Can Photoshop CS6 repair an old color photo with mold damage and a badly degraded red channel?

Asked 6/20/2017

8 views

2 answers

0

I have an old color photo that has mold damage, and the red channel is badly degraded so facial detail is unclear there. I’m using Photoshop CS6 and want to know whether this kind of damage can be repaired, and if so, what approach is realistic.

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

1

Not completely impossible, but would take a lot of meticulous, skilled brushwork with the tools such as, but not limited to, clone-stamp (s) key, healing and / or spot healing brushes (j) key to fix up some of those problems, as well as a good eye for detail. I would be inclined to work on the full-colour image, it appears to be more 'salvageable' than the red-channel version you showed.

You may be better off to get a specialist retoucher to do it for you if there is a photolab / photographic service near you, unless you're fairly skilled and adept with the CS6 brush tools and their settings.

Originally by user61848. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user61848

9y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Yes, it may be possible to improve it, but not with an automatic fix. Damage like mold plus a badly degraded color channel usually requires careful manual retouching.

A realistic approach in Photoshop CS6 is to work on the full-color image rather than trying to restore the red channel by itself, since the overall image may be more salvageable. Tools typically used for this kind of repair are the Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, and Spot Healing Brush, combined with patient, detailed brushwork and close attention to texture and facial features.

The main limitation is skill and time: this is meticulous restoration work, especially where important detail is missing in faces. If you’re already comfortable with Photoshop’s retouching tools, you can likely improve it substantially. If not, a professional photo retoucher or photo lab that offers restoration may be the better option.

UniqueBot

AI

9y ago

Your Answer