Restoring Old Photos
Scanning an Old Photo
Sorry, smartphones — when it comes to quality, the scanner is still king.
Follow the steps here on how to properly scan an old photograph for digital restoration:
1. Clean the scanner bed with a clean, dry cloth. A microfiber cloth works best. Do not use paper towel or tissue; those leave debris behind and may even scratch the surface.
2. Don't Flatten Creases! If your photos have physical creases, do not try to iron them out, as it only causes more damage. Gently lay the image flat and scan it as best as you can.
3. Scanner Settings:
Color
300dpi-600dpi
TIFF
Steps to Colorizing & Restoring Old Photographs in Photoshop
Step 1: Diagnose the Image
Step 2: Lock the Original Image
Step 3: Start Retouching
Step 4: Convert to True Black & White
Step 5: Start Adding Color
Step 1: Diagnose the Image
Are there any tears and/or creases? Are there any age spots? Are there any stains? Where are all of these located?
Step 2: Lock the Original Image
This will help prevent any unintentional edits directly on the original image.
Remember how to lock an image in Photoshop?
Locking Layers
The Layers panel also gives us a few different ways that we can lock certain aspects of a layer. For example, if part of a layer is transparent, we can lock the transparent pixels so that we're only affecting the actual contents of the layer, not the transparent areas. Or we can lock all of the pixels, whether they're transparent or not, to prevent us from making any changes at all to the layer. We can also lock the position of the layer so we can't accidentally move it around inside the document.
There's four lock options to choose from, each represented by a small icon, and they're located just below the Blend Mode option. From left to right, we have Lock Transparent Pixels, Lock Image Pixels (which locks all of the pixels on the layer, including the transparent ones), Lock Position, and Lock All. To select any of the lock options, click its icon to enable it. Clicking the same lock option again will disable it.
Step 3: Start Retouching
Add a New Layer to start retouching. This is one of the ways to edit non-destructively.
Then taking your information from Step 1, utilize the Retouching Tools to repair and restore the image.
Remember how to Add a New Layer?
Adding A New Layer
To add a new layer to a document, click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. It looks like a blank sheet of paper with a corner folded.
A new layer appears in the Layers panel directly above the Background layer OR the last layer you created. Photoshop automatically names new layers for us.
If we look in the new layer's preview thumbnail, we see a checkerboard pattern. The checkerboard pattern is Photoshop's way of representing transparency. Since there's nothing else being displayed in the preview thumbnail, this tells us that at the moment, the new layer is blank
Step 4: Convert to True Black & White
Add an Adjustment Layer to Convert Image to a True Black & White Image.
You can do this in 2 different ways:
1. Utilize the Black & White Adjustment Layer
2. Utilize the Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and reduce the saturation to 0.
Remember how to Add an Adjustment Layer?
Adjustment Layers
Adjustment layers apply color and tonal adjustments to an image without permanently changing pixel values. You can think of an adjustment layer as a veil through which the underlying layers are seen.
You can find adjustment layers in multiple different locations:
1. Under the Adjustments tab above the Layers Panel.
2. The icon that looks like a circle that is half white, half black on the bottom of the layers panel.
3. Layer (Menu Bar) > New Adjustment Layer
Step 5: Start Adding Color
Follow these steps to add color to your old photograph:
Step 1: Using Fill Layers. Using the Fill/ Adjustment layer tool at the bottom of the layers panel (it looks like a half black, half white circle), you can select “Solid Color” at the very top of the selection list. This will then open the color picker for you to select a color to add to the image. This is editable by double clicking the Fill Layer Thumbnail.
Step 2: Layer Masks You will notice it will automatically put a layer mask thumbnail on the side of the fill layer. It will default to white, meaning the entire color is showing through. Invert the layer mask by selecting the layer mask, and either going to Image (Menu Bar) > Adjustments > Invert OR using the short cut Command/Control + i.
Step 3: Set the Blend Mode. I recommend starting with Soft Light.
Step 4: Change your Foreground Color to White. This can be done using the color picker or simply pressing X on your keyboard IF your background color is set to default white.
Step 5: Using the Brush Tool, you will paint in the color to your image using the layer mask. If you make a mistake, you can again press X on your keyboard to switch the foreground and background colors and paint with black to erase your errors.
Watch the Demo for the Photo Restoration Challenge