3rd time lucky....

[DavieBoyDave]

Morning all - comments and suggestions on this photo would be appreciated.
Dave.

[Ausimax]

A good restoration Dave, however I think it would be better without being cropped, all the other damage in the original should be able to be repaired without too much difficulty, there will be no hands that need re-creating, its mainly the clothes and the extension of the womans arm.

We usually try to restore without cropping unless it is unavoidable, I know in a lot of cases cropping would improve the balance and composition of the image but that is not what the owner remember.

Keep up the good work you are doing well.

Max

[kiska]

Good work, Dave. Yeah, Max is right. Try NOT to crop if possible. You might want to do a levels adjust. layer and go into each channel, moving the white and black arrows to where the graph starts to peak. Then desaturate a tad.

[DavieBoyDave]

I didn't even realise/remember I had cropped it - good spot Max!!!!

And the levels helped - thanks Kiska - The problem was her face was so much lighter than his in general - any brighter and it started to look like she was wearing Traditional Japanese Makeup!

Anyway - feedback taken and included - further thoughts or comments anyone?

Dave.

[Hannie]

Great tips from everyone and a beautiful restoration!  :up2:
If you don't like the "geisha" look you can use the burn tool on a low setting and add some color to the lady's face.

Hannie

[DavieBoyDave]

"Geisha!!!" - That was the word I was looking for - you knew what I meant Hannie. I managed the same effect with a masked photo filter... just added a little warmth to her face without making her look sunburnt.

Any other suggestions from anyone or do you think they are both ready to be sent home?

Dave.

[glennab]

Hi Dave

The only thing I see that you might revisit is the shading on the gentleman's face at our right.  It appears to need a bit more smoothing to blend better.  You did a fabulous job on this one.  To be honest with you, I like the color in your original restoration.  I think the warmth of their faces is more appealing than the lighter version.

Cheers

GK