Restoration

I wanted a spot where I could explain a little about digital photo restoration and if possible offer tips. If you want detailed answers about how to do something - you'll probably need to write me and ask. If you'd like a good reference, I'd highly recommend <insert book title here>.

While all scanners come with photo editing software, if you are serious about restoring old photos - you'll need to get yourself a copy of Adobe PhotoShop. It is professional grade software, so it is expensive and has a steep learning curve. There are many books that can give you the basics though. PhotoShop is far more powerful than anything that comes bundled with digital cameras and scanners. Depending on how much damage you are trying to restore, PhotoShop Elements may be able to do a lot of what you need.

Below you will see a before and after series. This is typical of the kind of results than can be achieved once you are comfortable with the software.

Before	After
The images at the top are small - these close ups should provide a little more detail at the work that can be done.
While it is virtually impossible to get rid of all the scars and marks of time, most images can be brought back to a high quality state with little trace of digital editing.
The folds and creases are actually the easy thing to remove. It is the stains and discolorations that are hard to eliminate, especially the ones on skin and facial features.