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Before and After Pictures
The photograph above shows a common problem
with vintage photographs. The image is fading, and some
details in the picture are in danger of being lost. The
photograph was taken in 1900, so at the point the scan was
made, the picture was 108 years old. Scanning and restoring
the photograph offers the opportunity to preserve the image,
and bring back detail that is almost lost.
We have found that Photoshop is the most
powerful tool available for restoring vintage photographs.
Below, we take you through the process of using Photoshop to
restore the image. We are using Photoshop version 7.
Step 1) Crop the Picture.
Use the Photoshop cropping tool to remove
the excess part of the image.
Use the cropping tool to select just the
region of the photograph that you want to keep. Once the
area is selected, the selection can be rotated to ensure
that the image is square, in case you did not get the
original photograph square in the scanner. Once this is
done, click on the cropping tool icon again, and you will
end up with just the area you selected.
Cropped Image
2) Convert the Image to Grayscale
At this point, you will want to convert the
image to grayscale to continue the restoration. In
Photoshop, point at "Image" in the upper menu, select "Mode"
from the drop down list, then select and click on
"Grayscale". This takes the color out of the picture, and it
will now look like this:
3) Adjust "Levels" in Photoshop
Now this step is where you really bring the
photograph back to life, and bring back detail from the
faded image. On the menus at the top of the Photoshop
window, select "Image", then select "Adjustments", and then
select "Levels". When you do this, you will get a "Levels"
window like the following one:
Notice that you have a hill-like
graph, and then three slider bars below it, which I have
circled in red. For each photograph, your graph will look
different, but each time you will have the three slider bars
beneath it. To adjust the levels, slide the left slider bar
to the left edge of the "hill" in the histogram. Then slide
the right slider bar to the right edge of the "hill". Then
move the center slider bar back and forth between the other
two, until you like the way the photograph looks. After
adjusting the slider bars, the window would look like this:
Notice how we moved the slider bars to the
edges of the "hill", and then moved the middle one to the
position that makes the picture look the best. Remember that
the "hill" will look different for each photograph you have,
but in each case, move the slider bars to the edge of the
hill for dramatic improvements in image quality. Below is
the result of this adjustment.
Notice how the adjustment of levels has
brought back details in the dress and other light regions of
the picture.
4) Give the Photograph a Rich Sepia Tone
Now the photo above looks great, but I love
the rich sepia tone of vintage photographs. I want the
picture to have that rich tone, conveying the age, and
giving it that "vintage" look. To do this, go to the menus
at the top of the Photoshop window, select "Image", select
"Mode" from the drop down menu, and then click on the "RGB
Color" option.
Now, you can add sepia toning by going back
to the top menus, select "Image", select "Adjustments", then
click on "Color Balance". You will get the following pop up
menu:
When this box comes up, there will be a "0"
in each of the color level boxes. To get that rich sepia you
have come to expect in a vintage photograph, set the first
box to 30, as seen above, and the third box to -23. Then
click "OK". Now the picture looks like this:
5) Remove Dust and Scratches
The photograph is much improved, with detail
brought back to the highlight area of the image. The final
step is to use the "Healing Tool" to repair scratches, dust
spots, and imperfections in the photograph. On the Photoshop
tool pallet, it is the icon that looks like a band aid. The
tool is circled in red in the screenshot below:
Select this tool by clicking on the circled
icon. Now if you pass the cursor over the photograph, the
cursor forms a "circle". This is the size of the healing
brush. The circle, or healing brush size should be about 4
or 5 times bigger than a typical dust spot of defect on the
photograph. The top menu of Photoshop now should show an
option for setting the brush size. Adjust the brush size
until the circle is 4-5 times bigger than a typical dust
spot. Now, you need to find an area of the photograph
similar to the area you want to repair, but an area the size
of the circle, that does not have a dust spot or defect in
it. place the circle there, press the "Alt" key, and then
click the mouse. This copies this pattern. Now place the
circle over a dust spot, and click. Poof! the dust spot
disappears. Go to the next dust spot, and zap it. Continue
doing this until you have removed all the spots. The key in
using this tool is to always select an area that is similar
to the area you are trying to repair. For example, if you
are removing a spec from the dress, choose a region on the
dress to "Alt Click" that has a similar pattern to what you
are trying to repair. So, you "Alt Click" to set up the
healing brush, then zap the dust spots in that area, then
move to another area, "Alt Click" again, and repair dust
spots in that area.
Comparing this finished product with the
original image shows that the result is well worth the
effort.
Remember to always save an "untouched" version of the
original scan, and don't forget to save your finished image.
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