LoganDerrick Loc: USA

Hey!
I would like to restore old family photos. Scan in high quality and work on them properly. Some are cracked, some are faded, well, you know what photos that are over 50 years old turn into.

Need some advices about photo restoration software.
What software should I choose, pros and cons, etc.
Yes, I know about Photoshop, but it's too complicated for me.

MrPhotog

Epson scanners have the capability of removing some small defects through their software. It is not a lot. But every little bit helps.

After that: learn at least a little photoshop, or one of its cousins. Blur and the rubber stamp tool will get you started on concealing tears and scratches. Most photo editing programs also have those tools.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Photoshop is complicated when one tries to learn too much in a short amount of time. However, it's probably the best out there. Here's two that I restored some 18 years ago, using Ps. I had just started using Ps at that time. There are some things I'd have done differently if I was doing this work today.
--Bob

Courtesy of Wayne Palmer

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Excellent work!

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Thanks, Jerry.
--Bob

alexol

My guess is that the OP doesn't have a lot of interest in photography, it's processes and processing they simply want an end result - a few restored photos.

While Ps/Lr is immensely powerful it is hugely complicated, subscription based and probably complete, massive overkill for their purposes.

There should be some much easier and less complicated options out there for this purpose. Probably some of the less powerful but semi-automated programs would do a good enough job without yielding perfection but also without making a new career out of it.

I have a friend engaged in a similar exercise, doing several generations of old photos - although very few are damaged - and his weapon of choice is Affinity, after having tried a few including Ps.

I'm watching this with interest as I have a few to scan and restore although mine are slides.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

That first one is an example of creating something out of nothing, Bob! Pure magic! Do you recall how many hours you spent on that one?

Stan

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Stan, this was done over a number of days with about an hour of work each day. It was my very first attempt at a restoration. So, it went somewhat slow. However, each day was spent studying what I would do next as to the project's progress. In all, there were 32 layers in the final.

I had just finished reading a book on photo retouching and restoration when this project came about. I sent the author a copy of the work and was asked to submit it for the next edition of the book. It was published in that next edition.
--Bob

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

All software, regardless of how easy it is supposed to be, has a learning curve.
Why is PS too complicated for you? Because you haven't spent the time to learn what you can do with PS and how to do it? May I suggest that you put your photos in a safe place for now, then start "playing" with PS and some images for which it doesn't matter if you ruin them permanently.
Check videos on YouTube, see if you can find a book about PS, ask questions of those who are very familiar with PS and above all, take notes so that the next time you want to do the same thing, you can look up how you did it.
Oh, yes, it is going to take a large investment of time, but the rewards will be well worth it!

I have not used PS myself, always found the price too high, but I do have Photoshop Elements, and so far I have been able to do everything I wanted with that program. Yes, it it too, took an investment of time, but not nearly as large a chunck of my money.
Everything you learned since the day you were born took an investment of time: talking, walking, eating without half your meal on the floor or in the dog's mouth, learning to read and write, etc., etc.
So, decide you really want to learn PS, set aside 15-20 minutes a day and go for it!
In a month or two, post some original pictures together with the "restored" ones.

Going back into time a very long way, I was 4 1/2 years old, when my grandmother taught me to knit. She was a wise woman! In her mind she had already divided the art of knitting into small steps. She cast on 10 stitches, showed me how to knit them, then handed the work to me and made me do what she had just shown me.
It cost her the entire afternoon to have me knit 10 rows over 10 stitches. But she stuck with me and I was mighty proud when a year or so later, I could show her something I had made for my doll - without her help but certainly with what she had taught me in my mind.

So go for it with PS, or any other program that you think you will like. It will be your determination that will help you learn the program, not what others tell you!
Esther.

alexol

Maybe the OP doesn't want a new career and just wants to fix a few family photos? Say a couple of afternoons, maximum, as opposed to some new-found fetish where you can be locked in front of a screen for hours if not days to learn some program that may never be used again.

Why is it that so many people on here are utterly obsessed with processing photographs? The vast, VAST majority of photos taken are simple family snapshots, simple reminders of a time and a place, and most people are perfectly happy with that. And especially so a few years after the event.

There are a great many people who don't have and more important, don't want to have the technical skills to manipulate photos.

Lighten up.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

I think you nailed it.

sheldon minsky Loc: iron mountain michigan

Yeah, somebody finally said what many think.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

Try PS Elements. It’s a one-time purchase and has a much easier learning curve than Photoshop.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

There is no real easy solution for for photo restoration. I have many old photos going back as much as 150 years.
100 year old B&W photos are usually easier to restore than 50 year old color photos. Sometimes it is best to convert color photos to B&W.

Step 1 is to scan or photograph the original. Scanning at 600dpi will allow you to slightly enlarge the original. Extreme enlargement will often be unsatisfactory. Scans should be in color even for B&W photos. Conversion back to B&W comes later.

Step 2. Programs like Photoshop and Corel PaintShop pro have relatively easy ways to restore color that sometimes work. For B&W photos you can use the channel mixer to minimize the effect of fading and stains.
Photos that have faded to yellow can usually be brought back using the blue channel a small fraction of the green channel may be appropriate. Just try. Blue = -Yellow. A good understanding of the relation between Red, Green, BLue, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow is necessary


Step 3. Clean dust spots, scratches, and other defects. Corel Paintshop Pro and Photoshop have good tools but require a bit of learning.

Step 4. Major restoration likely requires significant artistic talent and one might use a professional.


There is really no one button solution to photo restoration. You need to read and try some things.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Photoshop is the best tool. This site should have some guidance on how to use it.

https://www.retouchpro.com/

Anything else will likely not provide the results you want.

This is an example of what can be done with Photoshop and about 30 mins of your time. Better results can be achieved with a little more time.

Restoration is complicated, and it requires some skills - but it is not insurmountable. There is no magic bullet.

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