Quicklinks to all course lessons: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Lesson 1 sections: 1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-6 1-7 1-8 1-9 1-JFF 1-IDEA
Lesson 1 sections: 1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-6 1-7 1-8 1-9 1-JFF 1-IDEA
A01-09: Restoring Photos
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Objective:
With the learning and skills you've acquired to this point, you should be able to restore an older photo that needs some repair. Photoshop's healing and content aware tools are the perfect tools to restore an old photo. Your challenge is to restore a photo non-destructively, using Camera Raw to adjust the histogram tonal range, remove some of the luminance noise, and sharpen the image. Then take the photo into Photoshop and use content-aware tools to remove spots and scratches. |
Video: Exercise - Restore a Photo - the Challenge (1:09)
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Background:
Often people who do photo restoration charge $75 to $150 per hour or photo to restore an image. However, knowing how to use the content aware tools in Photoshop, you've gained the skills so you can do this, too. Mastery will come with a more practice. Many of my former students have enjoyed trying out their skills on an old family photo - restoring it and sharing it with their family. This would be a great real world exercise that would have a lot of meaning for some of you. At right is a photo that one of my students restored. If you choose to do this for your first portfolio exhibit this semester, be sure to include "before" and "after" shots in your exhibit! |
Photo restoration by Bret Barton - former student
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I took an old family photo from my youth and restored it. This was scanned from a 35mm slide taken in 1961 (I'm the oldest boy in the photo). The slide had discolored over the years. Photoshop made the restoration possible.
Original scan of the 35mm slide.
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Restored photo.
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Learn:
Please watch the video, "How to Repair Old Photos in Photoshop." It will show you how this is done. Below in the optional resources, there are links for many other online tutorials that will give you more examples, tips, and tricks on restoring old photos. Please note: In the newer 2019 and 2020 versions of Photoshop CC, the "Content-Aware Fill" in the EDIT menu does a great job, too. |
Video: How to Repair Old Photos in Photoshop (4K) (9:11)
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Apply: Exercise A01-09 - Restore an old photo
Can you take this old, original photo and restore it? Or, if you'd like to do this as a portfolio exhibit, restore a photo of your own - like an old family photo. Use what you've learned here in lesson 1, and see what you can do! Be sure to include both a before and after in your exhibit! Once you've restored the photo, save your file as A01-09_Your_Name.PSD. This will be part of this week's assignment submissions. This is your self-check - if you can do this successfully, you've got these tools learned pretty well. |
Original photo
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Photo restored
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