1st Time Photo Restoration

[Patrick Long]

Was just kinda looking for some professional courteous critiques on this. This is the first time I had ever tried to restore a photograph of ANY kind.

Was done with simple clone stamping, spot heal, and a de-noise plugin

[BigFuzzy]

You did a good job fixing all the physical damage, well done.

The one thing I didn't like is that I feel you over-smoothed the skin. I like the grain of old photos, and yeah, maybe doing it a bit would help, but I think it's overdone in the final.

One thing I always suggest with skin smoothing is get it to a point you like, then reduce it by 50%. Or come back in a day or two.

Still, well done.

[Doug Sundseth]

I'd reduce the intensity of the color cast and increase the contrast. This would significantly change the feel of the photo, but IMO it would be closer to its appearance when taken. This is a style decision, though, so might not match what you're trying for.

[Patrick Long]

I was debating on putting some film grain BACK into the photo, but for some reason went against my gut. I like that theory of getting it where you want, and then back off 50% LOL!


Doug, I am also torn about correcting the color cast, I may actually reduce the saturation just a tad bit, but still want to keep the original tones.

Thank you both for your responses.