Restoring an old embossed photo in Photoshop. Restoration and retouching of old photographs

Restoring a photograph may seem like a time-consuming and sometimes impossible task. However, this is absolutely not the case, because Photoshop tools will help you easily restore even the most seemingly time-damaged picture.

In this material, you will learn how to apply correctives, learn how to work with such useful tools as Healing Brush Tool (Healing brush) and Clone Stamp Tool (Stamp), as well as understand the basic principles of old pictures. But before you start the lesson, you need to understand one simple fact - each photo always requires a different approach, because there is no specific restoration rule, but the methods and techniques described below can be applied to any damaged image. You just need to learn how to combine different techniques and then you can restore a snapshot of any damage complexity. Well, let's get started!

Step 1

Open the image in Photoshop. First you need to adjust the contrast, because the image looks too light. To do this, it is better to use an adjustment layer. Levels (Levels). Remember that for color correction, using adjustment layers is much preferable to using the Adjustments menu (Correction). The fact is that using a layer allows you to adjust the colors at any time. In addition to the flexibility of work, you can also remove the adjustment layer and thereby restore the original settings.

So apply adjustment layer Levels (Levels). To apply it, click on the icon Create new fill or adjustments Layer (Create a new adjustment layer), which is located in the palette Layers (Layers):

You will see a menu with level settings. By moving the right and left sliders, try to achieve the desired result:

Step 2

Now you need to get rid of seams, dust and dirt. To clean up such defects, you can use the Healing Brush Tool (Healing brush) (Hot key J):

The principle of the Healing Brush is simple, as you will now see. First, let's get rid of the seam on the girls' fur coats. So select the main layer, set the desired brush diameter (slightly larger than the seam) and hold down the Alt key and without releasing click approximately in the place, as shown in the figure below:

Then release the Alt key and go over the seam:

As you understand, the repair brush uses the pixels of the selected area and mixes them with the pixels of the defective area. This and this tool have settings that you need to become familiar with. Click on the canvas with the right mouse button:

• Size - brush size
• Hardness - the hardness of the edges. The harder the edges, the sharper the blend border will be.
• Spacing - intervals. You can set brush intervals.

You can only fix the defect on the sled using the Stamp tool:

This tool works in a similar way, with the only difference being that it doesn't blend pixels. To eliminate the seam, use Alt to select the "suitable area" and then paint over the seam with it:

As you can see, using this tool it is convenient to eliminate defects on the clear edges of objects. Thanks to the above methods, get rid of all defects:

Step 3

Now it remains to make the photo a little clearer. To do this, make a duplicate of the main layer (Ctrl + J) and select Filter - Other - High Pass:

In the filter settings, set the value so that only small contours are visible in the preview window:

Click OK. Change the blend mode of this layer to Overlay:

After that, you will notice how the picture has become clearer and more contrast:

This is how you can retouch a photo using simple tricks and tools.

Perhaps, many of us in the family archives have a lot of old, faded, damaged by time and playful hands of children, but, nevertheless, photos dear to the heart. In our next lesson, we will learn in 5 - 10 minutes to restore a moment of life dear to the owner, left in the form of a photograph.

Based on the appearance of the photo, we will select tools to improve its appearance.

The basis of the fundamentals of the process is SCAN PHOTOGRAPHY.

Despite the fact that most black and white photos do not contain color as such, it is better to scan them in the “color” mode (RGB) as they are newer. when scanning in grayscale mode, there is a risk of getting a noisy and lower quality result, which will be an order of magnitude more difficult to work with. Regarding the resolution, in the described example, 300 dpi was enough.

Using the keyboard shortcut CTRL-L, you can quickly call up the Levels dialog menu (levels).

In most cases, the contrast and dynamic range of old photos is low, meaning there are no completely white or completely black areas, everything is uninteresting—cloudy gray. That's exactly what we'll fix with Levels. To do this, the white and black point sliders should be moved to those points where the histogram displays the beginning of areas with dark and light pixels.

Now REMOVE SCRATCHES AND CORRECT DAMAGED AREAS.

Using the filter Dust & Scratches (Filter-Noise-Dust & Scratches), we globally remove minor scratches and damage. The filter settings depend on the nature of the photo used, but basically you should first select the smallest possible radius (Radius), - most of the scratches will be removed, then, in order to preserve maximum details, select the threshold (Threshold). The areas where the photo is damaged are seriously corrected with the Patch and Healing Brush tools.

The Unsharp Mask will help here (read about the application in the section Improving the clarity of photos). In the experimental photo, this tool was used twice:

The first time - in order to improve the overall contrast of the photo (returned the feeling of a sunny day, which disappeared due to fading of photo paper). Little power, big radius (Amount 10%, Radius 60, Threshold 0).

The second time - to improve the local contrast, the actual clarity. Small radius and more “power” compared to the first time (Amount 40%, Radius 1.6, Threshold 0).

This tool is very handy for quickly developing dark areas of an image. The only caveat is to choose the main settings (Shadows Amount, Radius and Tonal Width) so as not to lose detail, not to kill the contrast by making the image “flat”.

Hue/Saturation - this is the tool that makes it possible to make a photo more interesting, emphasizing its value for history and for you personally (shortcut CTRL-U). To do this, tick Colorize and set Hue 40 and Saturation 10.

Yes, there are drawbacks, but even if they exist, the result you get will pleasantly surprise you and your friends. Don't be afraid to try something new, it's not as scary as it seems. Have fun with the Photoshop wizard and colorful results!

This tutorial is about restoring an old torn photo. Restoring old family photos is something you can do for your relatives and make them cry, and of course it's a service you can earn. Let's see how a typical photo restoration process goes.

When choosing a photo for this tutorial, I ran into a lack of material that I could use publicly. The photo I'm using is a family photo, scanned and sent to me in terrible resolution. In the end, I decided that this kind of image would be suitable for my lesson. The end result shows that you can work with even poorly scanned images and get relatively good results.

Of course, because of this, the size of the print can be limited, but the most important thing in this tutorial is to guide you through all the steps of the workflow. There are a few important steps you can just keep in mind, but never be afraid to be creative and use your own solutions. Here are the steps:

1. Make a copy of the original;
2. Adjust the size of the image and crop the areas you won't be working with;
3. Repair damaged areas;
4. Get rid of noise or other unwanted patterns;
5. Adjust the light and shadow (in color photos you will also need to adjust the skin color);
6. Adjust brightness and contrast;
7. Sharpen up.

First step

And finally, let's get to the lesson. In the first step, I already decided on the size and cropped the image. Then the recovery process begins. With photos like this one, I always start with the Patch tool and use it quite roughly and massively. Next, I refine the details with the Patch, Healing Brush, and Clone Stamp Tool. We will deal with this in more detail in the next step.

Second step

The principle of operation of the "Patch" is similar to the principle of operation of the "Highlight Tool" (Marquee Tool). You select the area around the one you want to fix, then click in the center of your selection, hold down the mouse button, drag the selection to another area with similar problems, and release it. Make sure you align your selection before releasing it. Let's move on to the next step and align accordingly.

Third step

See how the alignment is done in the shadow of the curtains in the background. Make all large areas in the image in this way. This tool does not always work correctly, but it saves time, and starting with it is a good way to start restoring a photo.

Fourth step

After you are done with all the large areas, switch to the Healing Brush (Healing Brush Tool, in the picture its use is marked in red), and the Clone Brush. Don't be afraid to experiment with these tools. If you want the restoration process to be efficient, then it would be a good idea to get the most out of these three tools.

Note that the Spot Healing Brush is a tool that you can use too, and as its name suggests, it interacts with dots. It works by simply clicking on the dots you want to remove, and I often use it in photos where there are a lot of dots that ruin the image. In general, the workflow should begin with this tool, and only then switch to the Healing Brush. However, in our case, this is not particularly necessary.

As you can see in the image below, I used a Clone Stamp on the borders of the image. The Healing Brush and Patch in this case can create some completely unnecessary artifacts. Just try it and you will understand what I mean. And again, switch between tools, experiment until you get the desired result.

Thirteenth step

Once all the main parts of the image are in place, I go back to the Clone Tool and use it to process any borders that need to be edited. I do all this on a separate layer, the retouch layer. To better control the process, you can lower the transparency of the clone tool. Just drag the area, process it, and don't lose sight of the Ctrl/Command + Z keys.

Fourteenth step

Often when retouching, you use different layers for different parts of the image. If you don't want to work with countless layers, just merge the layers when you're ready to stop retouching. I usually process small parts on different layers and glue them into one retouching layer, but never glue the base layers.

It's best not to glue the layers together unless you're sure you've done everything right. It's always good to be able to go back and redo something.

Fifteenth step

Restoration work can be considered completed.

sixteenth step

The next thing I'll do is group the layers. Select all layers and press Ctrl/Command + G. Now I create a new layer with this group Ctrl/Command + Shift + Alt+E and name it Noise. We will use this layer for noise reduction. Before we start doing this, I would like to mention one thing that I may not have said at the very beginning.

As you can see in the screenshot, I left the original file on the background layer of my PSD file and turned it off. When working, it is convenient to store the source in a PSD file and start with the copy to layer command (Ctrl / Command + J). So we get the image with which we will work further.

Note: When you hold down Alt and click on the eye icon in front of a layer, you turn that layer on and turn off all the others. Good for a quick comparison.

seventeenth step

Now we will try to reduce the noise level. There are many ways to deal with noise, but here I'm using the Reduce Noice filter from the Noice tab. In this tutorial, I overdid the noise reduction a bit, and if memory serves me, my strength values ​​​​were 8 units, and something like 20 units for details.

I used another little trick - in the Advanced Dialoge, I maximized the detail and brightness of the blue channel. I also subjected the red channel to processing - I strengthened some details. This allows you to keep the original image without too much blur. This technique was suggested to me by Taz Tally and is just as good for removing scan defects or any other defects.

Translation: © Lilis, Obscurantism, Vladimir Kotelnikov, Ready.

Today we will learn how to restore old shabby photos in Photoshop. There are many different examples on the Internet on how to do this. I want to bring to your attention the most, it seems to me, simple and understandable. Of course, it is quite laborious and will take some time, but for beginners in Photoshop it is ideal. No need for a bunch of tools, different masks and layer blending modes that get confused in the head. All you need is the Stamp tool and your patience. In addition, beginners during this lesson will make friends with this wonderful tool and will continue to use it in their work.

Let's start studying the lesson.

An old photograph has been lying around in the home archive for a long time, it's time to take it up.

First of all, go to the tab Image - Mode - RGB. If the mode is different, then put a tick on RGB.

Remove the lock from the layer. Double-click on the lock with the left mouse button and select OK in the pop-up window.

To be safe, copy the layer. Then we stand on the copy and increase the view. We start at the edges of the photo to practice on.

Take the Stamp Tool and check the settings. Since we are working in the very corner, do not be afraid to set the opacity and pressure to the maximum. We will stamp with a round brush, pre-select its diameter. Activate the Stamp tool, hold down the Alt key, a window appears on the screen as in a sight. We put it on the section that we want to copy, click the mouse. Then we release the Alt key, the sight disappears and we move the circle to the place we want to paint over, click the mouse. We see how a circle appeared on the damaged area. So let's practice on the corners. The more often we use the Alt key, the more carefully the desired area will be painted over.

Having trained on the corners, we move to another area, but we do not touch the face yet. Since the strip that needs to be masked is small, we change the size of the brush - we reduce the diameter. And again we aim at the area that we want to copy, hold down the Alt key, click the mouse, release the key, go to the area that we want to paint over, click the mouse.

Periodically reduce the view and look at what happens.

To compare, we turn off the eye on the copy layer we are working on. It is immediately clear: what and where is painted over.

In places near the eye, you need to greatly enlarge the image. Since it is already difficult to do this with the engine, we click on the right triangle. With its help, little by little we increase the image.

We select targets for the sight both above the seam and below the seam. In such areas, it is especially important not to rush and often aim and take areas for cloning.

When we clone the pupil, we reduce the hardness of the brush.

When cloning lips, we take a sample from the lips.

When cloning a pupil, it is possible and necessary to take samples from different sides of the pupil.

Try not to aim too close to the area that needs to be painted over, so as not to hit too much.

When we clone the stripes on the suit, we walk from different sides to the scratch. We worship from the bottom, then go to the top and clone from the top. Then again we go to the bottom and so towards the opposite we paint over the area. To get a transition from a white stripe to a black background, try to take into sight the area that is in the middle and includes both white and black stripes. Adjust this with the diameter of the brush, it can be changed more often.

With the final touch, paint over the white stripe, just to paint over.

Anyway, no matter how you paint over the background, it will not be even. So we are taking other steps. Use the Rectilinear Lasso Tool to select the shape of the baby.

Right-click inside the selection and select Feather.

We accept a small radius of shading. Since the photo is old, we do not need very clear boundaries.

Copy the selection to a new layer. We use the Ctrl + J keys for this.

Create a new layer by clicking on the second icon from the right in the layers panel and put it under the layer with the selected baby figure. We extinguish the eyes on the two lower layers.

Next we go - Run the fill. In order to have a place to take a color sample with a pipette, we will make the layer on which we worked with the Stamp visible (turn on the peephole on it by clicking on it). We check that we are standing on a transparent layer.

And now we use the Eyedropper tool to fill the layer with color.

We see that the background has become monochromatic. To diversify it a little, let's make it a little structural. Apply the Unlimited-2 filter, download it from here.

In the filter window, select the canvas.

Apply the Sharpen filter to the baby image. Let's check that we are standing on the layer with the baby.

We extinguish the eyes on the two lower layers and on the Layers tab, select - Merge Visible.

After that, I saved the file as a JPEG, made a frame from the lesson How to make a frame with torn edges. I instructed the program to slightly correct the image. On the Image tab, I selected Auto Tone and Auto Contrast.

Now you can compare the result.

With this method, beginners may well take on the restoration of old photos. As you can see, this method is very understandable, the main thing is patience. Everything will work out for us!

Found an old photo in the bins? Unfortunately, paper is not the most reliable medium, and the discovered image, almost a hundred years old, is unlikely to boast of the gloss and clarity of the image. Do not rush to mourn a damaged photo or spend money on a professional restorer, you can restore it yourself! A convenient program for photo restoration PhotoMASTER will come to the rescue. Read how to restore the original look of an old photograph and preserve family history.

PhotoMASTER will help restore even a badly damaged photo

Restoring photos in the PhotoMASTER editor

To save a valuable family heirloom from further destruction and restore its original appearance, you need to convert a paper photograph to digital format. The easiest way to do this is with a regular camera or smartphone. However, this method has disadvantages:

• third-party light sources can leave glare in the picture,
• the photo may be blurry and fuzzy,
• uneven camera position distorts the image.

Ideally, it's best to scan the photo, as this will preserve the original colors and avoid flare.

Now that you have a digital copy, you need to download the program for restoring old photos from our website. Install it on your computer and run it. Open the scanned image in PhotoMASTER and let's get started.

Restoration step by step

• Trimming the damaged edge

If the edges of the image are very frayed, which is very likely after so much time, it is better to get rid of them immediately without regrets. Go to the "Composition" section and select "Cropping". PhotoMASTER offers several cropping options: free frame proportions, keeping the original proportions, as well as a number of standard aspect ratios: for a VKontakte post, for iPhone and iPad, 4:3 size and others. Choose a grid type that will help you correctly frame your image.

Trim frayed edges and yellowed frame

Now select with a frame the part of the picture that you want to leave. The main thing is not to get too carried away so as not to spoil the composition. In cases where the defects at the edges are too deep, for example, the picture is torn to the middle, it is better to partially correct the problem areas with retouching.

• We remove defects

Be patient, as this part of the processing is the most time consuming. However, restoring photos in Photoshop and other editors takes no less time. At the same time, it is much easier to master PhotoMASTER, besides, there are convenient tools for quickly removing defects in a photo.

Go to the "Retouch" section. Here is a whole set of tools that will help mask torn corners, eliminate traces of bends, hide spots that have appeared from time to time and similar problems.

The main instrument of work will be repair brush. It will perfectly cope with both point defects and large damage. Adjust the brush size according to the problem area. If you need to remove a spot from a photo, click exactly in the middle with the brush, and the defect will disappear. If you need to repair a scratch, gently run the brush along it.

Removing a scratch from a photo

In this way, you have to completely retouch the picture. Be patient and it will be rewarded with amazing results! If the brush categorically “does not take” some defects, leave them for processing with the next tool, which we will talk about later.

Photo before and after treatment with a repair brush

Another very useful feature is stamp. It will allow you to quickly and effectively remove unwanted objects from the frame. For example, a red spot in the background can be easily eliminated. Mark the area to be hidden, and then choose the place from which you will take the donor background.

Removing a Scratch with the Stamp Tool

Remove the glare that appeared in the process of converting a photo to digital form, brighten dark areas, sharpen or blur some fragments of the image with a handy tool "Corrector". Select the desired area and adjust the color, toning and sharpness settings.

The corrector can be very useful if in some place you did not manage to carefully use the healing brush and noticeable bumps appeared. Select this unfortunate fragment and slightly increase the blur value. The defect will not be so noticeable.

Slight blurring of the curtain area after removing a large scratch

When restoring portraits, the option will allow a little more "Perfect Portrait". With its help, you can automatically make the skin smoother, the eyes more expressive, and the face brighter.

The Face Lightening style will smooth out remaining imperfections and make skin tone more attractive.

• Increasing the clarity of a photo

Over time, any paper photographs fade, and the technology of the beginning of the last century did not provide the high detail that modern SLR cameras. And yet you can make the photo a little more expressive! In the "Enhancements" section there is a "Sharpness" tab, go there and increase the value of the parameter to the desired value. You will notice that the image has become more expressive.

Sharpen the image to make it clearer and more expressive

• Bringing back the old

If it seems to you that in the process of processing the photo has lost its unique retro flair, this can be corrected. Go to the "Effects" category. Here you will find vintage filters. With their help, you can restore the touch of antiquity and the former charm of photographs from the past.

The Retro 2 effect will color the picture in a pleasant sepia

See how the photo restoration is done in the program: before and after.

Satisfied with the result? Then save the resulting image to your computer. You can print it on paper to replace the damaged old one or publish it on social networks.

Memory is with you forever

Now not a single precious photograph that has come down to you from the last century will be lost. Young great-grandparents will smile from the family album, and time will no longer make their faces fade. Entrust the restoration of old photos to the PhotoMASTER editor!