Cloudy Old Photo

[jonk]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum and I look forward to talking and learning from you, and hopefully can contribute and help others as well.

I have an old photo that I am restoring, and after doing some corrections it seems to have cloudy areas. Does anyone know what the best way to remove this would be?

I have attached part of the actual photo (low res) and as you see the bottom portion is clear but the top is cloudy. I have this problem in various areas on the photo.

Any help would be greatly apprenticed.

Thanks!
Jon Krider

[Legacy~Art]

Welcome to the forum, your have to excuse me but i don't really know how to add to this, but i know Gary is very good at this, and many others too...

So give it awhile someone will come and help...

[JustChecking]

sorry for spamming here, i don't know anything about retouching.... i guess i just have too much time on my hands
btw, that pic looks kinda cool w/ that channel mixer "on"

[Robt]

I know you said something about as subtle as a brick up along side my head but I missed it. Please explain.

[Gary Richardson]

Hi Jonk, had a quick play with your image. The way I used to minimise your clouds is as follows.

Duplicate Background layer.
Apply levels to this layer to darken clouds close to that of bottom of image. This will of course also darken lower half of image, so apply block all layer mask and then use a soft white brush to paint in "darkness" over cloudy areas.

Create new layer set blend mode to Soft Light and fill with 50% grey, now using a soft black brush set to 5-10% paint over lighter areas to even out tone.

Then I applied a levels adjustment layer and darkened the whole image. If this is too dark for you, leave out this stage.

The image posted still needs work, but I'm a bit short on time at the moment.

[jonk]

Thank you Gary! I will try this it looks like it will do the trick. I am not an expert with Photoshop and have a ton to learn. I do have one question; How do I "apply block all layer mask"?

Boy do I have a lot to learn! What's funny is that I have been using Photoshop since version 6.0, and still run into something everyday that stumps me.

Thanks again everyone and I am looking forward to contributing and learn from this forum.

Jon

[CJ Swartz]

Originally Posted by jonk

... I do have one question; How do I "apply block all layer mask"?

... Jon

When you click to apply a layer mask, if you hold down the ALT key (PC; MAC is Option key, I believe), the mask will be all black and let you paint with white where you want to make the change. From the menu, you can create it from Layer --> Add Layer Mask --> Hide All.

Here is Doug's tutorial on Layer Masking -- give it a read!
http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=27

Another tutorial, with video
http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorial...Explained/5320


Jon, this forum is full of information, tips, tutorials, and links to OTHER tutorials to help folks learn. I know that I've learned a lot since I first joined, and I'd been using PShop for years before that -- just not as effectively. And there's lots more for me to learn here also.

So jump in and look around -- look at the tutorials, run searches for information that you're wondering about, and if you can't find an answer -- just ask!

[Gary Richardson]

Thanks CJ, that says it all.

[jonk]

Thanks! CJ - Although I have been using PS for a long time, I have only used it very limited. Went through tutorials and did some additional reading on layer masks. I'm still doing something wrong - I created the back layer mask and then trying to follow Gary's instructions: paint over the cloudy area with a white brush. As I am doing this I cannot see my painting strokes. Should I be doing this on the black mask layer? I know this may sound like a dumb question, I will figure this out. I guess I need to keep reading and practicing.

Thanks Again!
Jon

[Gary Richardson]

Yes, click on the black layer mask to select it, then paint on your image in the areas that you want the adjustment to apply.

[jonk]

Ok I give up. I think the problem is how I am trying to setup and apply the layers. I have attached the PSD file. Can someone look at it without laughing and tell me or show me what I am doing wrong? I do understand layers and masks to a point. I believe my problem is using the tool.

Thanks Again!
Jon

[philbach]

Well Jonk here is my take on what Gary said.
First Duplicate the Background layer to make a copy of that.
Next place a levels adjustment layer. On my screen dump thats called levels 1. There are two boxes and the box on the right is the mask for the levels adjustment. By clicking on the box on the right you activate the mask and then what's white is shown and what is black won't be shown. The part thats white will show the levels adjustment and in this instance darkness will flow into the cloudy areas of the picture.

On top of that a new layer is made which is filled with 50% gray. In that layer you set the blend mode to soft light (or overlay). Painting the gray layer with a black brush will darken the picture and Painting that layer with a white brush will lighten it.

The grand finale of this is the top final adjustment layer.

Something tells me I made this more complicated than it is. Hope this helps.

I've enclosed my take on the layer structure.

[CJ Swartz]

Jon,

How about this easier way to start with -- do the Levels adjustment layer, then click on the white box on the Levels layer, paint your image with black to lighten the effect of the Levels adjustment to your taste (you can repaint with white where you change your mind or make an error -- you can even use a shade of gray or just lower the opacity of your brush to reduce or increase the amount of the effect. You are painting on a "mask" instead of your image, so if you need to make a change or throw it away -- you can, without losing your original image in its original state.

[Gary Richardson]

Hi Jon, When I'd duplicated the background, I applied the levels straight to the duplicated layer, not on an extra levels adjustment layer.

So my layer stack was as follows.

Levels Adj Layer (Finally added to get levels across entire image)
Soft Light layer with 50% grey (Paint to refine tone.)
Duplicated Background with levels adjustment. (Layers mask to reveal just cloudy areas.)
Background.

Hope this clarifies things.

[jonk]

Thanks Again Everyone! I got it finally through my think head. I really appreciate the help that everyone gave me here and I hope to return the favor.

Thanks Again!
Jon