Genealogy-Restoring old photos

Discuss and share Pixelmator Pro resources such as templates, mockups, and tutorials.
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2021-02-27 16:21:43

Hi, I am relatively new to Pixelmator Pro coming from Apple's Aperature. One of my hobbies is Genealogy and I often get old photos that need to be cleaned up. This one of my Uncle on the U.S,S, New Hampshire has me stumped. I would appreciate any recommendations on reducing or eliminating the blue stain on this photo. I tried a conversion to B&W which made the stain appear as a light gray and brought out some of the underlying detail. Just wondering if the is a better way. Thanks for any suggestions in advance.

Selected "image" from the above menu...not sure how or if this link works

Image
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2021-03-02 12:24:06

Hey there Kent. I did a little bit of a play around with the photo and found that a combination of the Selective Color adjustment and the Color Monochrome works quite well here. The Selective Color first lets you eliminate the larger portion of greens and cyans, then Color Monochrome evens out all the tones in the image adding the original sepia or any other tint. If you'd want a step-by-step of this, I'd be happy to share it! I'm not sure if it's the best method, though. :)
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2021-03-02 23:29:09

Hi Aurelija,
Yes, I would like see your step-by-step for process.
Thanks for looking at this!
Kent
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2021-03-05 09:15:24

Alrighty! Here are the steps:
1. First, select the Color Adjustments tool (A) and turn on the Selective Color adjustment. You can also choose it from the Format menu at the top of the screen (Format > Color Adjustments > Selective Color).
2. Set the following settings for the greens and cyans in the image:
Image
3. Next, turn on the Color Monochrome adjustment or choose it from the Format menu (Format > Color Adjustments > Color Monochrome).
4. Choose a color from the Color Monochrome color well. I've set the base color to #796855 to stay closer to the original image colors but you can choose any color you want. Then, drag the "Intensity" slider to about 80%.
And that's it! Your image should look something like this:
Image
You can additionally use the Repair, Clone, or other retouch tools to make sure the repaired area blends more seamlessly with the rest of the image.
Hope that helps!
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2021-03-06 15:34:19

Hi Aurelija

Thanks for the very detailed process steps. I am very satisfied with the results. I did get a little confused on step 4 ...on setting the base color. to #796855. I couldn’t figure out where to input and or read the number. I just adjusted the color monochrome for the best results.

Thanks again for the help 🤗
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2021-03-09 11:52:56

Ah, in the Color Monochrome tool, if you click the currently selected color, you can choose a new one from the available collections or enter a custom RGB or HEX color code.
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Either way, I'm glad I could help! :party_face:
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2021-03-09 12:08:19

Got it 👍 Thanks