How would you fix this photo?

[Allene]

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&batch_id=WFJWSXR6b0JwTVUwTVE9PQ

I hope the above link works okay. This photo was taken in the 1930s. As you can see, it's not in the best shape. Nothing can be done to fix the damaged face, I'm sure, but what about the other scratches and the discoloration? There are rusty stains all over the surface. I'm not sure where to begin.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Allene

[emkayess65]

Hi Allene,
welcome to the Forum. You landed in the right place. Lots of very knowledgeable people here. I'm not one of them. But I wanted to say welcome.

I looked at your picture. That's really bad. One thing - to reduce the work needed - are you interested in all the people or possibly just some. You could crop to what you really want.

That face could possibly be restored - somewhat.
Mostly you start with cloning the cracks.

One thing is verrrry important.
Don't work on the original.
Start by duplicating your image and working on the copy.

Good luck with the project.
Would you care to share the story behind the picture?

But - back to the beginning. Welcome - and ask all the questions you need, and come back and ask some more.
MarieS

[Wendy]

Hi Allene ...

... and welcome to the forum :)

That certainly does have a lot of damage and is going to take a lot of work to fix it up..

I would be inclined to get Matt's book on restoration and attempt some smaller projects before this one :)

Wendy

[Allene]

Hi Marie,

Thank you very much for your very friendly welcome and for your good advice. I'll start with cloning the cracks on a duplicate of the original as you suggested. Everyone in this photo is very important to me. It'll be included in the family history after it gets a good repair job. They are some members of my father's family taken at the old homestead on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. I know it was taken before 1935 because the tall boy in the cap standing behind the two girls (my uncle) died that year. My father is the man in the front row with his hands clasped and standing to the left of the girls.

Allene

[Allene]

Hi Allene ...


I would be inclined to get Matt's book on restoration and attempt some smaller projects before this one :)

Wendy

Thanks for the welcome, Wendy. How do I get Matt's book on restoration? I don't mind doing the work and taking my time at it, but I'm certainly going to work on easier photos first. This one is the worst I have so far.

Allene

[SenorSlick]

Allene, welcome. That is an interesting photo. I hope as you follow the wise and experienced suggestiions given here that you will share the results with us. Again welcome to the forum. Harvey

[Allene]

Hi Harvey,

Thanks. I'll certainly post the finished project, but that'll probably be a long time down the road. Allene

[Wendy]

Hi Allene ...

Just take a look on the home page and then look over to the right and you will see Matt's book ...

Here is the link to the home page:

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/index.php

Wendy

[Allene]

Wendy, thanks. It sounds like just what I need. I'll order it later today.
Allene

[Daviskw]

Hi Allene

I think Matt's book is an excellent idea... With a picture like yours there is not a lot of fancy manipulations.
About all you can do, I think anyway, is remove the color…adjust contrast ... then clone clone clone… and heal heal heal.

I used the above procedures on the example below… it is just going to take time. I got in a hurry and lost some sharpness and the texture in the clothes. With time it could be a lot better.

Good Luck Butch

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/14iIJDNEIZ0VdU3VoQYBORqMgxt0t0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14iIJDNEIZ0VdU3VoQYBORqMgxt0t0)

[Allene]

Hi Butch,

That's amazing! Thanks for the demonstration. I've ordered Matt's book, and I'll take it slowly. I can see where the photo lost sharpness, but it looks a lot better than the original.

Allene

[John L Gray]

Hi Allene,


Wecome to the forum.

There is lots of good imformation to ge gained from the folks on the forum. Matt's book is a great asset to those of us that restore photos.

Butch's input is always great! He does amazing things with restorations.

Katrin Eismann's book "Photoshop Restoration & Retouching" is another good source. It's written for Photoshop users but a lot of the information applies to PSE.

John

[Allene]

Hi John,

Thank you for the welcome. I agree that this is a great place to come to for help, and it has lots of savvy people. I'll keep the other book in mind too.

Allene