How To Repair Scratches, Tears, and Spots on an Old Photograph
Download Source Files
In this tutorial you will learn how to repair cracks, scratches, and spots so this photo of the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind, looks just like new. We will purposely avoid using some of the quick fix tools such as the healing brush so that you can gain an understanding of the basics of photo restoration. Let’s get started!
Final Image Preview
Take a look at the image we’ll be creating. Want access to the full PSD files and downloadable copies of every tutorial, including this one? Join Psd Plus for just $19/month. You can view the final image preview below.
Tutorial Details
- Program: Photoshop
- Version: 7 and up
- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Estimated Completion Time: About 4 to 5 hours
Step 1 – Open and Prepare Image for Editing
You can download the source image for this tutorial here. Open the image in Photoshop. Right click on the background layer and select “Duplicate Layer…”
Double click the new layer and rename it “Restoration”. Either lock or hide the background layer so that you can reference it later. Save often.
Step 2 – Apply a Levels Adjustment Layer
Select the Adjustment Layers pallet, then select Levels. Use the settings in this screenshot. Black point at 7, white point at 243.
Step 3 – Set the Eyedropper Tool Sample Size
Select tool (i) and set to a 5 px by 5 px average sampling area.
Step 4 – Retouch the White Spots and Scratches
Using a Soft Round Brush (B) of about 21 pixels, with a hardness of 0, and blending mode set to darken, start filling in the voids in the photo.
This step is more art than science. Those of you with a Wacom Tablet will have a definite advantage. Option + Click on an area right next to the void to pick up the adjascent tonal values. If you are using a tablet you can vary the pen pressure to build up values gradually. Using a mouse, set the opacity of the brush to about 50%. Work over the complete image, filling in all of the white voids with adjascent values trying to maintain natural contours.
Increase and decrease the brush size as needed. You can use the blur tool with the blending mode set to darken to touch up small specks and blemishes. When you are finished the photo should look something like this.
Step 5 – Lighten the Dark Areas
Use exactly the same techniques in reverse.
Set the brush tool to the lighten overlay mode, and to clean up dark specks, set the Blur Tool to lighten. Rework the shadows and highlights again to catch flaws missed the first time. When you are finished the photo should look something like this.
Step 6 – Correct the Uneven Background
To not destroy detail in the current painted backdrop, we will work on a new layer to correct the background.
Create a new layer and name it “background corrections”.
Use a relatively large brush of about 400 px to 500 px, with the blending mode set to normal, and a 50% to 80% opacity, begin to even out the background tones.
If you make a mistake, just use the eraser tool with the same settings to correct. Take your time and rework until you are satisfied with the results. Your results may look something like this.
Step 7 – Focus on Jenny Lind’s Face
Zoom in and make the final corrections on Jenny’s face with a 25 px brush, blending mode normal, opacity 70%. Here are the areas of concern, smooth these out to the best of your ability.
Since Jenny Lind was a famous performer, there will be an abundance of reference photos to assist in filling in some of the detail. In this case we are lucky to have another photo of Jenny available from the Library of Congress. This photo is almost identical in pose, expression, and lighting; so we will paste a copy of Jenny’s face from the reference photo onto the restoration.
Align the photo directly over the face. You will need to scale the picture up and rotate a little to get the correct alignment.
Using the layers mask tool delete most of the reference photo except for the eyes, nose, and mouth. Here is how that might appear.
Now I will merge this layer down to the restoration layer, and finish the final details. Here’s the result.
Step 8 – Add Noise
Merge the background corrections layer and the levels adjustment layer with the restoration now. Then Right-Click on your restoration layer and select “Duplicate Layer…”.
Select “Filter > Texture > Grain” and apply these settings. You can rename this layer “Grain” if you like.
Play with the opacity and blend modes on this until you get a nice grain texture throughout the photo. This step masks the smoothness of the restoration and blends it seamlessly into the original photo.
Step 9 – Save a Copy
Save a copy for output to a printer of your choice.
Conclusion
You’re finished! Bask in the warm glow of the praise you will receive for your new found photo restoration skills!
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By Robert C. McLaughlin
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i always excepting this kind of tutorial, i seen some designers to this very great and excepted to learn it, now i can … thanks for sharing
i really like this tutorial but the time to complete this tutorial is with 4-5 hours far too much. I`ve done something similar with almost the same steps in one and a half hour – two weeks ago.
Other than that – great tut!
Nice tut. I like it. However if you know Photoshop, you can by pass some of the steps given and complete this in less time. It’s all about how you use photoshop with the knowledge you have already. I think think the tut is just a guideline.
What if your subject isn’t so famous to have reference photos like Jenny does?
then ur fucked
I second this notion.
Yeah.. what he said.
then you use the same technique on the face as in the rest of the tut.
Impressive!!!!
Finally got a great source to learn PhotoShop!
I do this and have much better results using the stamp tool and it’s faster too. The trick is to choose the appropriate surface to take from, the right amount of opacity and size of the brush…and voila … the best results are done when taking from the surface right next to the irregularity on the photo.
And doing that, one doesn’t need to have another photo of the same person to do the corrections.
Hope you get my idea.
Good skill to have – anyone know if there’s a tut on here about touching up product photography to look clean, sleek, and 3d-renderlike? That would really come in handy to know the tricks for.
No tutorials I know of but I do a lot of product retouching and Dodge/Burn is a huge tool. Hope that helps.
search for HDR effects.. it will unveil some the thing you are looking for,
There are many alternative ways to complete a photo restoration. Some are quicker AND easier. It was my intent here to teach the basics. Just as one would learn about shutter speeds and aperture when learning the basics of photography. If you understand the basic concepts of photo restoration your use of the stamp tool and the clone tool will be more informed.
I could have done this restoration in 20 or 30 minutes using these tools. But that would have defeated the purpose of basic instruction.
Thanks for all of the comments.
Now we gonna need a tut to make this photo in color :D
The stamp tool is way faster.
Also – why does it look like she has a bloody nose? The shadow under her nose should have been softened a bit. I’m just sayin…
-BuckHanson
I also noticed that. Reducing the shadow on that part makes it perfect. Great tutorial nonetheless.
this is good.
the final looks just like pencil drawing. but i guess that’s all you can get with source picture as bad as this one.
nice tut.
Nice tutorial
Great timing. I recently copied my grandma’s collection of scanned family photos onto my laptop. None are this old, but some are easily 60 or 70 years old. So this will come in handy for some of the scratched up ones.
Another great tut… thanx for sharing…
Bit basic for your audience don’t you think?
Cheers anyhow, M.
excelent
Can’t I just send it to you to do it for me?
All fine, but massively overcomplicated.
In fact, using the same degree of visual judgement and delcacy of touch, the same effct can be achieved with a clone brush set at the right angle and transparency, and resampled often enough.
No need for ‘Adjustment Layers’ at all.
The basics of phot-restoration involve an awareness of the direction of the light, and the repetition of patterns and textures – as much as they do in photography itself.
Thanks for the tutorial. I lie to learn the most thorough way without damaging the photo. I can always modify for shortcuts if i prefer.
nice work
very usefull. nexte time can I send in my photo
Thanks for the tutorial, it was amazing!
i have found this tut very useful
Might there be a tutorial out there to clean up photos that have no tears but look like they were made in the 50′s with an old instant camera?
OK tut but I have to agree with others that this level of restoration should be achieved way quicker.
Also don’t really see the point of using another photo as the chances of having a handy pic shot in same light, pose, hair etc is remote to say the least.
Just my 2 cents – well pennies actually as in UK..
its amazing , i am also do this job