I’ve got a question for the photo editing gurus out there.
I recently sorted through a bunch of old family photos, and I decided it would be nice to make copies of some of them. I scanned a few, cleaned them up a bit with Paintshop Pro and printed them out as 8x10s on photo paper on a decent inkjet printer. They came out pretty nice.
My problem is that there are a few others that I’d like to do the same thing with, but the originals are a bit out of focus (for some reason auto-focus cameras were less prevalent 50+ years ago :)). Using the Paintshop “sharpen” command helps some, but it can only do so much before the picture starts looking too pixelated.
Is there a way to take an out-of-focus picture and correct it digitally?
Not really. The photo editing software can’t put detail in a photo that does not exist in the original. There are probably more sophisticated “sharpen” techniques you could try (I don’t know what they’d be), but I doubt they’d compensate too terribly much. You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. (Sorry for the bad analogy, but I hope you understand what I mean.) Wish I could be of more help, alas.
If the picture is a soft focus then that is what it is.
I think if you want to enhance the image you will have to go in there an draw it in shaper focus bit by bit.
Well, “Soft focus” makes it sound like it was a conscious artistic decision, like old graduation pictures and photo studio glamour shots sometimes use. These are out of focus kids on the back porch kinda shots.
There is really not much you can do. All these algorythms that sharpen an image work by inventing detail that isn’t there. It will oftem work if it is subtly applied, but anything more than that, it will turn ugly.
Bottom line is that the information you want isn’t there, and the only guess work that can put it back with any accuracy has to be done by human hands.
If you are going to try and sharpen them digitally, an “unsharp mask” tool will be the way to go. (The one you’re using may in fact be this; I dont know photoshop). As others have said, you can’t replace detail that isn’t their, but this technique will work a lot better than an all-purpose ‘sharpen’ tool. Post a link to an example if you want me to have a shot at it.
and here’s a smaller version that fits on a computer monitor if anyone else wants to see what it looks like. That’s my mother, two of her sisters and their dog taken around 1950.
I’m having a crack at it as we speak. Well, before you sharpen, you need to correct all the surface defects (dust, folds, scratches) or else your unsharp mask will just make this noise more pronounced. But you do have some challenging folds to cover up, and the second girl from the left has a fold that squares off the right side of her face, which I’ll do my best to patch up.
Here is the effect of using a bit of unsharp mask. It makes it a little bit sharper, but also highlights the grain in the photo and the creases. Trying to push it further just gave a much worse-quality image. I personally prefer the softer look of the original - it’s a nice shot. There are probably plenty of people on this board who can do a better job than I can - maybe someone else will have a go.
I converted to CMYK (after hammering out the noise) and then sharpened only the black channel. (In an effort to soften the sharpening effect a bit and keep the noise down.) I’m an idiot because I didn’t save the cleaned-up, but unsharpened version (and my history palette didn’t go back far enough), otherwise, I would have tried toning down the sharpening even more. The problem is, this photo is too soft to satisfactorily sharpen, except for smaller sizes.
Yeah, I think it’s a great shot. Even if I didn’t know the people in it I’d like it. I like the composition and the looks on the kids faces. Add to that recognizing them as people I’ve only ever known as grown-ups and it’s even cooler.
It’s my favorite of the bunch, so, of course, it’s the one in the worst shape.
pulykamell, your link is to a recipe to cook camel.
I like to convert photos digitally as well, and when I come across a blurry one I know that I can sharpen it with several tools, but you do be sure to keep the original. I don’t bother sharpening anymore because I think “you know in 50 years I bet my grandkids will be able to sharpen this photo a lot better than I can now”
If there is anything I have learned, it is that you can explain away any number of mistakes (in photography or elsewhere in life) by claiming you did it on purpose. Photography has the fringe benny of making you out to be an artist. Ergo, I do not take bad photos, I am a genius.
