Retouching and restoring photos in Photoshop takes a little patience.
One of the best things about digital image editing, especially for people who have been involved in photography for a long time, is the ability to restore and retouch images without long hours and messy chemicals. Adobe Photoshop provides the appropriate tools to do either of these techniques. Some may take a bit of time, while others take a few seconds. The key is to try different things to get the results you want.
Cloning
The first and often best tool for both restoration and retouching projects in Photoshop is the clone tool. What this does is sample the pixels in one area, and then overlays them in another. So, for example, if you are restoring an image you scanned that has tears and spots or holes, you can cover these by using the clone tool. Simply place the mouse over the area from which to sample, hold the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac) and the cursor turns into an eyedropper. Click that area--making certain it is near the area you need to cover and with the same tonal quality--then move the mouse to the blemish. Click once and you will get a spot of cover. Click multiple times and you can cover the whole blemish. It can work the same way with retouching. For example, if you have acne on a face in a portrait, simply sample near it, then clone over it.
Healing Brush
The healing brush, which looks like a bandage in the side toolbar of Photoshop, works similarly to cloning, but it is not quite as harsh. You can sample an area, then place the cursor over an area and the healing brush will "heal" the area. This works in minor problem areas such as the aforementioned acne. It also works if the flaw in the image has an incompatible texture, such as a scrape or tear. When you use the healing nrush, you can adjust it by using the "Mode" button in the top toolbar.
Dust & Scratches
For minor repairs, you will find the "Dust & Scratches" selection in the "Filter" menu under "Noise." If, for example, some white or black bits in the image appear to have come from dust and scratches in the film emulsion, you can use this filter to get rid of them without much difficulty. You can adjust the radius and threshold of the filter to get more control. "Dust & Scratches" does not work on major image problems. You also should note that the more you increase the filter, the blurrier the image will become.
Creativity
When an image has color or other problems that are beyond normal fixes, Photoshop allows you to get creative. For example, a photo shot in the 1960s may have too significant a color cast to rectify with normal color controls. Several techniques get around this. You can turn the photo into a sketch or other artistic form in which the color won't be a problem. A variety of filters such as "Charcoal" or "Graphic Pen" appear under the "Filter Gallery" and the submenu "Sketch." Another way around color problems is to turn the image into a black-and-white image. It will be much easier to use various retouching and restoration tools in black and white than in color. If it is a really old photo, you can add sepia toning. The simplest way to do this is to go to the "Image" menu, then "Adjustments" and then "Desaturate." Then go to "Adjustments" and "Variations." "Desaturate" turns the image to grayscale without losing color information. In "Variations," click "More Yellow" once and "More Red" once for a good sepia tone.
