Photo Restoration

Restoration of some damaged photos can be quite simple and achievable with a couple of clicks and slider adjustments, while other images can be much harder to fix and involve a lot of detailed work.

Photo Restoration starts by showing you the best ways to digitise your old prints - scanning options, advice on settings, image resolution, re-sizing and cropping in preparation for retouching. We advise what to look for in editing software and how to use restoration tools including Colour correction, Contrast adjustment, Sharpening, Dodging and burning, Dust and scratch removal, Clone stamp, Healing brush, and some of the more advanced solutions like Content aware corrections and Content filling algorithms that can help recreate missing parts of a photo. We look at several case studies and provide step by step fixes for some of the most common blemishes in old photographs. Today's editing/retouching tools are powerful, but repair of some damaged images is beyond the skill of most amateur photographers.

We help you identify when it might be better to rely on the expertise of professional photo restoration services. And we show you the best ways to store, organise, share and display your restored images.

About the Author

Margaret Brown is technical editor of Photo Review Australia magazine and website and has been writing on photography for more than 30 years. She is author of the popular and extensive Photo Review Pocket Guide series and the Australian Consumer Association’s Choice Guide to Digital Photography.