Any Tips on How to restore badly damaged photo

[Nomad Jess]

Hi All,

I just found this site but I have a feeling I'll be on it alot : )

A friend of mine asked me to restore several old photographs for her. I have completed most of them and she's delighted with the results so far. However , there is one photograph that has me pulling my hair out. Its a badly damaged photograph of her father as a baby I've done several versions of the backround which are fine but the baby's face has me stumped. I've tried copying, smudging, cloning, healing brush etc but I can't blend the face properly at all. Any advice, tips etc would be most welcome. As its the only photograph they have of their father as a child I would love to be able to restore it for her.Thanks.

Before.jpg

So Far.jpg

[0lBaldy]

Originally Posted by Nomad Jess

Hi All,

I just found this site but I have a feeling I'll be on it alot : )

A friend of mine asked me to restore several old photographs for her. I have completed most of them and she's delighted with the results so far. However , there is one photograph that has me pulling my hair out. Its a badly damaged photograph of her father as a baby I've done several versions of the backround which are fine but the baby's face has me stumped. I've tried copying, smudging, cloning, healing brush etc but I can't blend the face properly at all. Any advice, tips etc would be most welcome. As its the only photograph they have of their father as a child I would love to be able to restore it for her.Thanks.

Welcome to RetouchPRO Hope you enjoy your stay here and make lots of friends. Poke around, ask questions, take part in some of the discussions, challenges, etc., offer help, have fun!

I like what you have done!

I just used the Lady's mouth and chin free transformed to fit

[Nomad Jess]

Hi Baldy,

Thanks, for replying to my post and for your advice and working on the pic, I never thought of trying that : ) I Shall give it a go and see what happens.

I love this site and I've already spent way to much time checking out all the forums etc. ... it all looks great so far : )

[Cupcake]

I used noise remover in PS3.
New texture on background.
Re-painted the mouth and cheek of the baby.

[Nomad Jess]

Hi Cupcake : )

Thanks alot, I really appreciate your input . I really like the backround you did but Like all my own attempts the baby ends up looking a bit strange . . then again maybe it's just a funny looking baby and I'm being unrealistic with my expectations : ) I'm still impressed that you painted that though and its blended nicely ! I think I'll keep trying and use a combination of things and see how I get on.

[Nomad Jess]

Hi Guys,

Ok , here's what I have so far and I may well leave it at this even though I'm not overly happy with the baby's mouth. Feedback would be appreciated. Be gentle though as this is my first time attempting something like this : )



BabyWebSepia.jpg

BabyRTBW.jpg

[aartist]

Looks good!
The lady's belt nearer the man's shoulder still has a large scratch to remove. Also a bit of a halo above woman's hair line and to the left of Man's ear/neck.

[Juergen D]

I tried to use the left side of the baby's face to restore the right side. The rest is your restoration.

Juergen

[Nomad Jess]

Hi aartist,Thanks for pointing those out I had noticed the halo and was planning on fixing it but the tear I completely overlooked, must have been in my blind spot : ) I think because I've been staring at this photo for so long now I don't see it anymore. A fresh pair of eyes is always good !

Hi Juergen, Thanks for that, I wasn't happy with the left side of the baby's face and all my attempts at that and the mouth have failed so far. I think I will try what you suggest and replace the whole side of the face rather then just the cheek like I ws doing. As for the mouth, I think I might just leave that as an impression rather then mess with it anymore.

Its my first time doing something like this but its definitely been a challenge and I really appreciate everyone who has taken the time out to reply to my post. I have to say I love this site so I think I'm going to have to become a patron : )

[Rikard Rodin]

Here's what I would suggest:

1) Find a photo of a baby that has the same lighting.

2) Pull it into your photo as a separate layer and adjust the face so that it sits on top of your baby's face.

3) Adjust the curves and color so that the two images match as close as possible.

4) Mask the entire "new baby face" and, using a brush on the mask, paint in the parts of the mouth that you need to use.

5) Add a layer at the top of your layer stack and fill it with grey. Put the layer on overlay and adjust the darkness/lightness of the grey until there is no difference having it on or off. An easy way to do this is put a mask on the layer that cuts it in half or puts a hole in it so that you can see the lower layers through it. Then adjust the grey and once done, throw away the mask.

6) Add some noise to your grey layer and give it a very slight blur (i.e., 0.5 pixels of gaussian blur). This will give you a consistent grain to both the original photo and the new baby mouth.

7) Sit back, relax and enjoy your beautiful work.

Good luck!

[Kraellin]

rikard,

i just noticed you're from east grinstead. you're not at saint hill, by any chance, are you?

[Rikard Rodin]

Hi Craig, Not at Saint Hill, but it's a short distance from here. 5 minute drive, tops.