Any idea why I can't get FF to remove let alone see this texture? I've worked it before on other (color) photos but for some reason I can't even get the filter to recognise that this b&w photo has texture.

I even tried three different FF filters from two different sources and followed the tutorials.

Thanks...

FFT filters are useful for removal of consistent patterns such as the honeycomb patters found on some photo paper. What you have is a random texture and those filters will not work. You can mitigate the texture to some extent using a noise filter such as Noiseware. Example below
Regards, Murray

I would have to agree with Murray. Fourier transform filters work best when there is a repeating pattern (I'm an old EE, so the details of why have mostly faded).

Most of the time, when dealing with paper texture the process would be to alternately smooth then add back in texture of your liking. Eventually, you have to sharpen the facial features that result in a pleasing portrait - normally the eyes, nose and mouth.

You can accomplish that is several ways. Some like to work with very small areas and add levels or curves layers to bring out contrast. Others like to work those same small areas with unsharp mask or smart sharpen. You will find that one of the moderators, Flora (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/members/flora.html), does an excellent job with facial features. Just search her posts and you will find many good examples.

Good luck,
Tom

The only way I could even access my FFT filter was by converting your image to RGB. You have to have a color image as you start with the red channel. At least this seems to be true for the FFT filter that I use.

dc