Tutorial: AKVIS Retoucher

Badly damaged photo

In the following example we will retouch a badly damaged photo. The photo is not only covered with numerous scratches and small defects, but its edges are jagged and torn. At first glance it seems that this photo is in such a state of disrepair that it is almost impossible to restore.

Step 1. Open the photo in Adobe Photoshop. See the photo of the geologist in detail. The sad state of the photo suggests that it accompanied the author in all his traveling. The background is hardly visible but we can presume that the photo was taken in a forest.

We will try to improve the photo using AKVIS Retoucher plug-in.

Step 2. First of all we should select the damaged areas of the image. You can do it with any selection tool, but the easiest way is to use Quick Mask mode. Press (Edit in Quick Mask Mode) in the Toolbox to activate the mode (or hotkey Q).
Paint over the damaged areas using the Pencil Tool (the icon in the Toolbox or hotkey B).

Step 3. Switch back to Standard Mode by pressing the button (Edit in Standard Mode) in the Toolbox (hotkey Q). The red mask will turn into a selection.

Invert the selection (the command Select => Inverse in the menu or Ctrl+Shift+I).

Step 4. We will entrust the restoration job to AKVIS Retoucher plug-in.
Call AKVIS Retoucher plug-in by selecting the command Filter => AKVIS => Retoucher in the menu. To start the restoration process press the button in the Toolbar of Retoucher.

When the plugin is through with its job, press to apply the result to the image. AKVIS Retoucher plug-in restored the missing parts of the background using the information about the surrounding pixels.

Step 5. Call the command Select => Deselect in the menu or Ctrl+D to remove the selection.

Step 6. If needed, you can continue retouching the photo by selecting uneven parts and starting AKVIS Retoucher plugin once again.

Step 7. You can also use the following Photoshop tools to touch up the photo:

Step 8. After application of AKVIS Retoucher the photo looks considerably better. The background is restored and scratches are removed.
However, we should bear in mind that it is a black and white photo and the stains we see on it are the traces of time. To bring the photo back to its original look we will convert it to grayscale by selecting the command Image => Mode => Grayscale in the menu.

Step 9. If we look at the photo closer we can still find some imperfections, for example on the man's face. Select the minor defects (we use our favourite selection tool - Quick Mask).

Step 10. Launch AKVIS Retoucher plugin once again. We have a better photo, but excellence has no finish line. We can improve it a bit more using color correction tools.

Step 11. Convert the image to RGB mode to be able to use color correction tools: Image => Mode => RGB.

Step 12. You can correct colors using the following commands:
Image => Adjustments => Levels (Ctrl+L).
Image => Adjustments => Curves (Ctrl+M).

Step 13. Then we will smooth the photo's surface using the Blur filter.
Filter => Blur => Gaussian Blur.

Step 14. In good old days photos were printed in Sepia tones, so, if we want our photo to be truthful, we should restore the original colors.
To restore the original color range we will use the Actions palette. Select - Sepia Toning (layer) from the Actions palette .

Press (Play selection) in the lower part of the palette to start the process.
Here is the result:

Step 15. Merge the layers using the command Layer => Merge Visible or Shift+Ctrl+E.

Step 16. If you wish you can crop the image.
Select Crop Tool (C).
Use the frame to define the area that should remain and press Enter. The image areas outside the frame will be deleted.