What’s Your Preference?

mrigakhi · #1 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 11:57 AM

Hello !

I have a question to ask...I have a family potrait of my dad's but is in a very bad condition. He wanted me to restore it but we don't have the negetives for it. I tried correcting it on Photoshop but it didn't help much. Can you give any tips or suggestions on how I can get back the essence of the picture to its old gloriousness ? The is one picture which means alot to my dad.

Please help!

jujitsu1 · #2 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 12:10 PM

Can u up load it so we can see how bad it is so that we may be able to comment better

mrigakhi · #3 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 12:35 PM

here is picture which i scanned recently...pls do let if anything can be done with it.

autofocus · #4 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrigakhi

here is picture which i scanned recently...pls do let if anything can be done with it.

I would recommend that you do the work to the original scan. What we have here is a highly reduced resolution image...a requirement of this forum's uploads. Actually, the photo does not look to be in bad shape. What are your skill levels in Photoshop is my first question? This clean up should not be too difficult, but depends on your skill level in PS.

Vince

jujitsu1 · #5 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 01:20 PM

It doesn't look to hard to me either....A lot of it looks like dust which if ur careful you can wipe away with a wet wipe but be care ful and only press lightly... I did this to a few the other night....You have to be very gentle mind and dont do too much. the other thing is is to make sure ur scanner bed is clean too. Can you post a larger image ?

mrigakhi · #6 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 01:29 PM

hi there,

the whitish part on the photograph isn't dirt

...my grandmom seemed to have kept the picture in a damp area hence the stains...my knowlege in photoshop is minimal since i just started learning photoshop..but i hve used the healing tool to remove most marks on the picture..

i do appreciate all the suggestions... thank you

autofocus · #7 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrigakhi

hi there,

the whitish part on the photograph isn't dirt

...my grandmom seemed to have kept the picture in a damp area hence the stains...my knowledge in photoshop is minimal since i just started learning photoshop..but i hve used the healing tool to remove most marks on the picture..

i do appreciate all the suggestions... thank you

These are some of the best tools I use for "reconstructive surgery"...the cloning tool, the dust/scratches tool, selective cutting and pasting in areas where it can be used, auto color will often bring back something close to the original tone of the image. Work on a highly magnified view so that you can see all the bad areas to be fixed, and how well your fix worked. I usually finish with the unsharp mask for a little tweak in the focus if needed. This will be a good learning exercise for you, take your time, and you'll see it was worth doing...good luck with your efforts. Send us your finished product..would love to see it when done

Vince

Nicole · #8 (**permalink**) 05-24-2009, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrigakhi

Hello !

I have a question to ask...I have a family potrait of my dad's but is in a very bad condition. He wanted me to restore it but we don't have the negetives for it. I tried correcting it on Photoshop but it didn't help much. Can you give any tips or suggestions on how I can get back the essence of the picture to its old gloriousness ? The is one picture which means alot to my dad.

Please help!

The sadly true answer is often times, with a lot of time and care

Your photo is, as has been said, actually in pretty good condition. A while back I showed an example of what I did to fix a very old photo. There are also books out there aimed specifically at helping you work out how to restore old photos in Photoshop. I don't have this book, but there's one called Digital Restoration From Start to Finish that I have looked at before.

mrigakhi · #9 (**permalink**) 05-25-2009, 02:24 AM

thank you Nicole for the suggestion

i will definitely try them out..i agree that the photography is in pretty good condition ( i realized it after looking at couple of awesomely restored pictures

).... i have taken the suggestions given to me...and have worked on the picture..i shld be putting up the restored photograph soon

cheers!

mrigakhi · #10 (**permalink**) 06-17-2009, 04:37 AM

hello everyone

i had posted a query on how restore an old family portrait. i received a lot of suggestions and advice with which i hve managed to restore the picture to a good considerable amount.
so thank u everyone

i am attaching the picture before and after the restoration.

cheers!