How do I restore tape on photo ?

[LactoBeeZor]

Am trying to restore a photo of my father in-law which was carried around in a wallet. He is in a nursing home and medical tape was put on it to hold it togeather. I should have (carefully) removed it prior to scanning but was worried it would do more damage. Any ideas or examples on how to do this is greatly welcomed. This is the first major restore of a picture. Oh yea I used PS7.

Thanks;

[Doug Nelson]

Since it's on a dark area with little detail (his suit) I'd suggest simply copying a similar section and pasting it over. Perhaps the matching area of the other side (flipped) or several smaller sections. If you use a soft feather for your selection (1% or so of resolution, no less than 3 pixels) it should blend fairly easily.

[Jillianweedmark]

Hi there!
I found an old photo that has tape on it and was intreged by this post.
I'm afraid of removing it - maybe there's hope on this site.
I never thought that restoring over taped areas was possible
Thanks for the great help -Jillian

[chillin]

I used ImageJ on it.
With some more work you could get rid of it.

[Kraellin]

i would be very tempted to try to remove the tape. why folks put tape on the front side of the picture always surprises me. at any rate, depending on the state of the tape, whether it's dried and brittle or still flexible and sticky, i'd try a corner or edge in a non-critical area of the image and see if it will lift at all and what effect that has on the image. i'd probably try using a razor blade or exacto knife. if you're lucky and careful, the tape might come away easily enough.

if it doesnt, then i'd seek a conservator's help on solvents that might work to lift the tape and not the image.

i've also heard tell that some folks recommend freezing and then a sharp edge to try to separate the two, but have never tried this method myself and would be very cautious, since water expands when freezing and if the tape has any moisture in it, that could be trouble.

heat from a hair dryer might also work to loosen the solvent, but again, i would urge caution and more information from a professional conservator. if the solvent bleeds, you could have a bigger mess than you started with.

so, i really have nothing concrete to offer here other than the trial with a sharp razor/knife, but it might at least give you something to ask someone else about.