Getting Started

[coopmj]

Hi Everyone,

Looking for your knowledge on this one.  (This is definitely my most difficult so far although you're all so talented this would probably be a breeze!)

My question is how to best approach this.  Normally, I'd start with the channels.  The blue is by far the best and I'd make corrections in the blue channel and copy/paste it into my layers with a blend mode of luminosity.  I'd then paint over the remaining damaged areas on a separate layer with the blend mode set to color. This works for me when there are relatively small areas of damage.  In this case, even with the luminosity blend mode I'm afraid there will still quite a bit of visible damage and I don't want the photo to look too painted or fake.  Certainly, there are areas I can patch, clone, heal etc., and maybe once I've made corrections in the blue channel it will help, but overall, is there a better way to approach this?

I've included photos of the original, the blue channel and the photo with the blue channel set to luminosity.  Please note I haven't made any corrections at all yet.

Thanks for any advice!

Mary

Original



Blue channel




Blue channel with the blend mode set to luminosity

[Lynnya]

Hi Mary.. no.. no way a breeze for anyone here lol..... I'm sure others will have different approaches.. I would probably do very similar to you.. only thing I would do is select the "good" parts of the scene damage wise and do a levels adjustment r g and b separately then fill the whole thing with white.. It brought the color up to a much more natural and better all round.. you'll still have to mess with it later of course.. sounds to me like you are on the right track.. not an easy one for sure...sorry I can't be of more help..

Good luck  :up:

[Hannie]

Pretty much the same approach here too Mary and no, definitely no breeze this one!
Another tip may be to repair on pixel level in areas that matter most like the faces and hands. 
I do paint sometimes when all detail is gone.

[Shadow]

Oh my! What a challenging image. Amazing how much detail remains in the blue channel. Does sound like you are on the right track and Lynn and Hannie's tips will help. Good luck! Look forward to watching your progress.

[Mhayes]

Mary, I think Hannie's frightened figure says it all.  The blue channel looks so good, but getting there is no easy trick. Maybe we ask the family if they would settle for a B/W. Okay, just kidding.

Maybe have a drink while you are doing this one?

Margie

[Marydh]

Mary, I hope you don't mind me asking two questions.

Lynnya, what did you mean when you said to fill the whole thing with white?

Hannie, how do you repair on the pixel level?
Thanks, Mary

[Lynnya]

I love  questions...

here's what I meant.  select good parts of your image avoiding damage.. then go to your layer adjustments and choose levels.. adjust your levels separately red green and blue using the sliders to line them up there is a tutorial below
http://www.operationphotorescue.org/forum/index.php/topic,3813.0.html

You'll see you are only adjusting the color in the selected part.

if you press alt key as you slide in you can see if the colors are clipping.  Once you are happy with the colors you see you have a mask in your layers.. just go to "fill" and fill your image with white (actually filling the mask) so as to color correct the rest of the image to be the same as the selected correction.. If that is as clear as mud don't hesitate to ask again I'll show in more detail..
I think what Hannie may mean is blow your image up pretty big like 2 or 300 percent and repair the damaged pixels.. keep zooming out to see how it's going.   Don't be afraid to ask questions Mary .. without help from each other we can't learn..
let me know if you need some screen shots of what I'm trying to describe..
Lynn

[Marydh]

Thanks Lynn!  I think I got it.  I'll try it out.