99-year-old Restoration

[Redshirt]

I have removed the worst striations in this 1910 photo. Is it possible to go a step further and smooth out striated skin without making the person look unrealistic? (l to r: aunt, grandmother and mother)

Redshirt

[0lBaldy]

Redshirt, welcome to RetouchPRO! Nice to have you aboard and hope you enjoy the experience.

I made a copy of the original
leveled
a copy of the leveled layer
changed mode to lighten .. nudged up one pixel.. masked back eyes, nostrils, mouth, etc
merged down
did it again
a copy of the leveled layer
changed mode to lighten .. nudged up one pixel.. masked back eyes, nostrils, mouth, etc
did it again (except moved down and darken mode)
a copy of the leveled layer
changed mode to darken .. nudged down one pixel.. masked back eyes, nostrils, mouth, etc
copy of original moved to top of stack with hide all mask
painted mask with white(reveal) eyes, mouth, nostrils, white shirts on two ladies
merged down
healed all the little dark and light spots
desaturated
I used Imagenomic Noiseware for noise removal
but Neat Image will work also (Demo edition of Neat Image is freeware for non-commercial use)

[Redshirt]

OlBaldy

Remarkable. More than I thought possible. I will try to emulate your method. Thanks much.

Redshirt