Archive for the ‘photoshop’ Category
Using patch versus content aware patch
March 22nd, 2013
I just spotted a video on Lynda.com, a very reliable on line resource for learning. It describes using the “patch” tool as a useful tool for repairing scratches, tears and damage.
There is no doubt this tool is a great tool. In this case i feel that using something just because its there, is not always a good idea.
The video suggests you let the “content aware” algorithm do the work for you. Setting the parameters from “very loose” to “very strict.” I tried this with one of my images with damage and each and every parameter tested gave me a poor result, where the patched damage took a darker tone. See the first video below for how Bryan suggest it should work.
When i used the standard method of the patch it worked better in every case. Feel free to use the Lynda method but I would suggest using just the patch on its own. I am sure that Bryan O’Neil Hughes was just trying to show us that there are other methods to use but sometimes leaving it alone is just as good. Here is my quick test to explain why i have never use this option.
I am sure that content aware patch has its place but i could not get it to work on my image and never use it. Sure i use content aware occasionally but even then and more often than not i have to correct it.
Posted in fix my photo, image restoration, photo repair, photo restoration, Photo restoration example, photo restoration videos, photograph restoration, photographic restoration techniques, photoshop, photoshop techniques, picture restoration, restoring old photographs, restoring old photos | 
Tags: content aware patch, cracks, creases, damage, fix, how to, marks, patch tool, photo restoration, photoshop, scratches, tutorial, video | 
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Scanning and stitching large images
September 1st, 2010
Sometimes images are too big to scan in one piece especially the very long panorama photos that can reach well over 30 inches and bigger than 50 inches sometimes!
long panorama school photo
What can you do? You can scan this type of image in pieces and then use PhotoShop to stitch them back together. I will use and example of a photo around 56 inches long of some windmills. It was scanned in five separate sections with an overlap or around 25% per photo and with all your scanners auto exposure setting turned off. This is to ensure that all the separate scans are exactly the same. If you leave your scanner to auto correct each one then they will all end up with slightly different tones and contrast which wont match well when photoshop comes to stitch them together. Once your image is scanned save the files off to a folder called panorama or something useful to you.
Below is the place to find the photo merge or stitch menu to start the photo stitching process once we have our scans saved.
Finding the "photomerge" option in photoshop for stitching large photos together
Next, browse to where we saved the images.
Pointing the photo merge where to open the separate scans ready for stitching
Select the “Auto” option from the radio buttons and select “blend images together” from the check box below the list of files you browsed for just now. Then select OK.
panorama layers once stitched
In the finished result above after PhotoShop has finished stitching the layers, each one will be on a separate layer allowing you to fine tune them in case the stitch was not 100% accurate.
You can see here that I have switched off one of the layers so you can see how photoshop has blended the image. Its done in a nice, seemingly random fashion which is the best blend route and so that it cannot be seen when you zoom in and inspect it. Which is of course the way we want it, totally invisible!
There are not many occasions when it gets it wrong. I have had 2 or 3 instances when stitching school photos with many people together that two or more heads get replicated. Its very rare but can be corrected by manually painting over the masks on the layers. To do this you click on the black mask of the layer that wasn’t blended properly and paint with black or white soft brush, to add or remove the offending or misaligned part of the image.
To see this image restored, see can panorama images be restored or to see another example of stitching images try the post on flaked emulsion on large images
Retouching eyes
April 7th, 2010
Retouching eyes is a way to improve a portrait. This is a technique I picked up along the photo restoration and retouching road.
Above are some eyes from a portrait from Michael Herb at 204Studios. They have a round studio flash reflected in them. Some say this is attractive and softens the eyes but this is a matter of opinion. Maybe you want to add your own reflection in the eye that suits your style? I have included a layers snap shot of a process to change them.
The bottom layer has the reflection removed. The layer above “whites”, is a soft white brush sprayed in the whites of the eye and then reduced in opacity and masked. this softens the whites.
The “reflection” layer is a single dab of white masked to make a triangular shaped reflection.
Above that is a small white dot, which simulates the main point of light.
Next up is a colour layer to add more of a warm hue to eyes with the centre pupil masked out.
Finally a splash of red also reduced on opacity in the corners of the eyes to remove the grey look and warm up the eyes some more.
The very top layer is just the original so we can refer back to it to see the changes we made.
You then set about retouching the face and skin in your usual way. I hope this retouching eyes article helped you.
Neil