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how to bring detail back on faded photo

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nvn said:
Hi all,

I came accross this old faded photo of my grandfather. I want to
bring the detail back. I have PS elements. Could someone show me
how to do this?

here the photo link: If the image show "dotphoto" click refresh on
your browser.
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nvn71228&AID=1067891&Pres=Y

Thanks,
nvn
Click to expand...
link nt working for me but
open levels
move left slider triangle to right until it meets main body of histogram
do converse for right triangle

feivel
 
feivel said:
link nt working for me but
open levels
move left slider triangle to right until it meets main body of
histogram
do converse for right triangle
Click to expand...
Certainly excellant general advice, and probably what I would have said before I saw the image in question. I really hate giving up on a picture, but this image is beyond my ability to revive.

This is the image after a simple levels adjustment:



--
http://www.xfade.com
 
It looks to me like you scanned your grandfather's image in gray scale. I would recommend that you rescan it in RGB even thought it is a B&W image. This sometime gives you more to work with. Also, when you view the picture magnified, there is a grid or checkered pattern of lines thorough out the image. One goes right thru the center of your grandfathers eyes. Do you know where they came from?

Jim
nvn said:
Hi all,

I came accross this old faded photo of my grandfather. I want to
bring the detail back. I have PS elements. Could someone show me
how to do this?

here the photo link: If the image show "dotphoto" click refresh on
your browser.
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nvn71228&AID=1067891&Pres=Y

Thanks,
nvn
Click to expand...
--
Photography should be fun

http://www.pbase.com/jcollins
 
Hi Jim,

You have very keen eyes. If I am not mistaken, NVN scanned his grandfather picture from a very small picture of Vietnamese's ID that used before 1975. NVN probably has no choice because the ID was laminated with those patterns. It maybe cutout depend on the condition of the ID.
NVN:
I am impressed that you still have the ID after almost 30 years.

Niem.
Jim_Collins said:
Jim
nvn said:
Hi all,

I came accross this old faded photo of my grandfather. I want to
bring the detail back. I have PS elements. Could someone show me
how to do this?

here the photo link: If the image show "dotphoto" click refresh on
your browser.
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nvn71228&AID=1067891&Pres=Y

Thanks,
nvn
Click to expand...
--
Photography should be fun

http://www.pbase.com/jcollins
Click to expand...
--

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fuji 602z
http://www.pbase.com/hyniem
 
Here is what I tried. Not perfect but better than the original:

1. Run Levels - they were really bunched - bring left and right sliders to the edge of the pyramid.

2. Run Filters - Despeckle 3 times. This gets rid of SOME of the noise in the original scan.
3. Duplicate the layer.

4. Run Filters - Other - High Pass with a really high radius. It will look bad while you are doing it but will be better after the next step.

5. On the duplicated layer - go to the blending mode dropdown and select Overlay.

This should bring some life back into the photo without blowing it out completely on the edges. This one was just hard!
nvn said:
Hi all,

I came accross this old faded photo of my grandfather. I want to
bring the detail back. I have PS elements. Could someone show me
how to do this?

here the photo link: If the image show "dotphoto" click refresh on
your browser.
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nvn71228&AID=1067891&Pres=Y

Thanks,
nvn
Click to expand...
 
nvn said:
Hi all,

I came accross this old faded photo of my grandfather. I want to
bring the detail back. I have PS elements. Could someone show me
how to do this?
Click to expand...
I don't know that there's much to be done, really. Here's my result after fiddling with it a while. I ended up duplicating it and putting the duplicate layer in "multiply" mode, then using levels to set the contrast range and midtones.

Then I used a combination of cloning, blurring, airbrushing, and probably a few other things to try to smooth it out a bit.



--Al Evans
 
nvn said:
Hi all,

I came accross this old faded photo of my grandfather. I want to
bring the detail back. I have PS elements. Could someone show me
how to do this?

here the photo link: If the image show "dotphoto" click refresh on
your browser.
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nvn71228&AID=1067891&Pres=Y
Click to expand...
I would also recommend scanning it in color. You can often get rid of splotches easily by deleting one of the channels. I mainly darkened with levels, then ran the Neat Image Demo to reduce noise. Then touched up with levels some more and cloned out some white spots.
Bill

 
Definetly try to scan it like the others have suggested; otherwise, I'm afraid there's not much to work with. This is a quick attempt, I hope it helps.


nvn said:
Hi all,

I came accross this old faded photo of my grandfather. I want to
bring the detail back. I have PS elements. Could someone show me
how to do this?

here the photo link: If the image show "dotphoto" click refresh on
your browser.
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nvn71228&AID=1067891&Pres=Y

Thanks,
nvn
Click to expand...
 


A difficult task to say the least. Didn't use any dodge or burn tools which I think would help along with cloning but obviously very time consuming. I also agree with the above that scaning in RGB may help in being able to restore the image to a better quallilty. LOL
 
Earl Rutherford said:
If memory serves me correctly, would his name be loosly translated
as Sir Speak?

Earl
Click to expand...
Mr. Rutherford, without the character's "accents" the words "ong noi" could mean "sir speak" as you said to loosely translate it.

Where "noi" or "nói" with the accent means "speak" and "ong" or "ông" is a word use to address an elderly man or someone who is older then you.

However, in this case "ong noi" or "ông nội" with the accents means "grandfather". The word "nội" is usually associated with the male side of the family and "ngoại" is associated with the female side of the family.

For example, if that is your dad's father. Then you would say "ông nội" but if that is your mom's father it's then "ông ngoại".

I hope I explained it well, because vietnamese is really somewhere between my first and second language. lol.
 
Duplicated the layer, then applied usm to max, max, 0; selected subject and put on another layer, lots of dodge and burn, flattened. Copy and pasted original on top, lowered opacity to 48%.



--
Kent
http://www.pbase.com/kentc
 
Thank you for your very clear explaination. It has been 30-something years since I have heard the language spoken or seen it in print.

Earl
Robert H. said:
Earl Rutherford said:
If memory serves me correctly, would his name be loosly translated
as Sir Speak?

Earl
Click to expand...
Mr. Rutherford, without the character's "accents" the words "ong
noi" could mean "sir speak" as you said to loosely translate it.

Where "noi" or "nói" with the accent means "speak" and "ong" or
"ông" is a word use to address an elderly man or someone who is
older then you.

However, in this case "ong noi" or "ông nội" with the
accents means "grandfather". The word "nội" is usually
associated with the male side of the family and "ngoại" is
associated with the female side of the family.

For example, if that is your dad's father. Then you would say "ông
nội" but if that is your mom's father it's then "ông
ngoại".

I hope I explained it well, because vietnamese is really somewhere
between my first and second language. lol.
Click to expand...
 
Niem,

Thanks for you information. It explains a lot. NVN, if you can I would try to find someone with a digital ice scanner. It may help with some the distortion being caused by laminated surface. I have had mixed results for my clients with the ScanMaker 6800. It is one of the few flatbed scanners with digital ice. I've noticed improvement with prints that have matt type patterns in the paper used. You get a slighly softer image, but the pattern is substantially reduced. In this case since the pattern marks are quit small, it may help a lot, but it can also make it worse.

Jim
Hyniem Nguyen said:
Niem.
Jim_Collins said:
Jim
nvn said:
Hi all,

I came accross this old faded photo of my grandfather. I want to
bring the detail back. I have PS elements. Could someone show me
how to do this?

here the photo link: If the image show "dotphoto" click refresh on
your browser.
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=nvn71228&AID=1067891&Pres=Y

Thanks,
nvn
Click to expand...
--
Photography should be fun

http://www.pbase.com/jcollins
Click to expand...
--

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fuji 602z
http://www.pbase.com/hyniem
Click to expand...
--
Photography should be fun

http://www.pbase.com/jcollins
 
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