DIGITAL RESTORATION:
START TO FINISH
by Ctein
(copyright
© 2006 by Ctein,
All Rights Reserved)
Why
Restore Digitally?
About
This Book
About
Other Books
Keeping
in Touch
Acknowledgments
About
the Author
CHAPTER 1 The Big Picture
“Where
Do You Want To Go, Today?”
The
Art (and Craft) of Restoration
Fooling
Around
A Modest Taxonomy of Restoration
Take
Your Time
CHAPTER 2 Hardware for Restoration
The
“Bottom” Line
The
Computer
Memory
The
Monitor
Storage
and Backup
Scanners
Printers
Sidebar: PPI, DPI,
Resolution: What’s the Diff?
CHAPTER 3 Software for Restoration
Color
Management
Profile Mechanic Monitor
Image
Processing Software
Photoshop CS2
Picture Window Pro v4
Plug-Ins
Digital ROC Pro
Digital GEM Pro
Digital GEM Airbrush Pro
Color Mechanic
Image Doctor
Focus Magic
Asiva Selection
Mask Pro
CurveMeister2
PixelGenius PhotoKit
PixelGenius PhotoKit Sharpener
Neat Image Pro+
CHAPTER 4 Getting the Photo into the
Computer
Preparation
and Cleaning
Scanning
Prints—Maximize Your Information by Getting the Tones Right
Scanning
Halftones
Pulling
in the Color
Is
16 Bits Really Necessary?
How
to Scan B&W Film and Glass Plates
Scanning
Color Film
Resolution
Decisions
Rephotography
CHAPTER 5 Restoring Tone
What
Makes a Good Print?
Curves
The
Shadow/Highlight Adjustment
How
to Improve a Copy Print
How
to Correct Uneven Exposure
Repairing
Uneven Density: Dodge and Burn with Masked Adjustment Layers
How
to Enhance Almost-Blank Photos
How
to Make Extreme Tone Changes without Distorting Colors
How
to Fix Harsh Shadows on Faces
CHAPTER 6 Restoring Color
What
Makes a Good Print?
Getting
the Color Right (Semi-)Automatically
Color
Correcting in Layers
Getting
Better Skin Tones
The Layered Approach
The Airbrushed Layers Approach
The Color Airbrushing Approach
Using
Masked Layers to Hand-Tint Photographs
Fixing
Chromatic Aberration with Picture Window
Fixing
Color Stains and Development Marks
Plugged-In
Color Correction
CHAPTER 7 Making Masks
Why
Mask?
Many
Ways to the Same Goal
Isolating
Cracks
Making
Masks from Colors
Exaggerating
Color to Select Tarnish
Exaggerating
Color to Select Scratches
Exaggerating
Color for Hand-Tinting Masks
Five
Ways to Mask a Damaged Area
CHAPTER 8 Damage Control
Simple
Spotting
Polishing
Out the Scratches
Finding Scratches with the Find
Edges Filter
Minimizing Scratches with Masks and
Curves
Enhancing Color to Attack Scratches
Filling
In the Cracks
Removing Fine Cracks with a Mask and
Median Filtering
Removing Fine Cracks in Stages with
Repeated Median Filtering
Whittling Away at Wide Cracks
Paving
Over Tears and Holes
Using the Spot Healing Brush
Clearing
the Debris
Eliminating Tarnish
Picking the Right Color for B&W
Dealing with Textured Prints
Repairing Mildew
CHAPTER 9 Tips, Tricks, and Enhancements
Save
Time by Using Your Keyboard and Your Mouse
Capturing
a Long Density Range in a Scan by Stacking Images
Descreening
a Halftone
Getting
the Most Detail out of Your Photograph
What
Do You Do with a Tintype?
Stitching
Scans Together
Improving
the Original
CHAPTER 10 Examples
Example
1: Repairing an Old Glass Plate
Example
2: Repairing Color with a Good Scan
Example
3: Mother and Child — A “Legacy” Restoration Job
Example
4: A Faded E-1 Slide
Example
5: Reassembling an Astronomical Glass Plate
Example
6: A Rare and Historic Old Polaroid
Example
7: Fixing a Photocopied Halftone
Example
8: Restoring an Almost-Blank Photo
CHAPTER 11 Printing Tips
Choosing
the Right Printer
Choosing
Your Print Media for Permanence
Profiling
the Printer
Toning
the B&W Print
Display
and Storage Conditions for Maximum Print Longevity
CHAPTER 12 Archiving and Permanence
The
Special Needs of Digital Storage
In
a Material World
Picking
Up the Pieces
It’s
Just a Matter of Time
All
Storage Is Not Created Equal
Can
You Hear Me Now?
Babel
Fish
Final
Words
HOW-TO’S
How
to unmount a slide
How
to scan a faded B&W print
How
to scan a dark B&W print
How
to scan a magazine or newspaper illustration
How
to improve color with a good scan
How
to inspect very dark parts of a scan
How
to scan color negatives
How
to scan very dense or faded color film
How
to determine what resolution to scan at
How
to photograph tarnished prints
How
to evaluate contrast with a histogram
How
to change overall brightness and contrast with Curves
How
to add contrast to midtones with Curves
How
to use sample points with Curves
How
to make a print look more brilliant and snappier with Curves
How
to lighten or darken a print with Curves
How
to bring out shadow tones with Curves
How
to improve a copy print with Curves
How
to improve snapshots with the Shadow/Highlight adjustment
How
to improve a copy print with the Curves and Shadow/Highlight adjustments
How
to correct uneven exposure with a Curves adjustment layer
How
to do dodging and burning-in with masked Curves adjustment layers
How
to scan a nearly blank photograph
How
to recover a nearly blank photograph with Curves adjustment layers and
“multiply” blends
How
to improve contrast without making colors too saturated
How
to fix harsh shadows on faces
How
to retouch faces with a masked Curves adjustment layer
How
to make a scan that produces good color
How
to correct color with the midtone eyedropper
How
to correct color with Picture Window Color Balance
How
to correct color using Auto Color options
How
to correct color with DIGITAL ROC
How
to use layers to correct color and luminosity separately
How
to improve color with Curves and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers
How
to make skin tones smoother with Curves adjustment layers
How
to retouch skin tones with an airbrush layer
How
to fix a faded school portrait with airbrush layers
How
to hand-tint a photograph with masked layers
How
to remove color fringes from a photograph
How
to remove developer marks from a photograph
How
to improve color with Color Mechanic
How
to eliminate tarnish from a photograph
How
to select cracks with the Find Edges filter
How
to select cracks with the Picture Window Edge tool
How
to enhance cracks for selection
How
to select tarnished parts of a photograph
How
to select scratches and dirt by color
How
to create masks for hand-tinting photographs
How
to select cellophane tape damage for correction
How
to clean up dust and scratches from a scan
How
to repair a badly scratched slide
How
to minimize scratches in a print with Curves
How
to minimize scratches with color channels and channel mixing
How
to fill in cracks in a print with a mask
How
to repair cracks in stages with Median filtering
How
to repair large cracks with repeated masking and filtering
How
to repair a torn negative
How
to remove chemical and water spots
How
to eliminate tarnish and silvered-out spots
How
to minimize tape stains
How
to remove print surface textures
How
to erase mildew spots
How
to scan very contrasty photographs
How
to eliminate the dots from newspaper photographs
How
to increase sharpness and fine detail in a photograph
How
to make a photograph look like a tintype
How
to combine scans to make one large photograph