To restore old photos in any program, you must first have scanned it into your computer. I find that scanning the photo in at full size and at around 300-500 dpi is best. It is recommended that you save any photo that you scan as .tiff file, however if space is an issue on your hard drive, then saving the file as a .jpeg at the highest setting you can will also work.

This was written for PSE3, but will work in most graphics programs.

To repair your photo:

1. Browse for file and open it.

2. To remove scratches and tears you will need to zoom into the area that you wish to repair. Zoom in as close as you can. 100-150% is good.

3. For the large tears along the top, I am going to use my clone tool.

Set the brush size, at one that is neither too large nor too small. Now press Alt and click on area near to the tear that looks good. Click and hold the mouse key as you drag the cursor over the bad area. Zoom out to check your work regularly. (The clone stamp lets you copy a good area of an image over a bad area. It can even be used to remove unwanted objects and people from your photos). When cloning, always make sure that the good area is the same colour and texture to the bad area.

4. Always clone a little at a time, and if a texture or colour changes, find another good area more suitable for the area you’re cloning.

5. Another useful tool is the Spot Healing Brush (looks like a bandaid on the palette). I find this one particularly useful in dealing with smaller spots and stains. Adjust your brush size accordingly and click on the spot you wish healed.

Use both your Clone stamp and your Healing Brush in restoring your photos.

6. Repair bit by bit.

If a bad area lies over areas of several shades, work on each area separately. To undo a move click undo or Ctrl+Z.

7. Repairing a photo can often take hours, so don’t forget to save your repaired photo often.

8. Once you’ve finished repairing your photo to your satisfaction, you can then print. If you don’t really want to keep the photo the colour that it is, then it can be converted to b&w or in the case of colour photos, you can fix the colour to what it should be.