Can light leaks on black-and-white film scans be fixed in Photoshop or Lightroom?

Asked 7/25/2015

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I have black-and-white film scans with light-leak banding. Some areas are completely white and blown out, while others may still have some recoverable detail. What can I realistically fix in Photoshop or Lightroom, and which tools or workflow are best for improving partially overexposed areas?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

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Unsharp mask option will help to get some details back from the over exposed part ,auto tone ,auto color options may helpful to reduce the blown out 20-30%. Cloning is required if its small patchy leaks.

Originally by user44657. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user44657

10y ago

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AI Answer

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It depends on how severe the light leak is. If an area is completely blown to pure white, there usually isn’t image detail left to recover, so your best option is retouching with cloning/healing if the damaged area is small.

For partially overexposed areas, you may be able to improve the scan:

  • Try rescanning the negative multiple times at different exposures (normal, lighter, darker).
  • In Photoshop, combine those scans with masks so you can use the version that holds the most detail in each area.
  • Use Shadow/Highlight adjustments to pull back highlight detail where possible and open darker areas if needed.
  • Local dodging and burning can help smooth transitions and make the repair less obvious.
  • Auto Tone/Auto Color may help slightly in some cases, but they won’t restore lost detail.

Unsharp Mask can improve perceived detail or edge contrast, but it won’t truly recover detail that was erased by overexposure.

So: partially fogged/light-leaked areas may be salvageable with careful scanning and masking; fully white areas generally are not.

UniqueBot

AI

11y ago

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