Removing Dust and Scratches

[HILDA WOOD]

I have been restoring photos for a while now, but am now faced with a photo with hundreds of minute scratches. I have been following 'Digital Restoration From Start to Finish' by CTEIN, which I think is for more advanced CS3 users.
There are many useful tips in there, but I cant quite get to grips with how the masks work. I select the channel with the worst damage, enhance the damage using various methods (curves, find edges etc), but then what? I think I have a mental block at that point, because it says make a mask which will enable you to repair most of the fine scratches before tackling the larger damaged areas. The results shown are truly amazing, but Im missing a piece of the jigsaw.
Anyone tell me what to do please?

[Swampy]

Hi, Hllda... Welcome to RetouchPRO

First, make a duplicate of the layer you want to mask then switch to the Channel's Palette.

1. Load the selection you have created (Command or Control Click on the selected channel's thumbnail) or you can select the channel you want to load and from the Menus Selection/Load Selection. You will get the marching ants around the white areas of the channel.

2. Click on the RGB (composit) channel (keep the ants marching)

3. Switch back to the Layers Palette and select your copied layer. At the bottom of the Layer's pallete use the "apply layer mask" (it's the small icon that looks like a square with a hole in it) or from the drop down menu Layer/Layer Mask/Reveal Selection.

[Kraellin]

no disrespect to CTEIN or to yourself, but if you could post an image or part of the image with the tiny scratches, it would be better. i hate trying to give help on an image i cant actually see

[HILDA WOOD]

Heres a copy of the image. OK so I got the mask, but then what do you do with it. I mean normally you would paint over it with black or white, but dont get how the mask after using the find edges filter, and with the marching ants, gets rid of find scratches. Gone over it again and again the the book, but like I said, it must be for advanced users.
Any help would be appreciated please.
Thanks Swampy, at least I can get the mask where it should be now, I think anyways, it just seems to take over the image!!

[HILDA WOOD]

PS. I have just downloaded the Polaroid dust and scratch removal plug in. Can use it as a stand alone, but dont seem to be able to install it into the Plug Ins folder in CS3 on my Mac. Any ideas. Thanks

[philbach]

Well First I used channel mixer to select the red channel and converted the photo to monochrome.

Next I used a curves adjustment layer to adjust the contrast.

I then used Neat Image to remove much of the scratches.

Finally I copied the layer and used a surface blur filter plus a layer mask so that I could paint the blur in the right places.

I also replaced the background.

There are still some scratches and stuff, but what I did took about 10 minutes.

[Mchilly]

The masking wasn't done that good, the edge is a bit dirty too.

[HILDA WOOD]

Thanks Phil,
Yes I did the same, copied the Red channel, used curves for contrast, then changed the background, but Neat Image (as far as I can see) isn't available for Mac, which leaves me with the fine scratches still to resolve.
Ali

[HILDA WOOD]

I was wrong - just found the download page for Mac. Will give it a try.
Still would like to know how to use CTEIN's method though. I get lost somewhere between making the mask, and filling it with Medion filter and getting the results onto the original image.??
Ali

[philbach]

Well I don't have his book. But the way I use masks to repair damage is to copy the layer. To the Copied layer add some sort of a blurring filter like Surface Blur, G Blur, Median Blur until the copied layer is as expected very blurry. To that copied Layer hold down the option key and click on the add a mask icon at the bottom of the layers palette. That will add a black layer mask to the copied layer and blur effect will disappear. Look at the layer icons in the layers palette. The mask should be selected with a highlight around the mask icon frame. Look at the colors palette the foreground and background colors should be black and white.

Select a brush and paint on the photo with white. You are actually painting the mask and not the picture and as you paint white the layer will start to show. Its a good idea to use a soft brush with 50% opacity and then take it from there.

[lurch]

Hi, Hilda -

I did this one using Ctein's method for fixing cracks, then finished up with a whole restoration just for the practice. Result is in the first image; the workflow I used is in the second. First thing you should know about Ctein's technique is that it takes practice to get a good mask. That and fiddling. The one I used is in the third image.

In my experience there are several things that count in making the mask. First is how much you sharpen the mask's source layer. I tend to use a radius in the vicinity of 1 pixel, depending on the size of the cracks, and a high amount, like 400 or so. Next is picking the channel to use after applying the find edges filter - you want the one with a combination of the best edge contrast and the least image detail. In this case I used the blue. Then there is how much you blur the channel you choose - just enough to fill in the average little crack. Finally, how much you increase the contrast is important. Too much and you leave some cracks unmasked; too little and you end up selecting the pretty much the whole image. The practice comes in when you try a mask. If it gives you good results, fine, and if it doesn't you go back, change one of the variables, and try again.

There is one thing about using the mask that I don't remember reading in Ctein's book. That comes when you apply the median filter. It's crucial that, in the layers palette, with the median filter layer selected, you click the little chain links between the mask icon and the image icon and make it go away. Otherwise (in CS3 at least - might be a bug) the median filter will affect both the image and the mask. And, as Ctein points out, you want to set the median radius only high enough to reduce the cracks as much as you can. They won't necessarily go away completely.

FWIW, I also tried using Polaroid Dust and Scratch Remover. It works pretty much as well as Ctein's technique, except that it tends to introduce linear artifacts that have to be cloned out later. And it's not really any fewer steps.

<C>

Addendum: It doesn't show in the workflow, but in a layer somewhere after treating the cracks I used Noise Ninja to further reduce the remaining noise.

[Kraellin]

i'm afraid i dont know CTEIN's book or method, nor do i use photoshop much. i've gotten used to paint shop pro and some of its features and mostly use that. one for instance is the automatic remove scratches tool/filter, which is how i started this restore. it's very similar to polaroid's dust and scratch remover and does a nice job.

i also used some other noise removal filters, like median and jpg artifact remover.

a lot of cloning was done after the noise removal and then a lot of push to smooth things out better.

i hope it suits

[HILDA WOOD]

Hi Lurch,
Spent the entire morning following your instructions Thanks. My mental block is how to get the mask, once made into the layer order you show. Do I put the mask on the Alpha channel? How do you transfer it across to the layers pallette so that it 'stands on its own layer' waiting for the curves adjustment. After that how do you get it to stand alongside the image on the layer above? I take it you apply the median filter at this point? I tried so many ways to do it, there must be one simpe solution. The last time I tried it, with the mask alongside my image, {I dragged it up a layer and un linked it) as soon as I applied the Median filter it worked on the whole image before I had selected anything.
This is where I got really confused with CTEIN's book, but was determined to 'crack' it (sorry) as it seemed such a good technique. Everything else is crystal clear, just how you get to layers three and four is my stumbling block. Sorry to be a pain.
Did you have to follow on with any more facial work on the fine cracks? You did a marvellous job.

[HILDA WOOD]

Hi Lurch,
I have burnt the midnight oil on this one. I have now figured out how to add a curves adjustment to a mask (easy when you know how). Ive attached my mask and the stage I am at which is the application of the Median filter. I cant get passed this as nothing happens. Im clearly missing something obvious, perhaps I should be clicking on something different, but Im hoping you can tell me from my attachments

[lurch]

Hi Ali,
Looking good so far. Glad you hear that you figured out by yourself how to add the mask. That's the best way to learn. Quick question - when you try the median filter do you have the mask selected (wrong) or the image thumbnail (right)? And the median layer has to be selected to do that, but you already know that.

Did you have to follow on with any more facial work on the fine cracks?

Not really - just a bit of Noise Ninja (Neat Image should work as well). Final smoothing was done with Rô's degrunge technique.

You did a marvellous job.

Thank you!
<C>

[HILDA WOOD]

Yes I had the image selected, but after another night on the computer, finally got it to work.
Intend to start some serious work on the image tomorrow and will post it when finished.
Still havnt been able to install the Polaroid plug in. Tried it in several different folders now, and it doesnt want to know. Wonder if its anything to do with me running an Intel Mac?

[Flagpole]

G'day all!

Just thought I would play with this one a little just for practice. I would need to go back and fix some fine cracks up around the lips but I think I have managed to get most of them out. Tools used were Chip Springer's Skin Action, Dust& Scratches, Neat Image, Lens Blur for background blur and just some small healing in Photoshop.

Flagpole

[HILDA WOOD]

Flagpole,
Great job, so confusing to know which methods to use.
Ali

[lurch]

Ali,
The Polaroid Dust and Scratches plugin doesn't work with the Universal version of Photoshop unless you launch it (Photoshop, that is) using Rosetta. The stand-alone program will run on the Intel Mac, under Rosetta (that's what I use).

[Flagpole]

G'day!

I don't think there is one "correct" method as such. I don't do much restoring and prefer to use automated tools like actions, filters and plug-ins for most of the time to save time. You can always achieve superior results by hand restoring but it depends if you can spare the time and effort. I think the above took around an hour or two. It is not perfect but it is better than the original. I'll say if you have time then use 1 or 2 different methods then compare the results. The more techniques you are comfortable with the better results tend to be. Maybe even combine 2 different methods.

Flagpole

[HILDA WOOD]

Finished my image, wanted to post it here, so flattened all layers, but it wont save as a jpg, the option is not in my list. Anyone help?
Thanks

[philbach]

Well make sure you don't have any residual alpha channels or paths in your image file. if you are using photoshop. Try using the save for web and devices command.

[HILDA WOOD]

OK everyone, heres my before and after restoration. Thanks for all your help. Hope it meets the standard.
+

[HILDA WOOD]

Bye the way, thanks Philback, I hadnt disposed of my Alpha Channels, but here are other reasons why PSD's dont always save as JPEGS, and how to resolve it.
Check out this Adobe support link.
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/view...5073&sliceId=1

[Ziaphra]

I agree there are many ways to skin a cat. Cloning, smudging, adjustment layers and noise are the routes I choose to go. I never once used any filter...I don't like them as you lose so much clarity with them.

I don't want to sound nasty Hilda but if I was a paying client, there is no way I would accept that. Practice and patience hun.

[philbach]

Well I think it is a nice retouch and your off to a good start. To improve you just need to keep working with the photos. In your retouch you could ask yourself does the original photo have so much noise in the back ground or is the background very smooth. My guess is that photos of that kind had very little grain in them. But it was a tough original and it looks a whole lot better.

[lurch]

Ali, the improvement in your photo is impressive. Now it's just a matter of practicing and observing, as Phil said. Good work on a difficult photo.

Ziaphra, you're a true artist - your rendition looks like it was taken yesterday. Good example for us all to aim for.

[Ziaphra]

Thank you lurch...

Ali (Hilda), I hope I did not offend you with my comment...I am normally softer in my criticism...sorry.

[HILDA WOOD]

Ziaphra,
Good job Im only a novice enthusiast and dont have to rely on restoration to earn a crust! Just do it for friends and family (for free). You raised the bar, so I couldnt wallow in complacency and had to try again. I think I just got sucked in with the dust and scratch removal bit, and didnt look at the rest of it. See what you think of this effort.

[Ziaphra]

Much better. The contrast is making it look too harsh...that needs to be softened. Good job.