Dust And Scratches

2003-09-15 17:06:49

I have a lot of old photos that I want to clean up. I use the filter > noise > dust/scratches feature. I find this does NOT adequately clean up the photo and when I increase the level the photo loses it's clarity. Is there a better way to clean up old photos with scratches and those annoying little white dots? Or, must I compromise some and lose the clarity which is what I'd like to avoid?

@Daryl Pritchard

2003-09-15 17:26:48

Chorz,

This may seem like a simplistic answer, but the Dust and Scratches filter is no replacement for judicious and careful use of other more manually intensive tools. If you are using PS6, the clone tool is perhaps your best friend. If you are using PS7, the healing tool would take the prize. If your image background isn't so detailed that sharpness is essential, you may find also that selectively applying the Dust and Scratches filter is a helpful way to clean up the broadly scattered "dust" while leaving critical image areas unaffected. To do that, just select regions of interest for editing rather than applying the filter to the entire image. There is no doubt a wealth of techniques used for a task like this, so I'm sure others will provide even more helpful suggestions.

Regards,

Daryl

@YrbkMgr

2003-09-15 18:02:23

Chorz,

In addition to Daryls sage remarks, there are a boatload of different techniques depending on the image. You might visit:

<http://www.retouchpro.com>

It's dedicated to retouching and they have contests and convesations and the like.

@chorz

2003-09-15 18:23:44

Thanks guys! I've been using the healing brush and clone tool but it's just so time consuming. I thought there might be an easy way out.

@dave milbut

2003-09-15 18:32:59

chorz, here's a pretty good use of dust and scratches and the history brush for cleaning up old photos. this is a great tut:

< http://www.wacom.com/tips/tip.cfm?ID=46&category=Photosh op>

@Roberto

2003-09-15 21:32:42

This filter is not intended to be applied to the whole image. Create selections around the problem areas (little dust marks, scratches, etc.) and then apply the filter. You need to do selections based on the size. Do all of the small things at once, then the medium and then the large. The reason being is large problems will take a higher amount to clear then smaller problems.

R