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Posted on 14/05/06 02:26:13 AM
Prfxshn
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Stumped To Say The Least
I am trying to work on a photo restore for my mom. This was the first picture that my mom sent my dad. He kept it in his wallet for 20 some odd years. Any suggestions on where to start. I am not even going to ask if it is possible to repair this photo, seeing some of the brilliant work that comes out of the discussion posts! Any help would be appreciated as to where I would even begin!



Posted on 14/05/06 05:32:57 AM
Eggbox
Ovoid Opportunist
Posts: 797

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Hi Prfxshn. It looks as if there is enough info on the picture of your mom to restore something of it. You are right there is amazing talent here on the forum and posting a Hi Res picture here or a link to one might well get a response on how to begin your request.

Ted

Posted on 14/05/06 8:36:11 PM
Steve Caplin
Administrator
Posts: 6938

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
I agree with Ted. Fortunately, your mom's face is fairly clear - and that's always the hardest part to rebuild. As Eggbox says, post a high res scan and we'll give it a go!

Welcome to the forum

Steve

Posted on 14/05/06 10:45:51 PM
Prfxshn
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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Thanks a million for the reply Steve and Eggbox! I have attempted to get a better scan on the above image. I am a bit new at this photoshop world! If it is still not up to par I might need a few pointers. Thanks!!

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g197/prfxshn/mom.jpg

Posted on 15/05/06 03:21:40 AM
Pierre
Constructional Confabulator
Posts: 637

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Hi ô unpronouncable name. I looked at you picture and it si still quite at a low resolution. When you scan the picture, you should have some control panel that allows you to adjust the "resolution" of the scan (try the "advanced" tab, if you find one) the unit is "dpi" or "lpi". Push that as high as you can. Recent scanners will allow for up to 1200 dpi and more. You scanned at about 300 dpi. The higher the dpi, the more pixels we have to play with (which is good) but the file will be bigger. I would suggest a minimum of 800 dpi minimum for an original that size.

By the way, this may be called "output resolution" in your software, meaning the resolution that will come out of the scan, not come out of your printer.

I hope this is not too confusing...

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Posted on 15/05/06 07:57:10 AM
David Asch
Tech Support
Posts: 1913

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
I think it's pronounced 'Perfection'

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Posted on 15/05/06 2:30:15 PM
Prfxshn
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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
David that is correct! Pierre thanks for the help! Not too confusing at all. This was something I was neglecting all along. I overlooked the setting on my scanner and it was only scanning at 200 dpi. You were definately right on that one. I do appreciate you bringing that to my attention!! The new scan I did is 3600 dpi. I saved it as a jpeg and it is around 34.5 MB. Kinda a newbie question but, Is there a better format to save the photo other than jpeg that would cut down on the size of the photo without loosing the quality of the scan? My scanner will scan up to 9600 dpi but I would hate to see the file size on that! Thanks for everyones help thus far!

Posted on 15/05/06 4:58:42 PM
paul 2005
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Stumped To Say The Least
At 02:26:13 AM 14/05/06, Prfxshn wrote:
Any help would be appreciated as to where I would even begin!


I was going to suggest you don't waste time on parts of the photo that can be easily replaced like the background and even the body itself.

I re-read your original post and can see that it is the photo itself as much as the image that has the sentimental value so you need to keep as much of the original as possible.

With a good enough scan of the photo I'm sure an almost 100% restoration could be done given time.

34mb seems a very big JPG for your scan. What size was your dad's wallet? I print 40inch images from smaller files.

Posted on 15/05/06 5:24:45 PM
David Asch
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Posts: 1913

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
You should really only need to scan at 300-600dpi max. Most scanners only interpolate on higher resolutions anyway.

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Posted on 15/05/06 5:41:46 PM
michael sinclair
Off-Topic Opportunist
Posts: 1818

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Might I be so bold as to suggest that the restoration of "Perfection's mom" be Friday's competition.

Mike

Posted on 16/05/06 02:17:51 AM
Prfxshn
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Posts: 13

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Yeah the photo has a lot of meaning! Long story of this photo summed up in a short story: My dad was drafted into the Army in 68 because of the Vietnam war. A few of the guys in his unit were sitting around playing cards. They drew cards, each one representing an address of a girl back home that one of his buddies knew in college. My dad drew a card and received an address. He wrote letters everyday and this was the first picture he ever got from her. He carried this photo around in his wallet for just shy of two years during the war. He came back home and they got married a few months later!

I scanned the photo at a higher resolution and posted the link below. It is kinda big but I'm learning everyday! Thanks to all for the outstanding help!!!

http://www.prfxshnmediaconcepts.com/mompic

Posted on 16/05/06 03:10:51 AM
Pierre
Constructional Confabulator
Posts: 637

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least


Eerrrr... Sorry but this one is actually smaller then the first one you posted... Would be nice if your final file woould be about 1600 wide by XXX high, about double the first post. Sorry to bug you about this, but it is the key to the work to be done (at least the way I see it) Don't quit! You'll get there! We'll help!


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Posted on 16/05/06 03:23:42 AM
Prfxshn
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Posts: 13

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Nope not bugging me at all! I'm not going to give up yet haha. Should have a bigger scan up tomorrow morning. Appreciate ya hanging in there with me!

Posted on 16/05/06 4:59:36 PM
Dannithegirl
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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Can I play too?!

Posted on 16/05/06 5:55:03 PM
David Asch
Tech Support
Posts: 1913

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Danni,

Anyone can join in! Welcome to the forum.

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Posted on 16/05/06 9:36:11 PM
Prfxshn
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Posts: 13

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
OK I finally got a good scan! Thanks for your help Pierre!

http://www.prfxshnmediaconcepts.com/mompic

Posted on 16/05/06 9:55:59 PM
paul 2005
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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Here is just a 10 minute go at her right eye. Half an hour more and it and it might look OK.

this is a before / after



I think it shows promise.

Posted on 16/05/06 10:57:17 PM
Prfxshn
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Posts: 13

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
I can see why you have the name "Photo Pharmacist" You def have the healing capability by the way you fixed that eye. I thought this picture was a lost cause. Thanks a milion

Posted on 17/05/06 02:57:08 AM
Pierre
Constructional Confabulator
Posts: 637

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
Here is my attempt. The trick is to do the fixes with the clone and brush tools.Use a soft brush at low opacity and pick colors in the picture. Small diameter brush; between 5 and 12 pixels in this case.You use that to cover areas quickly. Use the clone tool with a soft brush as well. Use this last tool as much as possible as it will transfer the texture of the skin.

Work on layers; make sure your tools pick colors "from all layers". When you're done, add noise (I used 0.1% here, gaussian, monochromatic) and then a 1pixel Gaussian blur. These will bring back the texture of the photograph.

It took me 30 minutes for this part of the (pretty) face. Turn on and off your work layer often to see if your corrections "feel" right. I find the mouths and noses particularly difficult when working with faces. Done wrong, people don't resemble themselves anymore.

Have fun and show us the final result please!



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Posted on 17/05/06 12:57:25 PM
Prfxshn
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Posts: 13

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Re: Stumped To Say The Least
I really do thank everyone for their help with this photo (and helping me get a good scan)! Pierre you have been a great help! Thanks for getting me started on this. I will try and do my best with the information you provided. I am a bit of an beginner when it comes to something this detailed but I think you got me off on the right start! I will post what I come up with soon. Thanks again!
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