Hi everybody,
Great jobs on this picture which isn't as easy to restore as it looked ...
I had a go at it:
I duplicated the background Layer.
Working on the duplicate, I brightened up the image using Image>Adjustments>Shadow/Highlight (
PS CS only)..if you work with another version of
PS you could use this
action based on the 'Fill Flash' technique.
I used Selective Colors Adjustment Layers to adjust the overall colour and remove the strong 'Magenta' cast first and to selectively correct the skin tones later.
Merged Visible ... the action for merging 'visible' without losing the underlying 'steps' can be downloaded
here.
I duplicated the 'merged Layer and reduced the noise using Neat Image (can be downloaded free
here ) after having created a 'surface' mask as described in Mitch's excellent
Tutorial.
I used Levels and Curves Adjustment Layers to adjust tone and contrast ...
I used The polaroid Dust&Scratches Filter (can be downloaded free
here ) to eliminate the 'dust'.
Created 'my' usual variety of empty Layers ( Blendings: Lighten, Darken, Overlay, Color and Normal), and with a soft white/black or sampled colour brush (Opacity 10-30%), I carefully painted over the details I wanted to correct and enhance. Used USM to enhance Contrast and to lightly sharpen the image.
Finally I used the USM to enhance the contrast and to sharpen the image a bit.