Finishing up a badly damaged baby photo

[vaakes]

This is what I started with:



I tried to find info from color channels but there really wasn't too much of it, after that I used healing brush and patch tool on the parts that had merely speckles and color distortion. For the missing eye and cheek I used other baby photos - they are luckily plentiful in this world. This was really like making a puzzle, a lot of had to be just imagined and created form thin air.



If anyone has tips how to make some final adjustments, I would be very grateful. At some point you just become blind to the image, and it is hard to know how to proceed. There is some blotchiness in the image that bothers me a bit.

[lurch]

This is an amazing restoration! How much time did you spend on it?

Now, if you're looking for nits to pick, here are some. One button on the jumper is pink; the other one white. Coloring on the jumper (I think that's what it's called) is sloppy - missing in some places and 'outside the lines' in others. There's a patch on the baby's head that's way light (where you patched in the other eye and cheek). Don't know about the apparent tuft of hair sticking up - that may well be damage - but just in case it isn't, it's likely to be a precious feature. Maybe Margie can ask about it.

Those are all the nits I found (and they are really nits, especially considering the condition of the original). The restoration overall is still amazing.

[sagahr49]

I agree with Lurch, this is an amazing effort you have made.  I particularly appreciate some of the shading you have done on her restored arms and clothing.

In terms of suggestions for smoothing the color, I think I would try a frequency separation technique.  There are a number of tutorials about this technique, and downloadable actions for photoshop to make the frequency separation layer generation easier.  In essence, you separate the photo into a low frequency color layer, and a high frequency texture layer.  You can then select the color layer, and either clone or paint the color you want without damaging the high frequency texture layer.  That way, you could smooth the color on the jumper and other areas, without seriously affecting the folds and wrinkles that tend to be on the texture layer.

Here is a link to one tutorial I watched when first introduced to the technique.  There are plenty others on the web too. 

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/11/09/how-to-retouch-portraits-without-losing-skin-texture-with-frequency-separation/

Here is a link to a site from which you can download a photoshop action to create the layers. 

http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/photo-retouching/32648-action-frequency-separation.html

There are others as well if you search on 'free frequency separation action'.  If you have problems finding one, PM me and I can send you the 3KB action file that I downloaded from somewhere!

Regards,

Steve

[vaakes]

This is an amazing restoration! How much time did you spend on it?

Thank you! It is hard to say how much time I used, hours probably anyway. I guess I just wanted the poor baby to have two eyes as the rest of us. Thank you for your nits, you are right about them and I'll try to fix them.

I agree with Lurch, this is an amazing effort you have made.  I particularly appreciate some of the shading you have done on her restored arms and clothing.

In terms of suggestions for smoothing the color, I think I would try a frequency separation technique.  There are a number of tutorials about this technique, and downloadable actions for photoshop to make the frequency separation layer generation easier.  In essence, you separate the photo into a low frequency color layer, and a high frequency texture layer.  You can then select the color layer, and either clone or paint the color you want without damaging the high frequency texture layer.  That way, you could smooth the color on the jumper and other areas, without seriously affecting the folds and wrinkles that tend to be on the texture layer.

Here is a link to one tutorial I watched when first introduced to the technique.  There are plenty others on the web too. 

Thank you so much, this seems to be very useful technique. This is what I love so much about restoring really hard images - you just can't avoid learning new things.  :)

[Mhayes]

Hi Vaakes,

For the missing eye and cheek I used other baby photos - they are luckily plentiful in this world. This was really like making a puzzle, a lot of had to be just imagined and created form thin air.

Very nice on a difficult restore, but I would caution you on borrowing body parts, because we do not allow it. I understand on this with everything missing---although the green channel does give more info on the arm and hand in front. You may use other photos, but use them as a reference and a means to shade in the area, not to drop into the damaged photo as is. As to the cheek, what you have done looks good, but also consider using available parts on the other side and using the transform tool.

When in doubt ask your distributor. I am not being critical as you have done a nice job, but there is a reason why we nix body part sharing. An interesting post from the past that is still true today: http://www.operationphotorescue.org/forum/index.php/topic,1743.0.html

Margie

[vaakes]

Thank you Margie, I totally understand. I should have been clearer - the other baby photos were really reference material for me, the right eye in the photo actually is the left eye mirrored, with the help of a stranger baby's face as a guide for placement, and so on. In some points I have borrowed some parts of texture, but not just dropping them in as is. English is not my first language, so I may have given the wrong idea.

Here is a bit cleaned version, the frequency separation technique was really helpful.

[jesterjeni]

I think your restore is absolutely beautiful, I think the family is going to love it!!
WELL DONE!!

[Mhayes]

Beautiful!

Margie