Repairing scanned portrait in Paintshop Pro X5

[milleden]

I scanned a old portrait (1920's - 30's) that somewhere along the line someone tried to "clean" and brought up some of the image. Is there a way in Paintshop Pro X5 to repair the digital image, and if so, how do I do it?

[Joelle]

I scanned a old portrait (1920's - 30's) that somewhere along the line someone tried to "clean" and brought up some of the image. Is there a way in Paintshop Pro X5 to repair the digital image, and if so, how do I do it?

Could you post the image here?
There are few general rules that apply to every image.

Joëlle

[milleden]

I tried to upload the file (*.jpg) but I received an error message, "the image file is invalid". I can only assume this error occurred due to the size of the file (2.39MB). Is there another method by which I can get the file to you?

[lata]

Hi

As far as i know the limit is 2 Mb, you should however be able to e-mail.
Swap e-mail addresses using the Private Message system.

You could upload to a share service like 4Shared, this is free with a 2 Gb limit.
Then post a link from 4Shared

[Joelle]

I tried to upload the file (*.jpg) but I received an error message, "the image file is invalid". I can only assume this error occurred due to the size of the file (2.39MB). Is there another method by which I can get the file to you?

It's best to shrink the file by using the JPEG Optimizer, that will save a lot of complications

Joëlle

[lata]

Hi

Try Zipping the image, then use the Attachment option

[milleden]

I used a jpeg optimizer so that I can upload the file.

[Joelle]

My goodness, that looks like a lot of work.
So much detail is lost that it will take hours of in-painting to restore it.
There are no 'settings' in any image editor that will fix this very easily.
In the attached I have drawn on the image to suggest where you can make selections. This is very flexible of course.
Do one at a time, then promote the selected area to layer, which is:
Selections>Promote Selection to Layer, or Shift&Ctrl+P on your keyboard.
Select None or Ctrl+D
Go back to the original layer and do another one, on it's own layer.
You can then blur, paint, whatever and see how every patch looks.
Be prepared for a few hours work.
I did some cloning and then blurred the patch on the left and it looks a lot better.
Start with the easy bits!
When you feel more confident, do the eyes and the mouth.
Keep zooming into the image (enlarge) so it will be easier to see.

Joëlle

[photodrawken]

Joelle is right that it will require a lot of handwork (using the Clone tool and Blemish remover) to paint out the defects. Fortunately the original image was heavily retouched and painted over, so your edits will be easy to blend in to the original....

The first technique to use is one that will make your subsequent cloning somewhat easier:
1. Make successive selections of the damaged areas of the head.
2. Promote those selections to their own layer.
3. Change the blending mode of those promoted layers to "Darken".
4. Select each promoted layer, and with the Pick tool selected, use the arrow keys to nudge the promoted layer slightly. This will not quite eliminate the white damage, but greatly reduce its effect.

For example, here are the successive areas of the face that I selected and nudged (to the right):

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Then, I selected this area of the hair and nudged it down:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The layers look like this:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

And the resulting image:

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

At this point, you can merge (flatten) all the layers and continue with the Blemish Remover, then the Clone tool, etc.