faded areas on old photos

[jd3wolfe]

I enjoy trying my hand at retouching old photos. But, whenever I see an area, usually on the clothing, that's uneven and faded, I cringe. I have never come up with a techniques that I am happy with. I have scoured videos, other examples, searched this forum but cannot come up with answers to this problem. I would like to save the texture. I have seen some retouching done that eliminates all the texture. That looks funny to me. I try the patch tool but it blends too much. I try the clone stamp but then it starts to lose the texture. I keep trying different opacities and flow but doesn't seem to help. I have tried painting with very low opacity. Maybe I am trying to correct it too much? The problem areas on this photo are the man's pants, the tree, and the lady's dress on the right. I'm just asking for suggestions on what else I could try. I have Photoshop CS2. I can't afford to pay for it monthly. Any help would be highly appreciated.

4 people b.jpg

[Doug Nelson]

Try cloning or healing onto a blend layer, probably darken or multiply, but experiment (including opacity).

[jd3wolfe]

Doug,
I really appreciate your reply. I had never thought of doing it that way. I have been practicing some more with the clone tool. I need to learn more how to set the opacity and flow. Sometimes it seems to me to be the "same difference". But, I'm still learning and reading. Another thing I read about was texture overlays. There's so much to this, that it can be mind boggling. But, I still enjoy it.

[Doug Nelson]

Take it slow, you'll get there

Get a Wacom tablet if you haven't already. You'll be amazed at how much simpler all brushwork (including cloning) becomes. Get their cheapest one, or a used one, but stick with Wacom brand.

[Gary]

Query Frequency Separation.

For example .... https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorial...ion--cms-33107


Here's a quick play with yours using FS.

[JSFphoto]

From a quick glance most of the detail data you are looking for still exists on the blue and green channels of the image. Try duplicating the layer then Image > Apply Image: Set your channel to green or blue and play with the blending mode to taste. Don't be afraid to make multiple copies of the original and apply image on specific areas at a time, then paint mask/ opacity. I'd also recommend desaturating after to remove color noise from the scanning process. Add the sepia back if you'd like. And, If you have the option to re-scan, It looks like a lot of the problem was that it wasn't completely flat on the scanner. FS is awesome but your battling a tool creating data when you already have data available.