Scotch Tape Baby! ... Photo Restoration Hints Fourteen

I LOVE RESTORING TAPED PHOTOS!!!!

For the life of me, I can't tell if the bear rug covered this baby's arm or if he was born with a hoof...just kidding, I met the man once and he had two nice hands.

My sweet customer actually just said copy it and cut it just below the fingers of the right hand to make an 8x10 out of it.  I begged her to let me put the other arm on.  (See previous Hints 2 blog from March 2, 2014 about cutting out the good eye  and reversing it and making it different by lengthening or shortening it before placing the picture.)

Then "rasterize" the picture and  begin erasing the parts of the layer that you don't need. Use the clone tool to get it to look right.  Paint in color using a very thin layer of color (adjustments to flow and size of brush) and there you go.  I am using Photoshop CS6 that I purchase monthly online to make sure I always have the most current copy.

The ones that I get to take out scotch tape are my favorite ones.  But add to it the fact that he also needed a new arm and you've really got a fun, fun project.  Hope that this inspires you to try doing this yourself.  Remember to clone out the tape using light layers and cloning from all areas of the baby.  You don't want history repeating itself in clone patterns all over the baby.  Use the air brush with a thin layer of paint and change the color of the paint by pointing to different areas of the baby for best results. 

Don't forget, you can always use the dodge and burn tool.   The burn tool can be dialed in to make the lines like those that the original artist painted.  Yes...these old color pictures were ALL painted using the skills of photo artists with paints and brushes to make the color.  These were all black and white that mellowed into a lovely sepia brown over time.  Take a close look with a magnifying glass next time you get one and share with the customer.

And, for all you mask users, go for it.  I really don't like masks because I have not mastered them.  Maybe I will in time, but so far, I am happy with cloning, painting and fussing with the pixels by greatly increasing the size of the picture.

Thanks for reading my blog.

Renee :-)