Easy Fixes

Let's start by looking at some of the things you can do to fix an old picture that might have faded, yellowed, or been damaged. First, we'll consider a couple of old family photos that need a little bit of adjusting and touching up. We'll run (literally) through the steps involved in fixing them and the tools you'll need to know how to use. (Remember, you can always flip to the front of the book to refresh your memory about these tools, too.) Finally, we'll take an extremely damaged picture and work through it step by step, until it looks like new again.

Some pictures don't need very much work. The photo in Figure 21.1 has mainly dust and focus problems. This photo could also use a little more contrast, and it needs its vignetted corners cropped away. The original is sepia- tinted , but would probably look just as good or better in grayscale.

Figure 21.1. This needs relatively minor repairs . (Photo courtesy of D. Maynard.)

To fix this picture, I first crop the borders to remove the edges. I set the image's color mode to Grayscale, which removes any color information that the scan picked up. Doing this immediately eliminates the yellow and brown tones. Next, I use Curves (Image Adjustments Curves) to tweak the contrast a little. By using Curves, I can lighten the light tones without affecting the darks. In Figure 21.2, the very slight curve in the dialog box lets you see just how subtle this adjustment is.

Figure 21.2. The curve adjustment is very slight.

In Figure 21.3, you can see the improved contrast. Now it's obvious, as it wasn't before, that the girl is holding a black kitten. A little dodging and burning will help bring out the details of her dress, and will separate the cat from the background.

Figure 21.3. Better but not quite there yet.

I'll get rid of the big dust spots with the Clone Stamp, using a small soft-edged brush, and copying the adjacent tone. Then I'll use the Sharpen filter to put things in better focus. The final step in this restoration is to apply the Dust & Scratches filter to remove any specks I missed. The result, shown in Figure 21.4, is much better.

Figure 21.4. Well-preserved photos, regardless of age, can be digitally improved.

To Dust Or Not to Dust

Many Photoshop users make a habit of applying the Dust & Scratches filter (Filter Noise Dust & Scratches) to every scanned photo. This is often a mistake because, although it does make dust particles less obvious, it also softens the focus of the picture. If you decide to try it, evaluate the results carefully . Use the Preview check box to toggle back and forth, turning the filter preview on and off until youre certain that it's an improvement.

Here's another fairly old photo, shot in 1948. (I know. The kid in the chair is me.) This one is in much worse shape. It is both soft and contrasty, and cracked in several places. The black tones are greenish. It has something spilled on it, too. The untouched photo is shown in Figure 21.5. Can we rescue it?

Figure 21.5. This one needs more serious work.

Again we'll start by cropping and then go to Grayscale mode to get rid of the green and tan tones. There's a good deal that can be cropped out of the background of this photo, improving the composition (see Figure 21.6). Just lowering the top of the photo puts the emphasis on the baby and not the big chair she's in.

Figure 21.6. Cropping can remove some of the problem areas.

The Levels dialog box shows the histogram for this picture, which tells us that there's a lot of good detail in the lights and in the darks, but the midrange is weak. The best way to learn to make these adjustments is to work on a copy of a bad picture, and simply experiment with the settings until the picture looks the way you want. Notice what happens when you move the sliders to the right or left. Figure 21.7 shows the corrections so far.