Is it possible to save the picture ?

[Oskth]

Hello. I am new here..

I wanted to see if anyone can save this picture?
The Pictue
This picture is from 1997 and is of me and my son, the only picture I have of him and me together at this age.




I hope someone can help me.

[mistermonday]

Welcome to Retouch Pro!
Yes your image can be substantially restored. I am just packing for a business trip and don't have time to do more. Essentially you just need to select the dark area, copy it to a new layer and lighten it. I used a screen blend mode several times. You can also use a curve adjustment. The Reduce Noise filter in combination with the Dust & Scratches will remove much of those marks. From here I would hand dodge the lower half ofm mother's face to brighten it. With more time a much better restoration could be achieved.
Attached is a low resolution sample.
Regards, Murray

[Daviskw]

Hi There

I do believe this photo can be improved anyway. It will take someone with considerable skill I believe. There is lots of damage in the shadows. I did the best I could in the hour I spent on it.

I split the picture, the top half I used Multiply to darken and like Murray, screen on the bottom half. To repair the damage.. or at least to start ... I duplicated the layer…. Set the top to darken the nudged the layer down a couple of pixels. Then I applied a hide all and painted the result where needed. This only got rid of some damage. Then I used a dust/scratch filter with the history brush to remove some more.

I also cloned the background down and many hue/saturation...curves layers to try and match your face skin.

Butch

[Swampy]

Good Job, Daviskw!