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    Photograph Restoration and Enhancement: Master the Art of Restoring and Enhancing Photographs Using Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 Version
    Photograph Restoration and Enhancement: Master the Art of Restoring and Enhancing Photographs Using Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 Version
    Photograph Restoration and Enhancement: Master the Art of Restoring and Enhancing Photographs Using Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 Version
    Ebook1,065 pages7 hours

    Photograph Restoration and Enhancement: Master the Art of Restoring and Enhancing Photographs Using Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 Version

    By Mercury Learning and Information and Vickie Ellen Wolper

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Updated for Photoshop CC 2021, this edition offers hands-on learning with a building block teaching style. Suitable for all skill levels, it teaches photo restoration and tonal correction. Learn to repair damage, improve discolored photos, colorize black and white images, digitize large photos, and adjust content for perfect shots. Tips, notes, figures, and projects help you master restorations and enhancements.
    The course starts with preparing an image for Photoshop and an introduction to the software. It covers selection, layers, transformations, painting, printing, and repairing photo flaws. Advanced topics include correcting lighting, enhancing photos, and mastering trade secrets. Final chapters address special challenges and applying skills to complex projects.
    These skills are vital for high-quality photo restorations. This book transitions readers from basic to advanced Photoshop techniques, blending theory with practice. Companion files with photos, projects, figures, and videos enhance learning, making this an essential resource for mastering photo restoration.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPackt Publishing
    Release dateAug 8, 2024
    ISBN9781836644606
    Photograph Restoration and Enhancement: Master the Art of Restoring and Enhancing Photographs Using Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 Version

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      Book preview

      Photograph Restoration and Enhancement - Mercury Learning and Information

      PREFACE

      We all love our photographs whether they are vintage family classics, cell phone candids, or selfies. Finding some old family photographs can be exciting, yet oftentimes disappointing if they have suffered from their age: perhaps their color has faded, or they contain tears, folds, missing pieces, etc. And unfortunately, sometimes our digital photographs have extra people in them, washed out skies, unwanted backgrounds, etc. If you’d love to learn how to restore the damaged ones, and convert your digital disappointments into professional prints: this book will get you there. Rather than cover every tool and command of Adobe Photoshop, this book focuses exclusively on its restoration and enhancement features delivered in an easy to follow format. Designed for both novices and experienced users of Photoshop CC, this third edition provides many new tips, figures, and projects, making it easier than ever to master Photoshop.

      Novices will learn to take command of the software through opportunities to correct and enhance images, developing the expertise to make informed decisions later in their own photograph restoration and enhancement work using either basic or more advanced methods.

      Experienced users will benefit from clarifications of challenging topics such as resolution and color management, plus enrich their skills by acquiring a multitude of professional tips and tricks: employing its tools in numerous innovative applications that they most likely never thought of.

      The book is divided into two sections. Part One teaches how to use Photoshop for photograph restoration and enhancement through projects that will continue to be developed and refined throughout the remainder of the text. Part Two provides a comprehensive exploration of all types of damage repair, color correction, and enhancement techniques, additionally conquering challenges such as scanning and assembling a photograph larger than your scanner’s bed, and digitizing photographs that cannot be scanned. Through dozens of hands-on projects that include opportunities to use the images provided or your own, developing a diverse portfolio of works exemplifying a wealth of experience has never been easier or more fun.

      As you read this book, a variety of learning tools are included to further reinforce your learning:

      •Definitions : Explanations of key photography, restoration, and color terms.

      •Notes : Clarification and additional information about the content being learned.

      •Click Tips : Keyboard and execution short cuts to advance your skills and proficiency.

      •Companion Files : Project files, figure examples, and supplementary projects to enhance your learning. These files are available both on the companion files included with this text, as well as available from the publisher by writing to: info@merclearning.com .

      •Video clips : Straightforward demonstration videos of key processes to clarify, enhance, and reinforce your learning.

      Congratulations on the purchase of this book. You have taken the first step to pursuing an engaging hobby or an exciting new career!

      Part One

      Preparing Your

      Photographs for Restoration and Enhancement

      Explore the fundamentals of resolution

      Learn to assign scanner settings for high resolution output

      Be introduced to Bit Depth

      Prepare digital camera images for work in Adobe Photoshop ®

      Before opening images in Adobe Photoshop to begin their restoration or enhancement (referred to from now on in this book as simply Photoshop), this first chapter will examine their proper preparation including: scanning, downloading from a camera or smartphone, assigning resolution, and saving formats.

      1.1 Before We Begin

      Perhaps you’ve got some old photos damaged by torn corners, holes, or water spots. Or perhaps you have some not-so-old color photos that were never properly stored, and their colors have faded or changed with age. Or more recently, you took some photographs with your digital camera or smartphone of a special event, only to have the guest of honor blink, or turn away, just when you took the photo. Don’t you hate that? Or maybe you have dozens of photographs that have red-eye, are crooked, contain objects (or people) you wish weren’t in them, and so on and so on and so on. You’d love to fix all these photos yourself, and you know it could be fun and rewarding doing it, but the thought of having to learn a huge program like Photoshop is intimidating to you. Even if it’s not, you just don’t have that kind of time. This book will get you there. Learning the essential features of Photoshop specific to our type of work, we will employ the images supplied (and use your own as well), to master many rewarding techniques in photograph restoration and enhancement, without extensive training in every aspect of Photoshop.

      1.2 Clarifying Resolution

      The visual quality or clarity of an image is determined by its resolution. Resolution can be one of the hardest concepts to grasp when learning to work with photographs digitally. To be successful in photograph restoration and enhancement, you do not have to know everything about resolution, or even ever fully understand it: you just need to learn how to work with two of its unique features. The first of those is what resolution your images need to start with in order to meet your quality expectations when they are printed. The other feature is an idiosyncrasy of resolution that arises when images are merged together, that is critical to be aware of, so that you can avoid frustration and disappointment when you want to combine some yourself.

      So…why are we starting our training with what was just referred to as one of the hardest concepts to grasp? The answer is simple. Before you even open your images in Photoshop, familiarity with these basics of resolution is a fundamental key contributor to your future success when working with digital images, whether they are scanned in, or downloaded from your digital camera or smartphone. But, don’t be concerned…you will learn what you need to know.

      1.2.1 Pixelation: PPI and DPI

      Figure 1.1 shows a small area of an image on a computer screen. This example allows you to clearly see that when photographs are converted to digital images, they are transformed into square blocks of color, called pixels.

      A copy of each figure shown in this chapter can be viewed in the companion files included with this book.

      PPI stands for pixels per inch. When two photographs are of the same physical dimensions (e.g., 4 x 6), if one of them has a smaller number of ppi than the other, it means that each pixel or square block of color within that image will be further apart that the same size photograph with more ppi. The more ppi (or more square blocks of color per inch) a digital image contains, the more flexible it will be when enlarged before the squares become so far apart from each other, that they begin to clearly be noticeable as individual blocks of color.

      Figure 1.1 Pixelation.

      So if that’s PPI, then what’s DPI? Often mistakenly referred to as the same thing, DPI stands for dots per inch, for printing purposes. The correct term for denoting the resolution of your photographs, and the phraseology that will be used in this book, is to refer to their ppi.

      Definition

      DPI (dots per inch): refers to the number of printing dots of ink per inch. A 1200 dpi printer will place 1200 minuscule droplets of ink within each square of the document being printed.

      1.2.2 Choosing a Resolution Based on Your Final Output Needs

      What’s low, what’s high, and what do you need? A 72 ppi digital image is often described as a low resolution image. The 72 square blocks of color per inch is great for online viewing, poor when used for print. 300 ppi (or 300 square blocks of color per inch) is typically referred to as a high resolution digital image. That statement is true, but is relative to the physical size of the image and the total number of pixels it is comprised of. When comparing two images of the same physical size, such as two 4 x 6 images where one has 72 ppi and the other has 300 ppi, the image containing 72 ppi will have pixel dimensions of 288 pixels × 432 pixels (4 x 72 = 288, 6 x 72 = 432), and the 300 ppi image with the same physical size will have pixel dimensions of 1200 pixels x 1800 pixels (4 x 300 = 1200, 6 x 300 = 1800). The quality will be determined by its physical size relative to its total number of pixels for its width and height; more pixel density equals better quality. Many digital cameras and smartphones produce images at 72 ppi but generate images with large physical dimensions which therefore still contain a high total pixel count, designed so that when they are printed smaller (the pixels compressed together) there will be a larger number per inch, relative to their adjusted physical size. A 72 ppi image, with physical dimensions of 16.667 x 25 is still a high resolution image because its pixel dimensions are 1200 x 1800. It has those dimensions so that it can be converted to a 300 ppi image (compress the pixels together, and result in a high quality 4 x 6 print, the conversion process of which you will learn how to do in Chapter Two). Mind boggling for sure, but for now, having learned that 300 ppi produces a high quality end print, let’s carry this concept further by exploring its application to cropping and enlarging your images.

      1.2.2.1 Resolution Considerations for Enlargements: the Final Factor

      Although we will learn the process of cropping using Photoshop in Chapter Five, let’s look at cropping for now from a resolution standpoint. We will examine some original images, then cropped versions of them to further clarify resolution. The following two original spring ice photographs shown in Figure 1.2 both have the same physical dimensions of 4 x 6, however the image on the left is comprised of 72 ppi, and the one on the right contains 300 ppi.

      Figure 1.2 Same image at 72 ppi and 300 ppi.

      Figure 1.3 Cropped images.

      When viewed at their original physical dimensions, even the low resolution version looks decent. Figure 1.3 illustrates when the problem becomes more noticeable. When cropped and enlarged, the low resolution image suffers dramatically in quality, as the square boxes of color become more evident, and the details, such as the icicles, become noticeably less defined.

      Perhaps at some point you have tried to print a low resolution photo as a large print, and experienced this problem yourself. You may not have understood why it happened, or how it could have been resolved by using a higher resolution photograph to start with. Figure 1.3 also exemplifies the typical type of compromise in quality when an original low resolution image with physical dimensions of 4 x 6 for example, is enlarged to a size such as 8 x 12, or even worse 12 x 18. The end result will most likely be disappointingly poor. So how can you get a high quality photo enlargement? What resolution would it need to be? 300 ppi or even larger than that? The answer lies in a little mathematical computation, referred to in this text as the final factor. When an image is either scanned in or downloaded, it contains a certain number of pixels for its width and height, based on its assigned resolution. These pixel dimensions (or number of pixels) remain constant, even if either the physical dimensions or resolution of the image are changed later on. When the document size (physical dimensions) of an image is enlarged, the resolution is decreased (the boxes of color are spread out), or increased if the physical dimensions are changed to a smaller size (the boxes of color are condensed). Because these two factors are interconnected, if the resolution is changed instead to a higher number, the image’s physical dimensions will decrease, or conversely, will increase if the resolution is lowered. All the while, the assigned original pixel dimensions for the width and height of the image never change. Perhaps just in learning this, you can guess what you need to do. You must start with a high enough resolution of your original to be able to enlarge it later to the size you want, and still end up with enough ppi to look good. How to know what resolution you need to start with will be covered later in this chapter when we discuss the principles of scanning. How to make the resolution/size adjustments to enlarge your image after you have determined the required pixel width and height and scanned your image using those calculations will be covered in Chapter Two once we are working in Photoshop. At this stage of your learning, understanding what pixelation is, and just knowing that you can avoid it by starting with a high enough resolution photograph, one with enough pixels per inch based on your final factor desires, is a great start. You are on your way to a successful and fun experience in photograph restoration and enhancement.

      1.2.3 Resolution Considerations When Combining Images Together

      When you combine photographs or parts of photographs together as you will do later in this book, they should be the same resolution whenever possible: apples with apples so to speak. The following examples will help to understand why.

      Both of the photographs shown in Figure 1.4, the snow scene, and the lake scene, have the same physical dimensions of 6 x 4. The lake scene photo’s resolution however, is 300 ppi while the snow scene photo’s is only 72 ppi. If the low resolution snow scene image is imported into the high resolution lake scene image, the pixels that are spread out in their original 72 ppi configuration are automatically compressed together to align pixel for pixel to the 300 ppi of the lake scene, making the imported image much smaller. A photograph imported into another photograph will always be converted to the destination resolution. Because we have already learned that the original assigned pixel width and height totals remain constant, the imported image will be automatically transformed as it needs to in order to do that, as shown in Figure 1.5. even though it is still the original 6 x 4 photograph, the snow scene image becomes much smaller when added to the high resolution lake scene photograph.

      Figure 1.4 Snow scene 72 ppi image compared to lake scene 300 ppi image.

      Conversely, when a high resolution image is imported into a low resolution image…can you guess the result? It will spread out as needed to once again align pixel for pixel with the lower ppi photograph it is brought into. Figure 1.6 illustrates this scenario. The handles we can see beyond the dimensions of the snow scene identify the outer edges of the 300 ppi lake scene photograph, representing how much larger the lake scene image has become than the snow scene it has been imported into.

      Figure 1.5 72 ppi imported into 300 ppi.

      Let’s carry this concept one step further. The pixel width and height (not physical dimensions) of the high resolution lake scene are 1800 px x 1200 px respectively. The pixel width and height (not physical dimensions) of the low resolution snow scene are 432 px x 288 px.

      This means that the lake scene photo can fit over 16 copies of the snow scene inside of it, as shown in Figure 1.7, even though both images’ original physical dimensions were the same, 6 x 4.

      Figure 1.6 300 ppi imported into 72 ppi.

      Figure 1.7 Multiple 72 ppi images in one 300 ppi image.

      Undoubtedly, this can be a very difficult concept to understand. In actuality, you don’t need to ever fully understand it, as long as you understand what will happen if you combine two photographs with different resolutions. Just remember apples with apples: if you plan to import even a small piece of one photograph into another, be sure the photo to be imported is the same resolution as that of the destination image before you combine them. Once we start working in Photoshop, if you add part of one photograph into another and it suddenly appears disproportionately larger or smaller than you know it should, you will be able to recognize that the two photographs are most likely not the same resolution.

      So what do you do if you have two different resolution photos and need to combine them together? Although not recommended, that can be done through a process known as resampling. We will examine resampling in depth as it pertains to cropping images in Chapter Five, and explore ways to minimize its ramifications when content from an image comprised of a different native resolution is required to enhance a photograph, in Chapter Ten. For now, with these two main features of resolution clarified, we are ready to learn how to prepare photographs to work with them in Photoshop by scanning them.

      1.3 Scanning Basics

      All medium and high-end flat-bed scanners (the cover lifts, and you lay your photograph on the bed to be scanned) have the same basic features, with each brand scanner and its applicable scanning software defining the features perhaps a little different than the next one. Because of that, this section will focus on the critical ones that relate to scanning for importation into Photoshop, not the basic operation of your particular scanner, and will assume that one of the available scanning mode choices in its software is called either Advanced, Expert, or Professional. That is the mode we will use, and when discussed in this chapter, it will be referred to as professional. For your work in photograph restoration and enhancement, you will need to use some specific options this mode will have that the rest of the scanning mode choices your scanner software may have available will not. Don’t be intimidated; you will be a professional in no time.

      1.4 The Three Expert Scanning Options You Need to Know

      When using a scanner in its professional mode, a variety of settings come to life that were most likely not available when in its Auto type mode for general scanning. The scanning modes shown in Figure 1.8 are those of an Epson Perfection V800 Photo scanner, with settings comparable to other manufacturer’s medium to high-end scanners. Let’s take a look at the typical main components of the professional mode as shown in Figure 1.9.

      Figure 1.8 Epson Scanning modes.

      DOCUMENT TYPE: If a scanner includes the capability to scan transparency, Document Type is the option to choose that alternative document type rather than the default option of Reflective for scanning prints.

      IMAGE TYPE: This menu provides the option to scan photos in color or grayscale and choose its bit depth.

      RESOLUTION: Using its menu, a predefined resolution can be selected or an alternative can be typed in that is not listed as an option.

      Many scanners include basic color adjustment options such as Auto Exposure and Tone Correction as shown by the icons under the Adjustments category in Figure 1.9. There is no need to be tempted to try to color correct scans using features such as these if they are available within your scanner specific software, as you will soon be using Photoshop to do that. You will need to become familiar with three of the other available features of a scanner’s professional mode: how to crop the prescan to the actual size desired to scan at, how to choose the correct resolution to scan at, and what color depth, or bit depth to scan in.

      Figure 1.9 Typical professional mode scanning options.

      Although your scanner software may list its resolution as dpi, because Photoshop assigns resolution in ppi, all resolution calculations applied in this text will be in ppi. Additionally, when scanning black and white photographs, it is best to scan them in color, then convert the color to black and white within Photoshop. The process of converting color images to black and white will be discussed in detail in Chapter Nine .

      1.4.1 Cropping an Area to Scan

      Beginners often scan a larger area than they need to. The Prescan feature, available when using all flat bed scanners in their professional mode, is designed to do a quick, low resolution scan. This allows us to define a dotted outline, referred to as a marquee selection, to delineate the specific area to scan at the chosen higher resolution instead of scanning the entire bed area of the scanner. If the photograph we want to scan is 4 x 6, for example, and we want all or only part of the image as the scan, after we apply the Prescan feature, the area to scan should be reduced from the full size of the scanning bed (8-1/2 x 11 for example) which will be chosen by default, down to only the outer dimensions of the desired final image area. We can adjust its dimensions by either typing them in an input area of the scanner software dialog box, or by grabbing and dragging the sides of the marquee selection to redefine its size if we want to scan the entire photograph, or smaller if only part of the image is desired, as shown in Figure 1.10. The dotted marquee selection perimeter defines the area of the prescan that will be scanned at the resolution chosen rather than the full bed area. The 4 x 6 photo shown in Figure 1.10 was scanned at 300 ppi resulting in a high resolution copy of the same size. Most likely, if you already had a 4 x 6 copy of the photo, you would not be scanning it. You would probably be scanning it because you wanted to enlarge it. That’s where our final factor comes in.

      Figure 1.10 Scanning area defined.

      1.4.2 Choosing the Resolution to Scan At

      If you have a 4 x 6 photo that you would like to enlarge, all you have to do is determine how many times larger you want the resulting print to be, then incorporate a little multiplication. If you would like to enlarge a 4 x 6 photograph to a 12 x 18 print, you want to make it three times larger: 4 x 3 = 12, 6 x 3 = 18. You have already learned that a high quality resolution is 300 ppi, therefore this 300 ppi must also be multiplied by three: 300 ppi x 3 = 900 ppi, meaning that you should scan the image at 900 ppi. The fact that you should scan it at 900 ppi is one of the reasons you need to work in the most professional mode of your scanner. When working in your scanner’s professional mode, if it does not list the specific resolution you need as an option under its resolution drop down menu, an entry field to assign a specific resolution should be provided, or you should be able to highlight one of the existing ones listed, then change that number to the resolution needed such as 900 ppi, as shown in Figure 1.9.

      Let’s carry this concept further. The physical dimensions of the original photograph shown in Figure 1.11 are approximately 3 x 2 in size.

      Figure 1.11 Original little girl.

      Figure 1.12 Prescan marquee selection of little girl.

      Figure 1.13. Enlargement of little girl.

      To enlarge just the girl sitting in the chair, a width and height for the original scan marquee selection area must be defined using the final factor based on the desired size of the resulting photo, which in this case was a 4 x 6 enlargement.

      A 1 x 1.5 area was defined in the prescan, as shown in Figure 1.12. Using a multiplication factor of 4 (1 x 4 = 4, 1.5 x 4 = 6), the photograph needed to be scanned at 1200 ppi (300 ppi x 4) with the resulting high quality print shown in Figure 1.13.

      1.4.3 Scanning Transparencies

      The same multiplication factor we just learned to use when scanning prints, also applies when scanning film negatives and slides. The only difference lies in the fact that because the originals will usually be smaller, the required scanning resolutions will need to be higher, based on the final output size desired.

      1.4.3.1 Scanning a 4 x 5 Negative

      In order to be able to scan negatives, a scanner must be equipped with a transparency unit. How many different size film negatives can be scanned in addition to 35 mm negatives will depend on the make and model of the scanner. After loading the negative into the scanner’s film holder that will be included with the scanner if it contains the transparency capability and after choosing to scan transparency, the type of transparent film to scan (negatives or slides) must be selected, as shown in Figure 1.14.

      Figure 1.14 Selecting the file type.

      Figure 1.15 Hampshire Plaza building prescan selection.

      Figure 1.15 shows an old 4 x 5 film negative, with a 2 x 2.5 marquee selection defined in the prescan.

      To create a high quality 10 x 8 enlargement of just this defined area, the final factor was 4: 2.5 x 4 = 10, 2 x 4 = 8, 300 x 4 = a required scanning resolution setting of 1200 ppi. A copy of the resulting high quality photograph is shown in Figure 1.16.

      Figure 1.16 Hampshire Plaza 10 x 8.

      A common false assumption that many people make is that over-scanning (scanning higher than you need) will make the final enlargement even clearer. The image clarity is still limited to the output device (the printer), and choosing to have a higher scanning resolution than needed will only result in a larger, harder to manage file. Figure 1.17 shows an enlargement of the same prescan area of the film negative shown in Figure 1.15 scanned at 1200 ppi, resulting in an ending file size of 6.87 megabytes vs. one scanned at 2400 ppi, resulting in a file size four times larger: 27.5 megabytes. As we can see from the starburst detail of the construction lighting, quality improvements in the 27.5 MB image are virtually impossible to be seen when printed at the same size.

      Figure 1.17 Hampshire Plaza enlargement.

      1.4.3.2 Scanning 35 mm Negatives and Slides

      The Hampshire Plaza example used a 2 x 2.5 section of a 4 x 5 black and white negative. So what if you want to create an 8 x 10 print from an original as small as a 35 mm negative or slide? A common solution that you will hear is, just scan it as high as your scanner will allow you to. We have just see that file size and memory will become difficult to work with very quickly when working in large files. Instead of over scanning, the concept is still the same: the final factor multiplication rule we have already learned. The multiplication factor will simply need to be higher because the original is smaller. Figure 1.18 demonstrates this by showing a 1.0 x .8 marquee selection of a 35 mm color negative that when scanned at 3000 ppi generates the 10 x 8 enlargement at the 300 ppi final print quality desired.

      Figure 1.18 Color negative to 10 x 8 enlargement.

      1.5 An Introduction to Bit Depth

      The third and final main consideration you need to know about when scanning photographs to work on in Photoshop, is something called bit depth: not part of the mystery of resolution, but is an available setting in the professional mode of the scanner software and in Photoshop, and can seem when learning about it, to be somewhat of a mystery in itself.

      1.5.1 8 Bits/Channel Versus 16 Bits/Channel Depth

      As we have already learned, digital images are comprised of pixels. Bit depth refers to the number of bits of color tones or values used to produce the resulting color of each individual pixel of the image. The two most common bit depths are 8 bits/channel and 16 bits/channel. When referring to a grayscale digital image, 8 bit means that each pixel in the image contains 256 tones or shades of gray. When referring to an RGB color image, 8 bit means that each pixel will contain 256 color tones of each of the three colors it is comprised of: red, green, and blue, equaling a total of 16,777,216 bits of color information (256 red x 256 green x 256 blue), and is typically referred to as 24 bit color (8 bit x 3). 16 bit depth has 65,536 tones per pixel for grayscale, and three times that number for RGB color images. When scanning, 16 bit color is typically identified as 48 bit color (16 bit x 3 = 48 bit). By default, scanners will usually scan all images at 8 bit, which equates to 8 bit for a grayscale image, or 24 bit (8 x 3) for a color image. By changing the setting to 48 bit instead of 24 bit when working with color images, for example, the image will contain not millions of colors, but literally trillions. Although this might sound appealing, before deciding to plan to scan everything in 16 bit depth for grayscale or 48 bit for color, consider the resulting file size, the output device, and what you intend to do with the file once it is opened in Photoshop. Because the image will contain more colors, a 16 bit depth grayscale or 48 bit depth color image will result in a substantially larger file that will be more difficult to work with. Additionally, because the output device (the printer) is limited by the number of colors it can print, it may not even have the capability to print the 16 bit grayscale or 48 bit color file.

      In Photoshop, if you scan a photograph at 48 bit color, and later decide you want to change it to 24 bit, you can do that with no negative ramifications. However, if an image is scanned at 24 bit color (or 8 bit grayscale), and later a bit depth of 48 bit (or 16 bit grayscale) is desired, the image should be rescanned at the higher desired bit depth rather than attempt to fabricate bit color in Photoshop.

      Furthermore, when working in Photoshop, some menu options will be grayed out because they are not designed to work with higher bit depth images.

      At this point, are you wondering if there are any advantages to the higher bit depth? The answer to that question will lie in the type and severity of a particular photograph’s color correction requirements. When applying color enhancement features in Photoshop, the additional color bits (or the additional tones that will produced at 16 bits/channel when working in grayscale) will provide more flexibility or forgive-ability in the editing process than the same image scanned at 8 bits/channel. Once we are working with color correction in Photoshop, we will compare and contrast an 8 bit grayscale image with the same image in 16 bit depth to better understand this concept. For most restoration and enhancement work, 8 bit grayscale and 24 bit color will be sufficient. You will be able to make professional decisions when scanning, resulting in prints and enlargements you will be proud to call your own as long as you remember the following:

      •that bit depth and resolution are two very different parts of the puzzle

      •that the most common bit depth is 8 bit which generates smaller, more manageable files

      •that 8 bit is the one you will need for all the menu options in Photoshop to become available and for most printers to be able to output your photographs

      •that between bit depth and resolution, the scanning setting you will be able to visibly see the most dramatic variation with (good or bad based on the selection) is resolution

      1.6 Saving File Formats for Your Images

      When saving a scan, although many scanners provide multiple file format saving options, the two most common image file format options (and the ones that will be discussed here) are TIFF (Tagged Image File Format: extension .tif) and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group: extension .jpg).

      1.6.1 TIFF File Format

      When a file is saved in the TIFF format, the two most popular options to save the format into is to save with either no compression, or with something called: LZW (Lempel-Ziv-Welch) compression. The LZW compression formula allows the image to be kept at the same original quality, but will be compressed to a smaller and more manageable file size (always a good decision). The TIFF format’s LZW compression method is referred to as a lossless compression. What lossless means is that no matter how many times it is saved, no image data will ever be deleted.

      If you choose to save a scanned image as a JPEG, when prompted by your scanner software for the compression setting you want to apply, always choose the highest quality setting it provides.

      1.6.2 JPEG File Format

      In contrast to the TIFF file format, a JPEG’s file size is smaller (that’s always good), however its method of compression is lossy. Every time the file is saved, a small amount of data is permanently removed from the file. A few saves will not necessarily be a problem but multiple saves while working with a photograph to restore or enhance it, could be. It is still a great, safe choice to save a scan in because we will be learning how to immediately convert a JPEG file to a PSD file (native Photoshop format .psd) once it is opened in Photoshop which will stop the loss of data.

      When scanning, if files are saved as TIFFs instead of as JPEGs, once in Photoshop they can be left in that format, or converted to the native Photoshop file format of PSD to safely preserve the quality of all images from the time they are opened, and thereafter every time they are saved until the restorations and enhancements are complete. This best practice is the one we will use in our work.

      1.7 Working With Images From Your Digital Camera or Smartphone

      The resolution final factor and file saving formats we have just learned about for scanning are also applicable to images taken with a digital camera or smartphone, and can be adjusted once the images have been downloaded, and then opened in Photoshop.

      1.7.1 Downloading Your Digital Images

      In Photoshop, we will see how the same multiplication final factor that applies to scanning, also applies to downloaded digital images, based on the megapixels that a digital camera or smartphone can produce, and the quality setting chosen when the photograph was taken. For now, follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer as to how to download your images, and be sure to download them to an easily accessible location on your hard drive for your work with them starting in Chapter Two using Photoshop.

      1.7.2 File Formats of Digital Cameras and Smartphones

      Just as your scanner may have additional file format options besides the TIFF and JPEG formats, some digital cameras and smartphones have multiple file formatting choices available with the most universal one being JPEG. JPEG is fine because as we have just learned, once in Photoshop, the first thing you will do is open the image and convert it to the PSD file format, preserving all of its data by transforming it from a lossy to a lossless file format: safe to work on throughout the numerous resaves required during its enhancement.

      Some digital cameras and smartphones can also shoot images in Raw format. Although these images can be enhanced using the Camera Raw feature of Photoshop, it will not be covered in this text. iPhones can also optionally assign Apple’s HEIF (High Efficiency Image File) format which can be opened in Camera Raw.

      With a solid foundation in resolution, scanning, and downloading, we are ready to launch Photoshop.

      Try It Yourself

      Each chapter of this book will include practice exercises to reinforce your knowledge at the end of each chapter, with additional ones provided on the companion files. Many times, a photograph that is worked on in some capacity during one chapter will be reworked in a later chapter. Before beginning the first exercise, create a folder on your computer, and assign the name Photoshop practice to begin saving your work into it.

      Project 1

      Scan a 6 × 4 horizontal photograph (grayscale or color) of your choice.

      1. Assign 8-bit grayscale for the Image Type setting.

      2. Select the appropriate scanning resolution required to produce a high quality 18 x 12 enlargement. (900 ppi: 6 x 3 = 18, 4 x 3 = 12)

      3. Save the file as 18 x 12 grayscale sample using the .jpg file format into your Photoshop practice folder.

      Project 2 Available on the Companion Files

      Directions for Project 2 are included on the companion files inside the Chapter 1 Files folder. Feel free to further reinforce your learning through this additional practice exercise before moving forward to Chapter Two.

      Explore a variety of ways to access files in Photoshop

      Learn to properly reassign image resolution

      Examine the key components of the Photoshop interface required for restoration and enhancement work

      Tailor key Photoshop operational preferences to your specific restoration and enhancement needs

      Before we can start to work with any of its tools, we will need to learn how to open and save an image in Photoshop, convert its ppi, become familiar with the Photoshop interface, and learn to customize some of the Photoshop preferences applicable to restoration and enhancement.

      2.1 Opening a File in Photoshop

      The interface in CC opens using a black and dark gray color theme by default. The samples used in this text were created using the light gray color theme interface. If you would like to change the default interface color theme to reflect the samples shown in this book, open the Preferences dialog box (Edit>Preferences in Windows, Photoshop>Preferences in Mac OS), and select its Interface category from the menu on the left. When the Color Theme buttons appear, four interface color schemes are available. Feel free to try them all. Choose and apply your favorite or select the one used in this text shown in Figure 2.1 .

      A copy of each figure shown in this chapter can be viewed on the companion files included with this book.

      Figure 2.1 Assigning the light gray interface color theme in Photoshop 2021.

      This text is designed for Photoshop users of all versions of the Creative Cloud® series, with an emphasis on Photoshop CC 2021 (hereafter referred to as Photoshop 2021). When a particular tool, menu item, dialog box, or technique we are learning has been modified from an earlier version, the new and former procedures will be discussed as they relate to our work.

      2.1.1 Working in Photoshop CC 2021

      To work in Photoshop, you must either create a new document from scratch, open an image saved on your computer, scroll through a menu to open an image you recently worked on, or open an image by finding it through Adobe Bridge®.

      2.1.2 File>Open Versus File>Open Recent Versus File>New

      When you launch Photoshop, the Home screen appears providing the options shown in Figure 2.2. To open a photograph to work on it, you can choose File>Open, or click the Open button provided, then locate the image on your computer. Although this text will always choose File>Open, feel free to use the Open button instead, or if desired, you can choose to bypass the Home screen by opening the Preferences dialog box (Edit>Preferences in Windows, Photoshop>Preferences in Mac OS), then selecting General from the categories on the left. When the General preferences appear, uncheck the Auto show the Home Screen, as shown in Figure 2.3.

      You are probably familiar with choosing the File menu from the main menu bar at the top of the working area, then scrolling down its menu

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