ahh, this is a work in progress. I am not happy with how grainy it looks still but I don't want to lose too much detail.. I still have to play around with it. Also unhappy with my interpetation of the upper left hand corner, the tape there was the worst.. before and after are attached..

My grandmother holding my mom.. too cute.

Also, I wanted to do more shadow/highlight balance but it makes it grainier, so I don't want that.. so I left it with my original s/h adjustment.

Opinions, suggestions, etc.. Thanks :)

I tried a couple of things. Duplicate the background layer and apply a noise filter. Then you can always paint back in what is ok from the bottom layer. I used the degrunge technique which is a tutorial on this site. I only do this for fun. Hopefully one of the more experienced members will be able to provide you with better options.

dc

Ran your image thru Noiseware. I think it did a good job without making it too blurry. You would get better results on a high res image. Also I did not use any of the fine controls that are available to selectively fine tune shadows / highlights / and midtones.
Regards, Murray

Like Murry, I started with a gentle pass through Neat Image noiseware. When restoring old photos, I like to get as close as possible to what the original looked like when it was taken. I got rid of the yellow by using Hue/Saturation, selecting Yellow channel and moving the Lightness slider to the right. Then Shadows/Highlights reduce the highlights (no adjustment to shadows) followed by a minor Levels adjustment. Lots of cloning and healing.

The hardest part was to rebuild the vent window and door pillar. I used parts from the door. To complete that area, I copy/pasted sections of the background over the vent window glass and lightened them with Levels.

Finally, I put the white border around the photo. I don't think you can see it on the attachment because of the white background.

DuWayne...

Hi,

auroraskye,

if I haven't done it yet, welcome to RetouchPRO!! :pleased:

I had a go at your picture... you and everybody have done an excellent job on the tape so I didn't do anything about it ... I concentrated on "shadow/highlight balance" particularly in lifting the 'blocked shadow along your Granny's arm and highlighting her lovely face while minimizing the noise**...

I haven't much time for a detailed explanation right now, but if what I did goes in the right direction I'll post it as soon as possible.

**To get rid of the noise, I use Neat Image (a Noise Removing software which comes in 2 versions: as standalone only (free) or with the addition of a Photoshop plug-in (not free))... Neat Image can be downloaded here (http://www.neatimage.com/download.html) and on the same page you will find the links to manual, support, tips and tricks..