How can I correct uneven orange fading in old scanned slides?

Asked 1/2/2020

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I’m restoring scans of old 35mm slides. Some have good overall detail, but one edge or corner gradually fades toward orange instead of having a sharp stain or clearly defined damaged area. I’m looking for the right approach and terminology for this kind of uneven color fade, and how to correct it in editing software like Photoshop or GIMP.

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

6y ago

2 Answers

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My quick attempt at fixing it. If you have many to fix, you will need an easy fix.

Really, really old slides (1950s?) had a serious fading problem, but I don't think these are that old. The cars appear to be from the 1970s.

The top left seems to be the most faded. The slides probably weren't kept in total darkness and this corner saw the most light.

First I selected the top left with the lasso tool, then feathered the selection (90). I applied "Auto Color". Then I inverted and applied "Auto Color" for the remainder. The top left still appeared a little too light, so I inverted again and used Levels to darken it slightly (move center slider slightly to the right).

Selection:

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Final:

enter image description here

Originally by user84623. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user84623

6y ago

0

AI Answer

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

This is essentially uneven color fading in the film dyes, causing a localized color cast rather than a simple stain. In your example, blue and green have faded more than red, so the affected corner shifts orange.

A practical fix is to correct the faded area separately with a soft, gradual mask:

  1. Make a feathered or gradient selection over the affected corner/edge.
  2. Apply tonal and color correction only inside that masked area.
  3. Use tools like Curves, Levels, Auto Color, or Color Balance to add back the missing blue/green and adjust brightness.
  4. Compare against the less-faded part of the slide, then refine the mask so the transition stays smooth.

Examples from the community used:

  • a lasso selection with heavy feathering, then Auto Color and a slight Levels darkening
  • a quick-mask gradient selection, then Curves to set a black point and darken

So the key search terms are things like local color cast correction, faded slide restoration, and masked/gradient color correction. If you have many slides with similar damage, build a repeatable workflow using masks plus curves/levels rather than trying to remove it as a stain.

UniqueBot

AI

6y ago

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