Hi Folks,

A friend on the east coast sent me this scan of a photo she has and asked if there was anything I could do to fix it.

Since I don't have access to the original, and the scan is marginal, I have been trying my best to get this back to something worthwhile, but I'm not at all happy with my efforts. So I'm tossing this one out there for you all to see what you can do with it. The more detail in documenting your steps, the better so I can learn new techniques.

Thanks so much everyone!

Chris

Hi Chris,

It might make it easier to get the help you need if you can tell us what part of the image you're having trouble with. Is it the tonal adjustments?

Ed

Chris,

Is this the actual photo that your friend sent you or did you reduce the size to upload it here? The tonal adjustments don't seem too difficult, but the amount of JPEG compression has obscured most of the details in the faces, not to mention the rest of the image. That will be very difficult (if not impossible) to recover if this is the actual photo that your friend sent. If so, is there any chance you can ask your friend to rescan it at least at 300dpi resolution and save it to a CD in TIFF format? If that's possible, I think you could do a fairly good job with this image without too much difficulty.

Sorry if I sound too negative - I'm just looking for a way to get the best possible starting point. If your friend is not that familiar with scanning and/or digital work, then she may not realize the difference between a high- and low-quality scan. If you think she's open to learning, I would ask about getting a better scan.

If that's not possible, we'll do our best to help, but with the JPEG compression as it is, this is a good one for our challenges! (I.e., it's going to be tough - but there's always someone who can work magic! ;) )

Jeanie

Hi Ed and Jeanie, thanks for replying.

As Jeanie says, the jpg artifacts in the scan, the loss of detail from the faces, as well as the abrasions on the left are my problem. I can deal with the tonality.

I have asked her for another scan, but as she didn't scan it herself, I'm not hopeful about getting one anytime soon. In any case, I was looking at the inherent difficulties in this as a learning experience. I'm not really looking for miracles, just fresh approaches to this kind of problem.

Tonight I had another go at it, and though I'm not finished, I did have some better luck, running it through Neat Image with a 10%noise filter. It evened out some of the rough spots, just the tiniest bit and made it easier to work on.

Chris

Thanks for the opportunity of playing around with this photo, Chris...no need for me to say that it would have been better and easier if it had been the original photo or a higher resolution scan...as it has all been said. :)


Anyway, this was the best I could come up with and I've written down the steps that I took to get this result...not perfect by any means, but a tad better than the original.

1* Cropped image

2* PSP 8 One step photo fix. (which does not solve everything on a detoriated photo such as this, but gives a good basis for restoration....though it works wonders on a good quality image that just needs that extra 'oomph' or colour correction etc.)

3* Clarify...this brought it out slightly more.

4* Used variety of tools to build up damaged garment area on the left and other areas: such as 'Push' 'Smudge'...Darken, Lighten, Clone.

5* Darken and Lighten on the faces and body parts to give definition....well at least as much was possible given the poor quality of the copy.

6* Used lassoo to select the group and put them on their own layer...gave them a slight shadow for a more subtle look.

7* The background layer I then added a slight embossed effect and then lowered the opacity some...to make the group more focussed....well at least that was my intention. *s* I wanted to keep the original backdrop but not as prominent as it was.

8* I merged the layers flat and added a slight noise to it...Uniform...10...Monochrome.

9* Added a sepia tone to it and then Clarify once more.

10* I added the white border with a cutout and one of Jasc's frames to finish it off.

I hope that I haven't missed anything out...I hate writing down as I am working....like to get stuck into the restoration without any distractions. LOL
Cheers, Opal (did one in grey scale too)

Here is the grey scale version, Chris.


cheers, Opal

Welcome to RetouchPro Opal! I'm so glad you found us - beautiful job with this! :D

Thanks for taking the time to write down what you did - that's how we all learn and improve. I know it's difficult to remember to stop after each thing you do and write it down, but it is really appreciated by the rest of us!!

Jeanie

I have to apologize for not responding to this thread for so long. Shortly after I posted this, there was a family emergency that required a couple of trips back to the Midwest. And upon return there was a ton of stuff to catch up on at work. I am just now getting back to a relaxed state.

Opal... Thank you so much for your fine work and for such detailed steps. The outcome was so much better than I could have expected given the material! Great job.

Chris
(who is glad to be back)

Originally posted by aspi

Opal... Thank you so much for your fine work and for such detailed steps. The outcome was so much better than I could have expected given the material! Great job.

Chris


Thank you, Chris for your kind comments and glad to see you back again.

Jeaniesa...thank you for your warm welcome...it is people such as yourself that make new members fit in just fine. :)

Also, thank you for your nice comments re my work too.

cheers
Opal