First restore ...not sure

[marlene]

[Mhayes]

Hi Marlene,

Welcome to the forum and your first post. I think you have done a good job on this one. I would want to keep with the original, but it is tempting to lighten up the woman's features just a little. I did a duplicate layer and then changed the layer mode to screen and then reduced the opacity to 70%. I then did a layer mask to conceal all and took a soft brush and painted in to reveal the woman's face and hands.

Margie

[marlene]

thank you , I am always tempted to lighten photos ...I will do my best to stay true to the originals .

[Johnboy]

Marlene,

Good first start. While you are working on Margie's suggestion I would add the ladies white jacket. There is some shadow detail there that could be brought out when you compare it to the original.

Johnboy

[marlene]

On her left side ? I'm not sure if it is a shadow detail or not , it looks more like smudges when I look at it on my computer .

[Mhayes]

Marlene, I think Johnboy has a point about the shadows which would be where there are folds in her jacket. You may not want it as dark, but I do think it shows folds.

Margie

[marlene]

what do you think ?

[G3User]

Hi Marlene,

You have run into one of the classical restoration problems, should you just try and restore the image to what it was or take the opportunity to "improve" the image.

For this one it seems that the faces were darker that they might have been and perhaps would benefit from being brightened a little. Adding a levels layer with the mid control adjusted to 1.4-1.5 I think gives a more pleasant result.

Your background is virtually constant brightness, in real life that is pretty unlikely so a little variation there would be good

You have started on a continuing learning process, have done well so far so keep posting

Athol

[Hannie]

Hi Marlene, welcome to the forum!  Great looking first OPR restore, I do like Athol's adjustment, it shows a little more detail in the faces.  (you can use a layer mask like Margie suggested so the background doesn't blow out)

Hannie

[marlene]

thanks , I will see what I can do . It looks darker , but it really isn't on the saved photo .

[Johnboy]

Marlene,

Margie was correct about my point on the shadows in the clothing folds. Sorry if I confused you. I should have been more specific. Sometimes it is good to compare the detail in the restoration to what you have in the original. I know it is hard to ignore the junk in the original but it can help to keep the restore looking great.

The jacket in your last post is much better looking. Keep up the good work.

Johnboy

[marlene]

Thank you , I have a lot to learn .

[Hannie]

Hi Marlene,

I downloaded your restore and the faces remain dark so it isn't the forum, perhaps your monitor?

You can use a levels adjustment layer and move the gamma (middle) slider to the left, enough to lighten up the faces.  Don't worry about color or the background turning too light, we will fix that later. 
First you can use a hide all layer mask and with a white paint brush make the faces and any part of the photo that you want a little lighter.  You can vary the opacity of brush and/or layer.

Now the faces may seem too orange, you can reduce that some with a hue/saturation adjustment layer.  Lower the yellow and/or red a little, whatever looks best.

Hannie

[marlene]

I have a new revised photo , don't know what else to do ...

[G3User]

Hi Marlene,

Are you having fun yet ;)

Sounds like you might have your monitor set too bright. Computer makers always seem to have things set to suit e-mails and other text documents where high contrast between the blacks and whites are desirable.
It is very different for photos where you need to be able to see almost white and almost black. I have offered to help a friend with his monitor and created the attached image to use. It appears that storing it on Photobucket reduces its accuracy but you might like to take a copy by right clicking on it, Copy Image, open a new document in your editor and paste it in.
Ideally you will be able to see all the different greys, from white to black. In the real world it is never that easy. The most common problem is that the monitor is too bright so the almost white greys all merge. If that is the case you can try reducing the brightness and see if that improves things.
If you do you will probably feel that the monitor is too dark, a common complaint but it is worth persisting with, even if you put the brightness up for other applications.
You will need an almost dark room to judge the blacks, most monitors don't do particularly well and there isn't much you can easily do about it.
Let me know how you get on

Athol