Digital Restoration From Start to Finish: How to repair old and damaged photographs (Paperback)

~ Ctein (Author)
Key Phrases: real photographic detail, real image detail, mask from figure, History Brush, Focus Magic, Image Doctor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

This thorough compendium of digital photo-restoration techniques, by PT contributing editor Ctein, explains almost anything you could need to know about repairing aged or damaged photographs using a scanner and Photoshop ( with occasional help from some additional software.)-Photo Techniques, Mar-Apr 2007

The book features restoration tips and methods for handling a range of deteriorated images by using a variety of tools, and then shows how these techniques can be applied to contemporary photographs that have poor color or tonal rendition, as well as misexposed prints.-Photographic Trade News, February 2007

Book Description

Digital Restoration takes the reader through the entire process of restoring old photographs and repairing new ones using Photoshop, Plugins, and Picture Window.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press (December 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240808142
• ISBN-13: 978-0240808147
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #125,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ctein - The Master, February 10, 2007

By	Tim Elliott (Mount Gambier, South Australia Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

At last!, a decent "how-to" book, well written and concise, thank you Ctein.
The How-to's page is very practical if a specific problem arises when in the middle of a restoration project, whether its removing dust and scratches or resurrecting the color in a treasured family photo, Ctein has an answer.
The book will be valuable to the "beginner" or the "seasoned pro" because of its generous scope, from the minor to the major. Some of the major photos that Ctein has resurrected most people would have tossed out as "hopeless".
This book will become my "bible" as I continue the task of salvaging family memories. The plug-ins chapter is very valuable because of Ctein's fair and objective assessment of the current systems he has used and appraised.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, April 22, 2007

By	Kevin M. Elliott - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As moderator of a photographic web site's discussion forum, I often find myself having to answer questions about scanning and restoring photographs. The nature of a web discussion forum often prevents and in-depth reply to individual questions, and we also find that many of the questions have been asked and answered before, albeit in a slightly different way.

What a relief & pleasure to discover this book - it covers almost all aspects of the scanning and archiving process, with many specific how-tos covering the problems experienced by photo-restorers.

Ctein's vast experience and knowledge are well demonstrated in this readable and practical book, which I'd suggest is a must have for anyone contemplating scanning and restoring a photographic archive.

Pre-requisites are a working knowledge of your image editor and scanner software, and an awareness of the principles of colour management - without these the job is impossible, anyway.

A couple of minor criticisms
- the book is very much photoshop based, and although the book says that other image editors (such as picture window pro) can be used, the photoshop bias may be off-putting for someone trying to use an alternative editor.
- each example photograph crops up in many places throughout the book, making it occasinally difficult to follow, and although there's a chapter specifically devoted to end to nd restorations of the sample photos, some may find that the info related to a specific picture is a little too widely spread.

Overall an excellent book, easy to read and providing real insight and practical methods of photographic restoration and archiving. Essential reading!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Digital Restoration from Start to Finish, August 23, 2007

By	Norman Lapearle - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found the book excellent in its scope of coverage and detailed lessons/projects. Whether you are a professional or amatuer photographer or photo restorer this book should be in your digital editing library. The book is well laid out and takes you from relatively simple to complex restoration challenges. The author includes information on various editing software used in restoration as well as reference to books by other authors in the field. The man knows digital restoration and he has the ability to pass his knowledge on to the reader in an informative, detailed manner.