Photo Restoration Blog

When restoring a photo using Photoshop there are so many ways to repair damage that i thought i would take a typical example of a fold mark or crease and show the ways we can use to repair it.

One method we can use for fixing this damage would be to use the “patch tool”, normally good for correcting or replacing large areas of an image.

Using the Patch Tool

Using the patch tool in this way can sometimes result in smeared colour or tone contamination from nearby contrasting areas. To avoid this clone over any overly dark or light spots so when you outline the area to be patched, the outline runs through an area or similar tone. You can patch through nearly a entire image in this manner. The skill comes from knowing where to take the patch from as in a lot or circumstances there seems no obvious place to select a donor piece. Of course like any restoration there will be a fair bit of tiding up to do, such dodging and burning any areas that didn’t patch that well and possibly even using the clone tool to tidy up edges and add back some definition where the patches have left a soft edge.

Using the Clone Tool

Using the clone tool is probably the favorite amongst most of us who know something about Photoshop. It used to great effect and has many options besides the simple clone I have shown here. For example it can be used in conjunction with “darken” or “lighten” to give great effect when cloning up to contrasting edges or over dark or light patches.

Other methods you could use are the Spot Healing Brush Tool or he Healing Brush. These can used to great effect when replacing soft or blurred sections of an image with texture from other part of the image, say to add texture or grain back to blurred face or clothing. Here they work fairly well but not as good as the clone.

Using the Spot Healing Tool

Of these methods they all can be used together especially when patching up or rebuilding a far more complex image. An image such as a child posing in a Victorian photographers studio in a grand chair, with a leg missing and the wooden scrolls damaged on the engravings. This would need careful use of all the techniques above. With these more complex rebuilds, artistic abilities come into play. The ability to see light and dark for shape and form and subtle colours that push and pull detail into and out of the picture. Its these skills that can used to rebuild and restore the image to its former state.

Just a quick update, I’m changing servers so the site will go down soon, as will all other sites. Hopefully Ill be up and running again by the weekend and this will enable me to run the latest version of wordpress and be up to date with all its lovely features.

This post will self destruct after i’m back up and running as i backed up my site before posting this message!

Neil

update – Ok all good! its all been upgraded, server is now a wizzo fast one and the latest version as is my WordPress, I’m a happy bunny now down to some work again! Phew

Sometimes for first time visitors, my photo restoration blog can be quite daunting. I have made a quick reference video of what I can do, so play the video below and in around a minute or two you’ll know what I’m about!

Of course its not all restorations I like to have some fun along the way, but thats another video! Or browse the blog to find out more.