Spots and Texture

[JamesonImages]

Hi all, I'm looking for advice on how to easily remove the white spots in this photo, as well as the texture of the original photo paper. I have read in other posts about plug-ins and use of programs outside of photoshop, however, for the shop that I work in these are not options...I'm using PS CS4.

My current PS experience wants to go crazy with the clone brush, but I know there's a more effective (and probably easier?) way to accomplish this. As for the texture, I'm not sure where to start without softening the portrait even more than it is already.

as you can see, I've already started this project...Thanks in advance, looking to hear your suggestions!

[amica999]

You could try to use the dust and scratches filter with a black mask and dab over the white spots, or you could make a copy of the background and move the copy just a few dabs up and to the side, black mask and paint in with white. No experience with the paper texture, though, I'm sure someone will drop in and tell you. Good luck!

[Tony W]

The white spots can be dealt with as stated by Amica999 with the Dust and Scratch filter as attached image (also slightly sharpened after this with unsharp mask). On the subject of the texture I think the easiest way is to use a plug in such as FFT filter or a seperate app such as Image analyser (I did this one in Image Analyser). After removing texture applied Dust and Scratch filter.

Why would the shop that you work in not allow this as an option - particularly if this improved the image?

If you cannot use any plug in then the use of surface blur filter then dust and scratch then usm might be helpful

Pics
1. Dust and scratch filter only (did not apply anything for texture as could not be seen on this size image)
2. FFT filter applied using Image Analyser then Dust and scratch then USM
3. Surface Blur filter then Dust & Scratch then USM

Hope you find something useful here

[JamesonImages]

Thanks Amica and Tony.

The situation with the shop is sensitive. I work for a school portrait company, so restorations are not really our area. This is being done as a favor for an important client. We have a complex network set up at the shop, and the boss is very sensitive about additions to his machines, as well as privacy, which keeps me from taking this image home to work on it.I think I will show him the obvious differences that you show and perhaps it will persuade him!

I'm sure I could search for this, but where do I get FFT or Image analyzer? Are there free trials?

Still open to additional ideas!

[Tony W]

Hi JamesonImages, understand now why the reluctance to use other plug ins or apps!
Image analyser can be found Here at Meesoft
FFT can be found Here at Alex Chirokov Archive

AFAIK the software is either Freeware or Shareware and therefore free to use.

[chillin]

1. FFT filter in Image Analyzer
2. Frequency Separation for dots elimination & smoothness adjustments

[unimatrix001]

Duplicated layer, used dust and scratches filter, noiseware, and unsharp mask filter converted those three filters to smart filters. Merged layers, added a render clouds layer with noise to remove banding. Added catch lights in eyes from original layer. Repainted collar, repaired damage from crease using the patch tool. a curves layer to adjust the contrast. used grain surgery to match grain from original photo and faded to 25%.
The second photo i used these settings and layers.
1. duplicate layer
2. dust and scratches radius 2 threshold 8
3. added layer mask and painted with black over the eyes
4. added layer and painted over the catch lights with a size 3 brush at 84% hardness and 25% opacity
5. merged layers and duplicated
6. highpass filter at .9 set to linear light to sharpen the photo.
No other work done except to remove the white spots. could not see the texture because of the size of the photo. but i would have used fft filter to remove it.

[JamesonImages]

Unimatrix - looks really good...I'm not familiar w/ noiseware or grain surgery, would you mind explaining these a little for me?

[mistermonday]

The journey does not need to be complicated. A good noise filter like Noiseware will do as good a job at filtering the texture as an FFT. I would never use any of the blur filters to remove those white spots. Instead a good solution would be to frequency separate the image. However, instead of spending time healing over each spot, do the following. On the High Frequency layer, use the Magic Wand tool to select all the spots in one click. Select > Modify > Expand to expand the slections by about 2 pixels. Now select the Spot Healing Brush, choose the Content Aware option from the option bar, make the brush really big and run it indescriminantly over the entire image making sure to pass over all the white spots. About 5 secs after you release the mouse, all your spots are gone and it only took you 1 min.
You may want to finish up with some high radius, low amount sharpening.
Regards, Murray

[unimatrix001]

Noiseware is a plugin from imagenomic and grain surgery is a plugin i found to be very useful for matching grain from the original photo to a retouched photo to add grain back in it allows you to change size and intensity of the grain also allows you to work on separate channels. I myself find it very useful.