Critique of repair of old photo (guidelines read)

[kewkate]

Hello, I'm pretty new to Photoshop, but hoping to learn a lot here and I'd appreciate some feedback on a photo I've repaired as a start to that process.

First off I repaired the photo, cloning and c+p
Next I added some adjustment layers - levels, curves, exposure, colour balance
Then I sharpened it using USM (I used Smart Sharpen on another version, but thought the effect was pretty identical to USM for this photo)
I then tidied up a few areas using cloning at 50% and healing brush, but I prefered the cloning tool for this photo.

Before
After

Many thanks in advance

[kewkate]

Re: Critique of repair of old photo (guidelines re

Really? Is it that bad? What should I have done instead?

[voidsource]

Re: Critique of repair of old photo (guidelines re

Hi im new to this forum and i see what you did there in the before and after image. I can tell that by looking at the 'after' image i notice that there are several areas that have different patches of tonal value. Meaning some spots are darker than others within the adjacent area. I know u used xyz but i just dont know the order. I say this because sometimes this does matter when recreating or piecing together an image. I would suggest that you try again but do not use levels or sharpening or tools of that sort until the very end. Try to also make the finished piece look more natural; As in the image to look still like an old photo, because in the end you can easily use levels and tools of that sort. Other than that it seems like you know what your doing. Hope to see another finished piece.

[kewkate]

Re: Critique of repair of old photo (guidelines re

Thank you very much.

I think I put the order in which I did things? I used adjustment layers, not altering the photo itself once repaired, thus each adjustment can be turned on and off as necessary.

Sharpening was done right at the end, and again, I can adjust its opacity to alter how sharp the sharpening is.

I think I understand what you mean about the tonal qualities, but I'm not sure a) what needs to be done and b) how to do it.

Many thanks for the feedback, its very much appreciated!