The restoration and retouching tips that I will share over the weeks come from the two books I mentioned in an earlier blog along with what I found that works with my restoration process.

There are a variety of approaches to fixing the same problem with a photo in PSE or PS as this can be very confusing in learning to fix an image. Experience and practice using the different techniques will give you the most satisfying results.  Learning the tools, commands and controls will remove the overwhelming feeling when you work with the software. I would encourage you explore and experiment with the image you are working to find which technique works to produce a final image.

Learning to retouch or restore images I would encourage you work on the same image until you get the tool and the process perfected that results in your skill development.
 

Tips

• Learn the keyboard shortcuts.  Move your mouse over the tool which will list the name of the tool along with the shortcut. 

• Images that are overexposed or faded you can apply Multiply in the Blend Modes to darken the image along with adding density to highlights and midtones.  Check out the various Blend Modes and the effects they will have on our image.

• Several of the tools that you need to master early on are the Spot Healing Brush (which is best used for simple surfaces and smaller problems).  The Clone Stamp (is used repairing and retouching fine details and rebuilding areas that are missing image information.  You likely will switch back and forth on an image with these two tools.

• In using brushes you need to consider the shape, size, hardness and opacity.  With the Clone Stamp Tool use brushes 50-80 % opacity to avoid ghostly edges. When using the Spot Healing Brush use very hard brushes.

 Each year before spring comes I go thru my gear to make sure all the nuts and bolts are tight along with making sure every is in working order.  Don’t overlook your tripod as I did one year as my camera went to the ground because of a loose bolt on my tripod.  That was an expensive lesson!

If you are looking for a guide on using Epson printers the book The Art of Printing Photos on you Epson Printer by Michael Freeman and John Beardsworth is great source of information on the basics of inkjet printing. 

Until next time…

JG