Edit\Repair damaged photo

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viking33
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Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by viking33 »

I don't do much photo editing but I have a real old photo from the 1890's that has a damaged torn spot in the upper left corner.
( see attachment )
I'm looking for a freebie editing program that will select the damaged area and replace it with the same background as the surrounding area.
I don't want to just crop the area out because there are other details next to it that I want to keep.
I have FastStone Imaging, Picassa, Infranview and Photoscape ( not photoshop) but I can't find a way to do it using these programs.
Capture.JPG
BOB
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HansV
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by HansV »

You'll probably need a more advanced application such as Photoshop (commercial), GIMP or Paint.NET (both free).
See for example How To Repair Scratched and Damaged Photographs or Scans for some ideas on using the tools in these applications, which can be rather daunting to the beginner.
Best wishes,
Hans

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viking33
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by viking33 »

Photoscape does seem to have a tool called Clone Stamp, that is mentioned in that tutorial. I did try to use it but think perhaps I didn't use it properly?
Will try again and maybe DL Gimp to give it a shot.
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HansV
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by HansV »

It takes practice, and moreover the damage is extensive - it's not just a scratch, so don't despair if you don't succeed immediately.
Best wishes,
Hans

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stuck
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by stuck »

viking33 wrote:Photoscape does seem to have a tool called Clone Stamp, that is mentioned in that tutorial. I did try to use it but think perhaps I didn't use it properly?
Did you see this page? Scroll down to find the bit on the Clone Stamp:
http://help.photoscape.org/help.php?id=editor_tools

Ken

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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by Rudi »

The clone stamp is excellent for basic editing and covering or hiding of small areas, but if that crack is big, you will be able to cover it but you will also get some colour offsetting from where you copied from. IOW's the clone can cover it, but you might still see that there was something there because of the colour difference. Paint.NET might be the next best bet as GIMP is a complex program and you need to use this program regularly to learn its functions and processes.

Good luck though... If you are happy with the result...please share the restored version too. It will be cool to see what you did.
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Rudi

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viking33
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by viking33 »

So my first pass using Clone Stamp turned out not great but MUCH better, Maybe do a little more tweaking. This photo is from about 1890, taken in Oxnard, California where Uncle John had his barber shop. 15 cents for boys and children's cuts. I don't know who the three ladies are but think that's his wife Annie, just to his left.
Had to crop it down in size so the Lounge would accept it.
Capture8.JPG
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by HansV »

It's not perfect, but indeed a great improvement!
Best wishes,
Hans

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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by Rudi »

Great photo....wow those by-gone days eh!

That don't look all that shabby. The sepia toning does help with the old film look...its like a natural blend.
As I said earlier...IU almost exclusively use Photoscape as my needs on editing is not so intense, but I do recall that Paint.NET (speaking under correction - else its GIMP) does have further control on the feathering edges of the clone stamp tool. If you increase the feathering, it might blend it in even better...
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PaulB
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by PaulB »

I agree with Rudi. If Photoscape allows it, use a brush with soft(er) edges and increase the feathering. Your retouching will blend in better.
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

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PaulB wrote:I agree with Rudi. If Photoscape allows it, use a brush with soft(er) edges and increase the feathering. Your retouching will blend in better.
Not at all sure how to do that. I loaded Photoscape and looked around but didn't see how to use a softer brush or how to feather the image?
Really a newbie in this area.
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by Rudi »

Photoscape does not have this feathering feature but other more powerful graphic apps do. I'll check if Paint.NET has it and confirm...

Hi Bob,
I can confirm that Paint.NET does not have a feathering feature, BUT it does allow you to change the opacity of the clone tool. Below is a quote from this page that provides a basic tutorial for the Paint.NET clone tool.
Once you've cloned an area, stop to take a close look at the result. If you click on the thumbnail, you'll see that the paint spot has now been removed. However if you look more closely, you may make out that a pattern of pixels from the source area has now been repeated where the paint was. Although this will probably not be obvious in this image, you should be aware of the problem and know how to deal with it.

One way to hide this problem is to over paint some of the cloned area again using another source area. I'm also going to reduce the opacity of the Clone Stamp while doing this so that pixels from two different areas become blended together ensuring that this area is unique and not a direct copy of any other pixels.
The program GIMP (IMHO - the most powerful FREEWARE graphics manipulator) can do BOTH...feather edges and opacity (see below image).
This program though does take a bit of getting used to.
2013-07-06_09h27_19.jpg
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viking33
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by viking33 »

I thought I saw an option in Photoscape\Clone Stamp that said something like: Hold the shift key down to brush softer? Might this be similar to brush feathering?
Gave it a quick try but didn't see any real results.
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by Rudi »

viking33 wrote:I thought I saw an option in Photoscape\Clone Stamp that said something like: Hold the shift key down to brush softer? Might this be similar to brush feathering?
Gave it a quick try but didn't see any real results.
Yes, you are correct, it does clone in a dimmed state. (I must admit, I forgot about that :))
Its not quite the feathering feature, but it can produce a similar result if you use it around the edges of a cloned copy. It will result in less sharp edging. I could recommend using it to soften the contract of the crack that you had, absolutely!
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Rudi

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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by PaulB »

I'm not a user of Photoscape, and not familiar with it. Looks like the brush selection is very limited, feathering is not supported and the feature just mentioned above simply reduces opacity by a fixed percentage.
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by Rudi »

PhotoScape is not actually a "full on" photo editor. The editing part contains enough tools to satisfy basic editing needs, generally enough to do most common fixes/modifications to the image. The power of PhotoScape lies in the mix of additional tools all wrapped into one application. Some of these extra tools are pretty awesome, incl. the batch editor that I use all the time and the page, combine and split tools that can make awesome collages by combining sizing and structuring multiple images into printouts. :smile:

See the image below to get an idea of the tools I refer to.
2013-07-07_09h29_55.jpg
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stuck
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by stuck »

Try reading this tutorial:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutori ... ration.htm
section three in particular. The actual techniques are based around Photoshop but it will still show you important principles.

If you then ask for help in the CiC forum:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/forum7.htm
you should find you get sympathetic and constructive help. The regulars over there are nearly as civilised as we are here.

Ken

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viking33
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by viking33 »

Thanks stuck, for that excellent tutorial link.
Thanks also to Rudi and Paul for very helpful hints and suggestions.
I realize now that I have to do some serious investigations and trial and error attempts to do a decent job on the restoration project.
I'll keep you posted on status, etc. :thankyou:
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Re: Edit\Repair damaged photo

Post by stuck »

viking33 wrote:...I realize now that I have to do some serious investigations and trial and error attempts to do a decent job...
A bit of trial and error may help you get a feel for how the tools you've got work but I was serious when I suggested asking for guidance at CiC, they really are helpful and just like here they don't patronise newbies, even though much of the post-processing discussion is high level stuff.

Ken