How to Retouch, Recover, and Restore Old Photographs

Retouching and restoration are the parts of the post-production process where an image is cleaned, corrected, and, in some cases, made usable again. In this learning guide you will learn how to remove unwanted dust, scratches, camera malfunctions, lens deficiencies, exposure problems, and more.

Posts in this series

Why Do We Restore Old Photographs?
In a broader context, we usually see photographs that have been preserved and restored from important moments in history. Hindsight's a wonderful thing, and...
Marie Gardiner
24 Jan 2017
Photo & Video
Historical Context, Contemporary Value: Old Photos as Cultural Documents
Why does knowing something about your archive photograph matter? Here we'll look at some of the reasons and how you can find out about your own archive images.
Marie Gardiner
28 Jan 2017
Photo & Video
Old Picture, New Life: Adobe Photoshop Photo Restoration and Retouching Basics
Need to clean up an old photo? This tutorial will show you the best way in Photoshop CS6, with an emphasis on restoration.
Marie Gardiner
12 Jan 2015
Photo & Video
How to Rescue Under-Exposed JPEG Images with Adobe Photoshop
Learn how to recover lost elements of an under-exposed JPEG using levels, curves and vibrance adjustment layers.
Marie Gardiner
27 May 2015
Photo & Video
3 (And a Half) Uses for Content Aware in Adobe Photoshop
Since CS5, Adobe Photoshop has included a tool called Content Aware. It’s been described as magical and a life-saver but what exactly is it and how can we...
Marie Gardiner
20 Jan 2015
Photo & Video