flash reflection

[TaylorOK]

There's not much damage on this photo so I think I'm OK there. What I need help with is what to do about the reflection. And when... Do I work on that first or after other adjustments?

Taylor

[TommyO]

Generally best to work on tonality, color, contrast, etc. first. Doing this prior to using healing or cloning ensures the healing/cloning works with adjusted pixels and makes the transitions around adjacent pixels look better.

With the reflection, you can loosely select that whole area, copy and paste onto a new layer and make the adjustments there. Then simply add a mask and gradually paint out the non-important parts with a soft low opacity black brush.

[TaylorOK]

TommyO -
Thanks so much for your help. I am continually impressed with how generous and helpful people are here. I will try your suggestions and see what I can do. My progress seems very slow right now. But I guess that's how it is learning anything new.
Thanks,
Taylor

[Kraellin]

for me, at first glance, i think i'd try a blank layer over the rest and just do a bit of light airbrushing and then put it on a luminance blend mode, maybe. this gives you total control over how much you want to take down those brights and can even leave some of the other reflections. also, you may want to do a guassian blur on that layer; not much, just enough to smooth it around a bit. also, with doing all this on a blank layer, you can use either the layer's opacity level to reduce it or use a light opacity eraser if you think you've gone too far... or the undo, for that matter

[TaylorOK]

Craig -
Thanks for all the great direction. I'm not sure I understand it all, but will go step by step and see what I can do. I've got a lot to learn!
Taylor

[chillin]

I adjusted the levels & used some curves to bring out all details from the “flash area”.
Next, I applied a high pass filter & saved the outcome for later use.
I did some cloning, HSL, D&B, noise removal & at the end selectively soft light blending of the saved high pass layer.

By blending the original pic with a corrected one you can select the right look to your satisfaction.

[TaylorOK]

chillin-
Thanks for working on this and sharing the steps you took. It's nice to have something to follow. The picture looks much better. I know it's not the greatest photo, but since it's my parents, it's special to me.
Taylor

[klassylady25]

Photo is in very good condition considering the age. With just a little creative painting and clone you can mask out the glare.

My addition to the rest that have been done.

[TaylorOK]

klassylady25 -
Thanks for sharing your version. Very nice job....Taylor (in OKC also)