Please help me fix my great aunt!

[mikiez]

These photos, after spending god knows how many years in my great uncles pocket, are they only photos that we have of my great aunt Doris Warren. If anyone could help me figure out what I have to do to fix them it would be much appreciated.

(The setting of the first photo is supposed to be Asbury park, because that is where she lived most of her life)

Thanks
Mike

Also forgot, I have Photoshop CS4.

[TommyO]

Mike,
Both appear to be very "fixable". Both are very good images to practice on. Not too hard, but just hard enough to make you use a few different tools. Just don't expect too much from the first one (standing), as the original photograph was not taken at the right exposure. Thus, the sky and buildings are rather blown out.

My first advise would be to do two scans. One at a higher resolution just for archiving. Another at a lower resolution for working with, around 300-400 dpi. The reason is that all those tiny little cracks will be exaggerated at higher resolutions and simply make the restoration 10x harder than it needs to be.

After that, make good use of the basic tools available to you in PS CS4. I would suggest following the basic restoration workflow, found in numerous threads here on RP. While that workflow can vary a little, they almost all start with adjusting the image ("finding the image" as Craig says) first in order to bring out more contrast. This allows you to make more educated decisions with the healing tools and clone tools. (You cannot judge how those tools will work when adjacent pixels are not visible.)

Also, for the second image, check out the "decrack" action available here on RP. It tends to do a nice job when there are hundreds of small cracks to deal with. The larger cracks can be dealt with using the healing brush, clone tool and patch tool.

Best of luck with it and be sure and show us your progress.

[mikiez]

Well I worked on it at school today and here is what I got so far. I noticed that the shoulders are uneven when I came home and looked at it again.

After googling asbury park I think the building in the background is the Paramount in Asbury Park,NJ.

[TommyO]

Good so far. I think her shoulders were uneven originally. Compare the line of her hands, elbows, the bottom of the coat. So, it may be quite natural. The thing throwing it off a bit is the edge detail of the shoulders. It does not quite match that of the rest of her coat.

It may be possible to find a similar background from your local historical associations, websites, etc. Worth a look anyway.

[mikiez]

How would I go about fixing the darkness on the shadowed part of her legs?
Edit: I figured it out its the casino in Abury park http://www.jfpan.com/Casino-24x12-sm.jpg

[Cupcake]

You can fix the legs by adding color to a new layer and them blend and
smudge it all together. You can also use the lighter smudge.

Here are some ideas.

[TommyO]

Originally Posted by mikiez

How would I go about fixing the darkness on the shadowed part of her legs?

Mike,
It may depend on your intent. Generally, we try to "restore" the image to either its present state, but without the defects, or we try to restore it to its original condition. To fix the dark areas, you only need to duplicate the original tonality and texture. To make it lighter will conflict with the shadows from the coat. From the coats' shadows, it's obvious the sun was overhead. So, it may be better to leave the tops of her legs dark. Hence, no real detail.

I like Cupcakes rendition, but maybe a little heavy on the smudging. The texture is lost and it does not match the rest of the image. As Cupcake mentions, maybe a much lighter smudge would have a better outcome. However, the shadows don't match up. So, the coat shadows will have to be reworked as well. This just adds more work. It could be less time consuming to keep all the shadows.

[mikiez]

Thanks for the help on the first one this is what I got so far. I tryed smudging the shadows but I didn't like the way it turned out so I think I may just put a sky in the photo and call it a day.

[unimatrix001]

Here is my shot at the second. lots of cloning and healing brush. Tried to keep the same color as the original photo.

[mikiez]

Wow that is great! thanks

[valentina09]

....................
DorisPortra333.jpg

[mikiez]

Wow x2 I would not of imagined anyone getting that much from the photo.

[Weezy]

Valentina, u have made her neck patchy!?!?!

[valentina09]

yes, Wezzy. I already fixed it, thanks.

DorisPortra332.jpg

[W.Smith]

Originally Posted by mikiez

These photos, after spending god knows how many years in my great uncles pocket, are they only photos that we have of my great aunt Doris Warren.

You might still find (other) photos of her in the archives of her school, university, or clubs.

[mikiez]

Originally Posted by W.Smith

You might still find (other) photos of her in the archives of her school, university, or clubs.

Unfortunately almost all records held in Asbury Park where burnt during the race riots in the 60's.

[Gary]

Originally Posted by mikiez

These photos, after spending god knows how many years in my great uncles pocket, are they only photos that we have of my great aunt Doris Warren. If anyone could help me figure out what I have to do to fix them it would be much appreciated.(The setting of the first photo is supposed to be Asbury park, because that is where she lived most of her life)
Thanks
Mike

Also forgot, I have Photoshop CS4.

A colored version.