A faded photograph
Historic photo restoration is such satisfying work. With a good scanner and plenty of patience, you can work wonders. In this example I’ll be working with a faded photograph.
This old photo had been sitting in an oval frame for many years.
I start with a general contrast adjustment. This improves the blueness of the shadow areas, but still leaves a lot to be done.
I need to balance the sunlight-damaged part with the better-preserved part. I roughly select the oval frame …
… and adjust the colours to match. This leaves a visible ring around the edge …
… which I repair. Now I have a uniform image to work on.
I select just the skin …
… and bring some life into it.
Then I invert the selection, and make some adjustments to the rest of the photo. I take the last traces of blue from her hair, add some contrast to her clothing, and whiten the background.
Finally, I even out the skintone a little more, then whiten her eyes and teeth, and add some colour to her collar and ribbons.
