Photo restoration tips

Friday, February 11, 2005 | by

Ready to try restoring some family photos on your own computer? Give it a try. Here are some tips for getting started, provided by Hewlett-Packard at www.hp.com.




Software choices

Many photo-imaging software options are available, including Adobe Photoshop, ProPhotoDeluxe, Photoshop Elements, PhotoImpact and Paint Shop. Prices range from less than $100 to several hundred. Most Hewlett-Packard imaging products (computers, printers, scanners and digital cameras) include photo-editing software suites so you’re ready to go when you open the box.




Before you begin

Scan your photos in at least 300 dpi (dots per inch) resolution. Remember to save your files often when making dramatic changes to photos. You may even want to save a file at different stages in the restoration process so you can go to a previous version if you don’t like your results.




Color adjustments

For minor global color adjustments, you can use your software’s basic brightness and contrast controls. But they’re fairly unsophisticated tools when compared with the levels and curves controls, which provide a much wider range of options. With these two powerful imaging tools, you can fix discolored and yellowed photos, restore the black-and-white tone of your original, or turn an old black-and-white photo into a colorful work of art.




Levels

The levels control (or histogram adjustment) is almost always the first thing to work on when improving a scanned image. Using this feature you can make fine adjustments to the brightness and contrast of the original by moving the triangular-shaped sliders. The levels mode consists of the RGB (red, green and blue) channels with a histogram of each channel so you can measure the color levels of the pixels. Levels mode is particularly useful for adjusting shadows and highlights.




Curves

Like Levels, Curves mode gives you the power to adjust color and tone through four channels. It’s the best way to balance the middle tones of the photo and to correct color balance. You may want to start with levels to correct the highlights and shadows, and then turn to curves for more precise work and color balance. If you’re really into visual manipulation, this tool can keep you busy for hours. It performs color alterations that could never be accomplished in an ordinary darkroom.




Cloning

The clone tool takes care of photo creases, tears and scattered spots by copying similar color and detail from adjacent locations. To repair this kind of damage, all you need to do is replace the bad spots. Copy and paste: that’s it. A little tedious, but it’s not very difficult. This is what the clone tool does well — and most image programs include this tool. With heavy damage and tears, the amount of work may seem daunting at first, but just keep at it. And don’t be too hard on yourself. Remember that you’re working on a large image that will be viewed later at a much smaller size, where it will look greatly improved.