Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Dan and I am new to these forums and this is my first post. I have been using Photoshop for about 6 or 7 years now and I am pretty familiar with its functionality. I use all types of tutorials to learn and have created many types of different things. I have not done too many photo restorations in the past. While looking through old photos, we came across this one of my grandfather when he was 17. It looks like the attached image is a picture of the original image. Besides the obvious color problems, I am having a difficult time fixing the ink/stamp that is in the bottom right of the image. I would appreciate any help that anyone can provide. Also, if anyone has anyquestions, feel free to ask:) Thanks!!

Welcome to RP! There are many ways to restore this image. In the few minutes I had I took the following approach:
I duplicated the background and applied the Blue channel to it in Darken blend mode. Next, rather than trying to patch over the seal / stamp, I selected his right arm and the jacket, then copied it another layer, flipped it and positioned it over the damaged left side (viewers right). Cloned over the stamp outline on the shirt. Then used the dodge tool to whiten up the background. From here I would touch up the jacket and face.
Regards, Murray

welcome to RP, dpalusak.

when you say you want to 'fix the stamp', do you mean fix it to make it more noticable or fix it to get rid of it?

It is great to be a part of RetouchPRO and thanks for having me!!!


Murray, thank you very much for the help!! I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do and totally forgot about copying his other arm. Excellent work, thanks again!!

Craig, thank you for the reply. What I meant by "fixing" was getting rid of the ink/stamp, but do you think it might look ok enhancing it?

Thanks,

Dan

hi dpaluska,

i saw your reply... what you may want to do is make 2... one with the time stamp and one with out...

I do geneaology stuff.... in our world... things like time stamps are important.... and when ever we get a picture with any written info the very least we save it try to enhance it.... because it part of the story of that person....!!
one of the critical things about time stamp it tells you WHEN and hopefully where it was taken.... which is always important to people

just thought i add my 2 cents worth.....

It is great to be a part of RetouchPRO and thanks for having me!!!


Murray, thank you very much for the help!! I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do and totally forgot about copying his other arm. Excellent work, thanks again!!

Craig, thank you for the reply. What I meant by "fixing" was getting rid of the ink/stamp, but do you think it might look ok enhancing it?

Thanks,

Dan

I would pick up the sleeve from the left side of the coat, flip it and paste over the right side (on a separate layer of course) then work on making it match.

Thanks for the response Jerry. I have been giving that some thought and I think I will do 2 separate restores, one with and one without the stamp. Do you have any advice on retouching the stamp or should I just leave it the way it is and restore the rest of the picture?

Keithgb, I appreciate the post. That is exactly what I did on the advice from mistermonday and with a little tweaking, it is going to look good.

hi dpaluska,

Defintily with one of them do it without the stamp.... that is the easiest..smiling....

on the 2nd I would try to put my enphasis on bring out the stamp..... but... i am not good enough to advise what the best way with this image.... I think you need inputs from the pro's/experts on this one.... I have seen them do amzing work on what i thought were impossible ......and this one I think will be difficult to bring out all the letter and impression... hopefull there more info in your orginal that has more data to work with...

I'll see what i can do with it... but the pros be much much better....

Thanks for the response Jerry. I have been giving that some thought and I think I will do 2 separate restores, one with and one without the stamp. Do you have any advice on retouching the stamp or should I just leave it the way it is and restore the rest of the picture?

Keithgb, I appreciate the post. That is exactly what I did on the advice from mistermonday and with a little tweaking, it is going to look good.

i think jerryb has the right idea here. when i restore, i normally attempt to get ALL of the original, including writing or any kind. if that's undesirable to a client, THEN remove it, but not before. so, doing two versions is a good idea.

of course, there are those times when the writing is the damage and in those cases you want to get rid of it. but here, with this one, i'd go with saving it. it doesnt really block the important part of the image, the face. so, for posterity, history, and so on, a good idea to keep the stamp.

Craig, thanks for the advice and I agree with what yourself and Jerryb have to say about the photo. Now that I am thinking about it, I believe that the picture is my grandfather's passport photo when he was 17, which is the year he came in to this country by way of Ellis Island from Spain. I am going to try my hand at preserving the stamp as much as possible. Also, I must say that for my first post, the folks here have been more helpful than I might have ever imagined, which is one of the qualities that makes this site great!! Thanks again!!!

you're welcome :)

and i agree, doug does a great job of keeping this place a good place to be.