To restorers: tips for learning how to restore old photographs?

[Finley 1]

It is  dependent  on the type of restoration tools.

In the old days with PSD 7   it was quiet a laborious task..
But now you can smudge blur and all  sorts with a magic tool, so its not easy to break down the
way an individual goes about the actual repair.
I cannot set up a Utube thingy, ... maybe if I tried!!! but there are lots of them.
EASY 1st steps, I followed myself at one time.

So I imagine thats the way to go.
It would take an awful amount of Roots space to explain thoroughly ::   

xin

otherwise maybe by pm  but I am by far not the best to teach, we had / have some real masters on here.
Just go through the old pages of restorations and you will see some 'smashers' and miraculous work.

xin

[Finley 1]

There you go
xx
Hello Carol     *** no e  

some super work always from you

Xin

[Mike Morrell (NL)]

Thank, Carol, these tips are very helpful!

They add to what I've learned so far from YouTube videos. As you say, there's no substitute for experience and learning by doing. But a few pointers like these are useful.

Mike

I lighten the photo first to pick up background detail before repairing in order to preserve the info that is there. If one side of the image has missing or damaged detail such as an eye or an arm, I flip the photo and save with a different file name, bring the image back into the editor then clone the good area from the copy onto the damaged area of the original. Also...I use the dodge tool to whiten eyes and teeth and the burn tool to darken uneven or faded areas of the darker tones. There are no short cuts and there is no substitute for experience which comes with time.
Whatever method you use doesn't matter as long as you enjoy what you do and learn from your mistakes.
I have binned many restores along the way but learned a lot too. It takes a lot of practise and patience but well worth the effort when you  get results.
We all see things differently and what appeals to one person may not appeal to another so try not to compare your work to what others have produced.

Carol

[Treetotal]

There you go
xx
Hello Carol     *** no e  

some super work always from you

Xin

Thanks Xin, how nice of you to say...I can't do much at the moment as I have restorer's shoulder but it's improving.

Carol

[Christaelrod]

Try this link for step by step photo restoration process.

[edmarco]

Hi Mike, and everyone in this thread,

Adobe software is really the most suitable for home restoration, I guess.

I use Photoshop mostly, because encounter damages a lot, apply not only color correction. There are some torn photographs, defective because of water, with missing parts, you know, when people don’t storage them accurately.

YouTube tutorials — both time-lapses and detailed ones — offer many tips and background knowledge in photo restoration. As example, discover something from this list of restoration tutorials: https://damagedphotorestoration.com/blog/how-to-guide/photo-restoration-photoshop.html.

Practice and gain your own experience. The best tutorials in the world will worth nothing, if you don’t practice enough. Good luck! 

Ed

[MaryWilliam]

checkout this article hope it helps https://mapsystemsindia.com/resources/Photoshop-cs5-photo-restoration-steps.html