You do everything you can to keep your photos in good condition, but accidents happen. One-of-a-kind family
pictures can be damaged by fire, flood, and moisture in the air. And over the years, photos tend to fade, become
tattered, and get discolored.
Not to worry! You can restore your pictures using image-editing software. And in the process, you'll revive
precious memories and preserve them for generations to come. As with any important project, a little preparation
goes a long way. We'll help you analyze your photos so you'll know what changes to make when you begin your
restoration.
Step 1: Identify what's important
Photo restoration is all about priorities. Rather than trying
to preserve every inch of every photo, you'll want to focus
your efforts on the most important elements-usually people.
As you look at each part of the photo, ask yourself "Does this
enhance the memory?"
By identifying the essential and nonessential elements of the
picture, you can begin planning how to restore it. If you're working with a photo
of a mom in the hospital with her newborn, concentrate on the people in the photo,
and don't worry about the furniture in the hospital room. And if that same photo
has a torn corner, you may be able to simply eliminate that area of the picture
while still keeping the memory intact.
When you crop a photo, you cut away the unnecessary parts to bring focus to the important elements. Now that you know what to
keep and what to cut, picture how the photo can be cropped. It may help to cut a simple frame from a piece of paper and place
it over your photo. Thinking about this in advance will save you time when you're ready to do the actual cropping.
The edges of the photo to the left—which had been damaged by water—were
cropped out. Notice how the subject now takes up most of the
frame and the distracting elements, such as the door, are gone.
There are ways to repair physically damaged photos, and identifying what type of damage exists will help you determine what
tools you'll need to fix it.
For cropping, adjustments to brightness, and to fix minor color problems, download
HP Photosmart Essential.
If, however, your photos have water stains (like the image above), tears, or wrinkles in crucial places,
or are missing important pieces, you'll need the additional features of an image-editing program such as
Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Photoshop.
In addition to your image-editing software program, you'll also need a scanner so you can create digital files of your
pictures and a photo printer to print your restored pictures. HP photo scanners
and photo printers
come with great features like Real Life technologies that make it easy to remove red-eye or brighten dark areas of a photo. HP Photosmart all-in-ones
can scan, copy, and print, so they're a good choice for home and office use. Plus they come packed with photo-friendly
features such as memory card slots and color image displays.
If you're new to the software you're using, spend some time learning about its capabilities. It's easy to get the hang of
using Photosmart Premier, and you can familiarize yourself with its restoration tools by going to the Help section of the software
and reviewing the editing topics. Or, just jump in and begin using Photosmart Premier's editing features. Remember to always work
with a digital copy of a photo so you're not altering an original file.
If you're using Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Photoshop, consider taking an online class. Check out the
courses HP offers
for digital photographers.
Now you've got a good idea
of the project ahead. Take the next step by learning about
techniques for photo restoration.
You'll get tips for scanning your photos and learn about the best tools
for fixing photo flaws.
Take a free online class
in digital photography! Explore the many features of your digital camera, find tips for cropping and editing
your images, and discover new ideas for sharing your photos in creative ways.
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