Restoring old/faded pictures

[the_Journeyman]

So, I've got a bunch of pictures from around 1971 or 1972 when my parents crossed the US when my dad got transferred to Hamilton AFB.  They're faded, good overall condition, but taken with 120, 127 (does anybody even remember those? ) and Instmatic cameras.  I'm scanning them in at 600dpi so they're roughly somewhere between 4-6 megapixels once on the computer.

Does anybody have any advice or experience restoring images with Photoshop?  It would be nice to give them a bit of their original colors back if that's possible.  I'm decent with Photoshop, but have never tried restoring images.  What filters/plugins etc are good for that?  It would be nice to be able to wow my parents with a few really nicely restored ones.

I have Photoshop Elements 10, CS6, and CS4 at my disposal.

Any help is appreciated! 

JM

[TiNi]

can i suggest sharing a sample image so we can see what quality the originals are and the scan quality?

[the_Journeyman]

Certainly 'Tini!





I *can* scan as high as 1200dpi, but my older scanner sometimes fusses about the file size being too big.

JM

[abby normal]

man, that brings back memories.  we drove across from virginia to oakland
in about 1970 for a military transfer.  did all the tourist stuff.  mt rushmore,
devils tower, yosemite.  even drove through the 'tunnel tree' south of
yosemite.

[1.21GW]

Just curious what you are looking to "restore"?  Those two samples look pretty darn good, other than the orange hue.

Hue can be modified.  Most of what I imagine you'll be playing with are Levels, maybe Contrast, and Hue/Saturation.  Those features can help make the image "pop" more.  There is a filter that removes dust/scratches, but it doesn't appear you have anything bad in that regard.  Besides, that filter can only be used sparingly before the image gets IZ_---better to actually do spot touch up.  But again, it doesn't appear that scratches are an issue.  There are Sharpen filters that can help make things crisp, but again, only used sparingly before it cuts up the image.

I would go with one of the CS versions you have---elements is enough to do the job but I find it a little user-unfriendly.

[the_Journeyman]

I'm mostly wanting to try to get some of the color back or more vibrant.  They've been sitting in an album in a closet for years.  That yellowish cast is mostly what I want to remove.  I've been reading tutorials but so far haven't had much luck.  It could be that since these were taken with cheap cameras likely Kodak (I prefer Fuji because colors seem better) film the color is just not there in the first place. 

JM

[the_Journeyman]

I might have figured it out:




JM

[Speeddog]

I might have figured it out:

~~~SNIP~~~

JM

I think you've got it, perhaps even a bit better than original.

I don't remember typical snapshot color pictures from back in the day being quite 'true' on color.

[1.21GW]

I agree with Speeddog, looks like you got it as good as it's gonna get.

One possibility that might take the grainy-ness out: blur it a little, either using Remove Dust & Scratches or a blur filter (Blur or Gaussian Blur) and then use Sharpen Edges.  This doesn't always work well, but when it does it effectively smooths the grainy-ness while using the edge sharpening after to restore it an make it look sharp and focused.  Anyway, just a suggestion you might play around with.  But in any case, I think your restoration looks great.

[Speeddog]

I think you've got it, perhaps even a bit better than original.

~~~SNIP~~~

That was from looking at it on my phone.
From my laptop, it looks less extreme, I'd say the one you 'refurbished' was spot on. 

[the_Journeyman]

Thanks!  I don't mind the grain too much, the type of film likely led to it, the original print is grainy too.  It was taken through the windshield on top of everything else.

FYI - The white hood belongs to a 1968 Chevelle 396SS with a 4-on-the0-floor!

JM

[Ducatamount]

random pic.

[scaramanga]

Call me crazy but i really like the oxidized yellowish look.
Try to convert to black and white after scanning, that sometimes looks really good also.
Heres a tutorial on adjusting white balance.
http://www.graphicconnectionkc.com/color-cast.html

[TiNi]

nice job jm 

[Oldfisti]

The cleaned up image looks killer!