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12/21/2004 01:59:14 PM · #1 |
I have an old family photo taken sometime in the 50's that is showing signs of age, torn, bend marks and 'discolored' look to it. The photo was originall B&W but has taken on a slight sepia tone to it.
What I have is a 8x10 flatbed scanner and a 11 x 14? or so image. I scanned the image in 3 passes and now I have three image files with different levels of light/dark. I made no changes to the scanner, in between scans so, I am unsure what caused the issue.
Right now, I am stuck attempting to figure out how to match the pieces so that I can jig-saw puzzle the pieces together.
Is there a way to match the pieces up with PhotoshopCS or Photoshop Elements 2.0? I have a trial version of CS that I haven't installed yet and I would like to hold off on installing that for as long as possible.
Thanks for any suggestions. |
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12/21/2004 02:07:57 PM · #2 |
There should be a function call photomerge, under file, in PhotoShop Elements.
As for the differnct levels of light and dark make sure the scanner is not set for auto corrections. My scanner seems to want to correct all the time, I have to keep hitting the reset button on the color correction to take out what the scanner wants to put in.
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12/21/2004 02:09:39 PM · #3 |
| Use the photomerge tool under file. Pick the 3 files, and you can put them together. Should work fine, although make sure each file has identical color and brightness beforehand it it will turn out really weird looking. |
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12/21/2004 02:17:25 PM · #4 |
//www.digitalretouch.org/
read the stuff on the site, see the examples. WOW, anything is possible. Check out the old school pic and the colorized early 60s family yard shot...
Open all three pics - you can drag and drop one as new layer on a nother pic, using shift i think to center it if all 3 scans are that aligned to start.
Once you have all 3 as layers, you can blend and mask them to get what you are after as an end result
Message edited by author 2004-12-21 14:22:10.
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12/21/2004 02:24:50 PM · #5 |
When you scan the setting is probably set to "auto-expose" or something like that which would work a bit like your camera. It would take all the tones in the image and balance them out. That means if your whole photo has different areas of light and dark the scanner will auto-expose each section you scan differently. You should be able to turn this off. With my (dearly departed) scanner, in preview mode you can see the auto-expose changing as you select different parts of the image to scan.
Once you have sorted this out you will get much better results with stitching software :)
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12/21/2004 02:53:04 PM · #6 |
Depending on how large you are reprinting the finished image, I'd fix it down flat and use a tripod and bright, even lighting, and re-photograph it instead of scanning it at all. Just try to have the image and the camera's sensor plane exactly parallel and avoid any glare on the image.
Or, if it's really important, pay $20-40 and have it scanned on a large flatbed or drum scanner for you. I think the work you save in trying to adjust and stich the images (especially with three to match up) could well be worth the cost of a professional scan. |
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12/21/2004 03:03:22 PM · #7 |
| Basically, it comes down to making an adjustment layer in ps for each of the pieces masking them with gradients and matching colors and brightness/contrast, just like in manual stitching of frames for panoramas. |
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12/21/2004 03:18:19 PM · #8 |
Stitching the three together was no problem, really. I have at least one good eye and one steady hand.
The problem I am experiencing is/was the level of brightness that each of the three pieces originally had. The difference wasn't that great, but now getting into the image, I believe that I am going to need to do some serious blending and major alteration to the background, which was thankfully just a flat drop that was lighter at the top and 'shadowed' towards the bottom of the image.
This is going to take a bit of work though... |
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12/21/2004 04:29:20 PM · #9 |
What you really want to do, if you can't re-scan with the same presets, is stitch them but keep them on different layers. That will make blending them infinitely easier. GeneralE's suggestion of photographing it is how I would proceed, though; use a good, sharp prime lens with 100mm or greater focal length and a tripod and remote. Diffuse lighting is a must, and as GeneralE stated, make sure the sensor plane and the plane of the photo are parallel to eliminate distortion. Use the lens's "sweet spot" for aperture (maximize sharpness) and use a remote release if you have one.
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12/21/2004 04:55:00 PM · #10 |
Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to work with what I have right now. Thankfully, the image is all B&W and everyone's skin tone stayed relatively the same for the bits that had to be scanned for the second and third part.
I am going blend away much of the background to make the shadow of the background match up mor even and get it as best as I can get it.
Thanks again for the suggestions. |
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