Suggestions for old photo?

[Jamb]

Hello, first post here.

I'm going to try to attach an old image that needs help. It wasn't a good picture to start with and could legitimately have been discarded. However, the atmosphere is nostalgic and the children pictured are now nearly 40 years old, so I thought it worth trying to enhance a bit for the family archives. The digital result of the scanned photo is true to the original.

I'd appreciate suggestions for improvment while still maintaining the reminiscent quality, if possible.

I do not have Photoshop, but use Paint Shop Pro 9 and X with advanced but not expert knowledge.

Many thanks for any help.

Jamb

[CathyH]

could you attach a larger version of this. I was going to give it a try but it is way to small.

[Jamb]

I'm probably doing something wrong. I thought I was uploading the original, which is 745 x 447, and then thought the thumbnail would link to the original upload.

I've increased the size to 808 x 536 (6.733 x 4.467 inches), which is about as large as is allowed to upload.

If I'm still not following proper procedure, I'll read more instructions and give it another try.

Thanks for your interest!

Jamb

[Daviskw]

Hi Jamb

This one is beyond my skills... I could not find a lot of detail in the children. I do believe someone with artistic skills could rebuild some detail.

Butch

[Jamb]

Thanks, Butch, for giving it a try.

Perhaps one reason that I haven't been able to improve the picture is that I don't know the result desired. I want to preserve the hot summer day atmosphere, but the current overall look is faded and dusty. It's probably not important to enhance or create detail, but just to clarify and brighten a bit. Or maybe I'm thinking in the wrong direction and should instead fade it even more.

So far I've tried replacing the blown-out sky with a bit more color, running the DCNR filter over the image and added a brightness/contrast adjustment layer. All of that has helped, but it still isn't "there".

On the other hand, it may be that this is a lost cause.

Thanks again!

Jamb

[leanan`si]

I had a wee play and can't seem to get past 'haze', but here it is. If I can just figure out how to upload, that is ...

Leanan`si

[HroadhogD1]

This is about as good as I could get it. Maybe someone with more experience can get more information out of the picture.

[Cameraken]

Hi Jamb.

This is a tough one. There is very little detail in the boys face.
I had best results by adjusting levels in CMYK and dragging the image back to RGB.

I can just about make out some fingers some hair and I think I can see the eyelids but anything else would be a guess.

There is 50% compression on the posted image. I hope it does not loose any detail.


Ken.

[Daviskw]

Looks great Ken... beyond my Elements ..a big improvement.

Butch

[Cameraken]

Hi Butch. Thank you for your comments.

I am not sure if Jamb will like my picture because I have completely lost the ‘Nostalgic atmosphere’ of the original.

Here is another attempt. I used my image above, ran neat image on it and then faded it back 50% into the original so that it keeps some of the feeling of the original.

Ken.

[Jamb]

I thank you all for your considerable efforts! You've given me some good ideas about results that can be achieved, and I have new heart that it's worth working on.

Ken, could you please give me some more details about your CMYK split and combine workflow?

I know how much time is involved in this type of repair, and it's much appreciated!

Jamb

[Jamb]

Sorry, Ken, I posted without refreshing the page and didn't see your second image.

You're correct in that I do want the nostalgic look and for that reason think the latter comes closer to that than the former, but both are far better than I've accomplished.

This is only a representative photo in a group with similar characteristics, and I want to repair them all. So far, all the results I've gotten have required lots of procedures, so I'm hoping to devise a series of "fixes" in PSP that can be scripted. Otherwise, I may shelve the project as being more trouble that it's worth.

Again, if you could define what you did with the CMYK split?

Many thanks!

Jamb

[Cameraken]

Hi Jamb

This is what I did to get the first picture. I worked from the largest image.
First I doubled the size of the image.
Usually with a picture like this I look at all the channels to find the best.
The channels did not look much better in CMYK but the overall picture did seem better. Also most of the detail in the boy on the right was better in the Black channel. (and Lab Lightness)
In CMYK I made two copies of the image. One at correct levels and another lighter copy concentrating on the boy on the right.
I copied these two layers back to RGB. I then added a hide all mask to the lightened copy and painted back the boy on the right to lighten him up.
Next layer was set to overlay to even out the fading
Next layer was a very high USM sharpen layer painted selectively.
After that I used several layers to even out the colour and paint out marks and blemishes.
Layer 9 is a slight skin color correction.

That’s about it. In the attachment I have added a layer of Neat Image as explained in the previous post you can fade the repaired image back into the original to keep the ‘nostalgic atmosphere’

I hope this helps and you can convert the method to PSP. Please ask if anything is not clear.


Ken.

[Kraellin]

tricky image.

craig

[Jamb]

After too much more time spent on this picture, I think it's finally reached an acceptable point. I'll look at it again in a few days with fresh eyes and see if I want to do any more.

My thanks to you all for your efforts and input, all of which gave me some ideas on what could be done.

Ken, I especially appreciate your "above and beyond" diligence, and your detailed explanations of your workflow. I would not have thought of some of your procedures otherwise, I'm sure, and was able to duplicate many of them in PSP.

Although comments and criticism on my semi-final result are welcome, I consider my request answered and closed.

Best regards,
Jamb

[Cameraken]

Hi Jamb

Thanks.

Well Done. That looks great
You could (if you want) now sharpen it a little. Great job.

Ken.

[Jamb]

Ken, the one on my computer looks a tad sharper than after it was uploaded, but any additional sharpening seems (to my eyes) to add to the slightly muddy look. Still, I have at least 20 variations of that picture, and will have to print them to see which is the best.

"Painting" (brush strokes, oils, etc.) has produced some interesting results because the technique simultaneously camouflages the lack of detail, softens the background and pops the subjects.

It's a shame that the original photos are so bad, but the others taken at the same time are coming together very nicely, with much less effort than the one I posted because of the learning experience with it. Admittedly, it was the worst of the lot, but I figured if it could be made usable, all of them could.

Thanks for the kudos, but I would have had neither the inspiration nor the heart to keep trying had you and the others not hung in there with me.

Jamb