Do you have an album that is dear to your heart? Like most people, you probably do. They could be memories of your childhood, schooldays, anniversaries or birthdays. Or of the family picnic where you had so much fun. You find yourself replaying those memories every time you open that album.
But photos, sadly, are not immune to wear and tear. You watch them get discoloured, fudgy, and stained. When that happens, you need to act quickly. The more you delay, the worse the picture will get. The easiest way to save your photo is through old photo restoration using Photoshop software. Such tools have various features that let you restore them to their original condition. Once you find the right one, you are good to go. However, before you do that, here are some things that you should remember during the process.
Examine the photo carefully
Before you start work on a photo, examine it carefully. Observe closely for areas that require special attention. Is it filled with stains, or has it lost colour in most areas? If you cannot find the defects under standard lighting, use extra lighting. Your photo might be damaged in one way. Or it might be damaged in a lot of ways.
Many people find it hard to identify damages with their eyes. In such cases, you can use tools like magnifying glasses. You can also examine the photograph’s surface to look for dust buildup. If there’s dust, you need to clean it thoroughly before starting the restoration process.
Handle the photo delicately
Think of your photo as an antique, which it is in every way. How would you handle an antique? Delicately right? That’s the same way you should handle a photo. Be sensitive while touching it. Most people avoid using their bare hands while handling old photographs. Instead, use cotton gloves. If you must touch the picture with your bare hands, ensure they are clean and dry.
Take care not to bend the image even slightly. Doing that will leave creases all over it. If the photo is old and requires extra sensitive handling, place it on paper before starting the restoration. And whatever you do, never dislodge a stain using your nails or any sharp object. This will end up ruining the photo completely.
The right restoration method
This one will directly affect your restoration results. That is why you should give it much thought. Not every method will work all the time. Old photos require a clinical approach, which you should aim for.
For example, suppose your old photograph has a lot of stains. In that case, the only thing that will work is tools like a healing brush or clone stamp. Before that, you should clean the picture carefully. Or maybe your photo is badly faded. In that case, the only thing that works is colour correction. Another example is spot healing, for which methods such as patch tools have the best results.
Avoid using random colours
The entire purpose of the restoration exercise is to return your photo to its original look. A significant part of that is using the right colours. Random ones will offset the entire effect and appearance. Doing that isn’t that hard, provided you have a basic idea of your actions.
For instance, if your old photo lacks brightness and saturation, you need to look for tools like colour correction. That will help you remove the darkness and increase the richness of the colours. Of course, you need to consider the image before working on the saturation. A picture of bright sunflowers in a green field will be heavily saturated. Compared to that, a grey or black-and-white one will have less saturation. This might sound very technical, but you will get comfortable with it once you understand the basics.
Tips to find good software
A software should have all the basic features and tools required for restoration. It should have colour correction capabilities that let you adjust the contrast, brightness and colour balance. It should have a tool that lets you manage the layers in a photo. These are handy as you can make changes to various parts of an image separately.
If your photo is dotted with dots or stains, things like spot healing will work excellently. Another unmissable feature is the presence of various export options. This will allow you to export a particular photograph in multiple formats like PNG and JPEG without much difficulty.
Choosing good software goes a long way in ensuring a satisfactory old photo restoration. However, rather than doing it in a hurry, slow down. Do your research and pay attention to the basics like colour, brightness, etc. Once you do that, you will have a photo that looks as good as the original.
