshop Elements), the next thing to do is Open (click "File" then "Open") the digital image, then Save a copy (click "File" and "Save As"). Work on the copy. Next, tone it as you would any other image. You might be surprised how much Auto Tone will do to clarify your image before you get any further. Otherwise, use a New Adjustment Layer (click "Layer" then "New Adjustment Layer" then "Levels") to tone it more accurately. Save the image.

Minor fixes

Now that you have a well-toned image, the next thing to do is create a new Layer (click "Layer" then "New" then "Layer From Background") and fix any minor dust and scratches (click "Filter" then "Noise" then "Dust & Scratches"). This will take care of some of the problems in the photo, but be careful not to use too much or you will lose detail and sharpness. If your image has only minor damage, this fix might be enough. If not, there are other tools that can help.

Healing and cloning

Two tools you will use often in your restoration project are the Spot Healing Brush (click "Spot Healing Brush Tool" on the side Toolbar, the one that looks like a band-aid) and the Clone Stamp Tool (click the "Clone Stamp Tool" on the side Toolbar. It looks like a rubber stamp). The Spot Healing Brush uses pixels surrounding an area to "heal" that area. You can click on a blemish and it will go away, or you can paint with the tool to get a larger area. Examine the area after every click to make certain it doesn't leave something that does not look like part of the photo. If you get something you don't like, use Step Backward (click "Edit" then "Step Backward") to undo the last step. The Clone Stamp Tool works by copying pixels from an area you designate (hold the Option key for Mac, Alt key for Windows, and click on the area you want to "Clone"). With this tool, you can restore entire areas based on surrounding areas, even if part of the photo is missing.

References

• Photo Restoration I