I have another lovely old picture of a handsome man in suit and hat to restore. I have work still do to on the cleanup, but here's a work in progress - click for full size versions
Original
WIP - sepia version (I think I like this better than the monochrome)
and WIP - monochrome
Here's a screenshot of the layers and layer comp setup I use
The original layer is never touched. All the cloning is done on the layers above with the clone or healing brush set to "Current & Below". Especially on more complex images with lots of people, keeping the corrections on separate layers allows for easier changes if you decide to alter an approach. You can still blur edges of objects into one another, but you need another layer above the corrections to do that.
Layer comps are helpful to switch between versions - you can turn layers on or off, change opacity or blend modes.
Questions:
Should I create the man's trousers or was this a vignette where you couldn't see the top of the fade as it was a neutral background?
The hand on the left side of the photograph looks as if it has been mangled in some way - doesn't look like faded original as much as bad cutting out or painting over. If I paint in the trousers, the hands should get re-created too. If there's to be a vignette, then fading the fingertips would make visual sense and I'd just recreate the wrists and top of the hands
I like the texture of the background paper (cleaned up more) versus making this a truly white background. I can do either - suggestions as to which is preferable (or what the rule is)?
