Help with a photo

Echodelta

Echodelta

Member
Hi CGA,

I'm currently fixing a batch of old photos I recently found. I've been doing pretty well using Paint Shop Pro. But this one photo is proving difficult to fix. I love this picture and would very much like to get it restored. So I was wondering if anyone here with can help fix it using Photoshop.

Old Photo

Thanks,
Ed
 
Adobe Photoshop is the way to go, or if that's not in the budget at this time, there is a free program called Gimp that does pretty much everything Photoshop does...and did I mention it is FREE?
Here is the link for Gimp
 
Naafiysh said:
Hi CGA,

I'm currently fixing a batch of old photos I recently found. I've been doing pretty well using Paint Shop Pro. But this one photo is proving difficult to fix. I love this picture and would very much like to get it restored. So I was wondering if anyone here with can help fix it using Photoshop.

Old Photo

Thanks,
Ed
Click to expand...

echo what they said.

btw where in Washington state are you?
 
I am a professional digital retoucher...that photo is going to take some of work...I could do it at work...however, I cannot bring in personal images to work on at work, and don't have PS at home... :( ...if you give me a few days, I might try to fix it in gimp for you, unless you want to... :)
 
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In process

Xion: I was not quite through working on it when I saw your post so I figured I'd post before you started working on it. It took a long time so I didn't want you to waste yours. The trees will be the hardest and I want to sleep. I'll finish it tomorrow or relatively soon.

Naafiysh: For another time you may want to take and provide a higher res scan. Like 600 dpi with the same canvas dimensions. That's if your computer can take it and you have a separate upload location for that large of a file. Even if the photo itself is blurry I can do more with higher res images as can you.

Edit: What do you think Xion maybe a little sharpening? It gets all grainy if you over do it. Maybe you have a different pro tip instead ? :)
 
Last edited:
The Mighty Gerbil said:
In process

Xion: I was not quite through working on it when I saw your post so I figured I'd post before you started working on it. It took a long time so I didn't want you to waste yours. The trees will be the hardest and I want to sleep. I'll finish it tomorrow or relatively soon.

Naafiysh: For another time you may want to take and provide a higher res scan. Like 600 dpi with the same canvas dimensions. That's if your computer can take it and you have a separate upload location for that large of a file. Even if the photo itself is blurry I can do more with higher res images as can you.

Edit: What do you think Xion maybe a little sharpening? It gets all grainy if you over do it. Maybe you have a different pro tip instead ? :)
Click to expand...

Okay, cool...

Pro tip...hmm...well...using the Spot Healing, Healing, or Patch tool will cause grainy-ness in this image...might take some heavily zoomed in work with the clone stamp if it starts the grainy look...not only that, but the canvas texture makes retouching this a bit difficult... I try to avoid sharpening, but if it works for you, try it... I dislike the clone tool a lot...but it gets the job done right...just takes a lot more time...

EDIT: looks good so far though...
 
Last edited:
The Mighty Gerbil said:
In process

Xion: I was not quite through working on it when I saw your post so I figured I'd post before you started working on it. It took a long time so I didn't want you to waste yours. The trees will be the hardest and I want to sleep. I'll finish it tomorrow or relatively soon.

Naafiysh: For another time you may want to take and provide a higher res scan. Like 600 dpi with the same canvas dimensions. That's if your computer can take it and you have a separate upload location for that large of a file. Even if the photo itself is blurry I can do more with higher res images as can you.

Edit: What do you think Xion maybe a little sharpening? It gets all grainy if you over do it. Maybe you have a different pro tip instead ? :)
Click to expand...

Wow, never even heard of GIMP before. I downloaded it but haven't had time to mess with it. It seems with my scanner, it will only scan up to 300 DPI. The photo looks great MightyGerbil. Thank you and to Xion for also helping.

BTW, regarding the photo, that's my sister on the left and I'm on the right. Earlier this year my sister asked if I had any old photos especially of our dad but I couldn't find any. Last weekend, I found about 120 photos. But most are not in good shape. This one is the worst though. My plan is to fix up all the photos and create a video slideshow to send to my sister as a Christmas present.
 
Sounds like a great gift! Would you consider cropping the picture to focus mostly on you and your sister? By doing that you can remove some of the trouble spots like the trees. I am assuming the main interest in this image is the two of you. It's just another option, and something to consider for future editing.
 
Naafiysh said:
It seems with my scanner, it will only scan up to 300 DPI. The photo looks great MightyGerbil. Thank you and to Xion for also helping.
Click to expand...
300 is ok and common. If you've already scanned some photos at a lower res and edited them you may want to consider re-scanning them again just to preserve the source material as best possible. Just a thought, it's up to you though :) .

Ok here's what I got. I'm quite certain I could improve on it, particularly in the tree area but it's diminishing returns from here on and I am tired. I'm going to go ahead posting it and stop. If Xion or anyone else wants to take a crack at it go for it :) (I'll send you the psd if wanted).

Naafiysh said:
BTW, regarding the photo, that's my sister on the left and I'm on the right. Earlier this year my sister asked if I had any old photos especially of our dad but I couldn't find any. Last weekend, I found about 120 photos. But most are not in good shape. This one is the worst though. My plan is to fix up all the photos and create a video slideshow to send to my sister as a Christmas present.
Click to expand...

Yay sister :) ! Merry Christmas, Jesus loves you :) .

...And now a pointless song because I am weirder the more conversely tired I am...

<sung to The Candy Man tune>
Who can take your photos,
Airbrush out your thighs?
Cover up your wrinkles and add a twinkle to your eyes
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.

Who can take your head,
Put it on some other guy?
Photoshop some lolcats and make us all wonder why
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.

The Gerbil man fakes
everything he makes
flattering and fictitious.
Tell him your picture wishes.
You can even replace your Mrs.!

Who can take two critters,
Merge them into one?
Sell it to a tabloid and collect a hefty sum,
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.
And the we all look good
'cause the Gerbil man thinks we should.
 
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The Mighty Gerbil said:
<sung to The Candy Man tune>
Who can take your photos,
Airbrush out your thighs?
Cover up your wrinkles and add a twinkle to your eyes
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.

Who can take your head,
Put it on some other guy?
Photoshop some lolcats and make us all wonder why
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.

The Gerbil man fakes
everything he makes
flattering and fictitious.
Tell him your picture wishes.
You can even replace your Mrs.!

Who can take two critters,
Merge them into one?
Sell it to a tabloid and collect a hefty sum,
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.
And the we all look good
'cause the Gerbil man thinks we should.
Click to expand...

You need 12 hours of sleep tonight... >_> LOL...

And if they want me to try and do some final cleaning...I can try...but it looks rather decent...with that canvas texture...that can be a pain...
 
The Mighty Gerbil said:
...And now a pointless song because I am weirder the more conversely tired I am...

<sung to The Candy Man tune>
Who can take your photos,
Airbrush out your thighs?
Cover up your wrinkles and add a twinkle to your eyes
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.

Who can take your head,
Put it on some other guy?
Photoshop some lolcats and make us all wonder why
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.

The Gerbil man fakes
everything he makes
flattering and fictitious.
Tell him your picture wishes.
You can even replace your Mrs.!

Who can take two critters,
Merge them into one?
Sell it to a tabloid and collect a hefty sum,
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.
And the we all look good
'cause the Gerbil man thinks we should.
Click to expand...
That is comedy gold.

And it inspired me to listen to the Garbageman song from The Simpsons, which is also comedy gold, again.

Win all around.

Now we need to tweak the song (a few lines have too many syllables), find someone with a good singing voice, record the song, add some Photoshopped images in Windows Movie Maker, and upload it to YouTube.

/sings

Who can take your trash out?
Stomp it down for you?
Shake the plastic bag and do the twisty thing-y too?
The garbageman!
Oh, the garbageman can.
The garbageman can and he does it with a smile and never judges you~
 
Last edited:
Tek7 said:
Now we need to tweak the song (a few lines have too many syllables),
Click to expand...

Ah, error with the extra "the" in the bottom line. It should be "and we all look good" . I should have left out the "lol" in lolcats as well but I was afraid of people not getting it. The "all" in that line should be removed too.

Who can take your writing,
Point out all your flaws?
Show you your mistakes and make you climb the walls
The Editor man? The Editor man can,
The Editor man can 'cause he's got OCD
and makes us all look bad.

I was tired don't hate me! T_T :p .

...And just because two people on these forums have not seen it yet, here.
 
The Mighty Gerbil said:
Who can take your writing,
Point out all your flaws?
Show you your mistakes and make you climb the walls
The Editor man? The Editor man can,
The Editor man can 'cause he's got OCD
and makes us all look bad.
Click to expand...
I <3 it.

Maybe we should make this song into a YouTube video instead. Not that I'm biased or anything.
 
The Mighty Gerbil said:
300 is ok and common. If you've already scanned some photos at a lower res and edited them you may want to consider re-scanning them again just to preserve the source material as best possible. Just a thought, it's up to you though :) .

Ok here's what I got. I'm quite certain I could improve on it, particularly in the tree area but it's diminishing returns from here on and I am tired. I'm going to go ahead posting it and stop. If Xion or anyone else wants to take a crack at it go for it :) (I'll send you the psd if wanted).

Yay sister :) ! Merry Christmas, Jesus loves you :) .

...And now a pointless song because I am weirder the more conversely tired I am...

<sung to The Candy Man tune>
Who can take your photos,
Airbrush out your thighs?
Cover up your wrinkles and add a twinkle to your eyes
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.

Who can take your head,
Put it on some other guy?
Photoshop some lolcats and make us all wonder why
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.

The Gerbil man fakes
everything he makes
flattering and fictitious.
Tell him your picture wishes.
You can even replace your Mrs.!

Who can take two critters,
Merge them into one?
Sell it to a tabloid and collect a hefty sum,
The Gerbil man? The Gerbil man can,
The Gerbil man can 'cause he mixes up the colors
and makes us all look good.
And the we all look good
'cause the Gerbil man thinks we should.
Click to expand...

Thanks Gerbil, that picture looks so much better now. Many, many thanks! Definitely the Gerbil man can! Hehe, I was listening to the Candy Man by Sammy Davis Jr just the other day :D

SKLURB said:
Sounds like a great gift! Would you consider cropping the picture to focus mostly on you and your sister? By doing that you can remove some of the trouble spots like the trees. I am assuming the main interest in this image is the two of you. It's just another option, and something to consider for future editing.
Click to expand...

Well the Ford Mustang is in many photos plus we still talk about it every now and then. So would have to stay. A good suggestion though :) A friend told me about Coffee Table Picture Books. Thus I am now working on getting photos together to have one made. Needless to say, I'll be busy this weekend working on that. I'll also adding some Scripture to it as well.
 
NO WAY !!!!!! I graduated Olympic College and my dad taught at Bremerton High School!!!
 
Wow, wow, WOW!!! Small world, eh? Yeah I graduated from OC as well but went to school at Central Kitsap. So you lived in Bremerton at one point?
 
Naafiysh said:
Wow, wow, WOW!!! Small world, eh? Yeah I graduated from OC as well but went to school at Central Kitsap. So you lived in Bremerton at one point?
Click to expand...

replying in pm form, not sure everyone wants to know our life stories in bremerton haha
 
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