Save Harold
Project Details
Software: Adobe Photoshop CC 2023
Client: Student Project
Role: Production artist, retouching
Final Size (Color): 982 x 948 px
Final Size (B&W): 969 x 979 px
Size of Thumbnail: 1400 x 1352 px
Date: October 4, 2023
The Goal
The purpose of this project was to restore a family image of a beloved dog (Harold) to its former glory. I was given the dilapidated image in both black and white and color. Below are the images I received for retouching.
The Process
The same process was used to restore both the black and white and colorized image. First, the polygonal lasso tool was used to move the stray piece at the top left. The piece was reattached to the rest of the photo using the quick select and mover tool along with free transform. The spot healing brush was then used to remove most of the scratches and/or crinkles in the image. The clone stamp tool was used to help smooth out the fur of the dog over the stains. A combination of AI generative fill, the spot healing brush, and the clone stamp tool was used to get rid of the fingerprints. Generative fill was then also used to create a suitable background. To finish it off, a dust and scratches filter was applied, and curves were added before the final images were cropped.
I was nearing the end of restoring the colorized image when disaster struck. My laptop, unaccustomed to using Adobe Photoshop at this point, refused to work with me, and the project was due in only a few hours. Luckily, my roommate had Photoshop on her laptop, and she allowed me to use it to finish my project. I sent over the files via email and continued my work on her laptop. Then, just as I was about ready to save the final image, my roommate's Photoshop crashed.
I was devastated.
But the show must go on, and after a brief grieving period, I spent another twenty minutes to get back to where I had been (frequently saving as I did so). When I had finished, I exported the retouched image and sent it back to my email, where I downloaded it into my files for submission. The black and white version of the image was then swiftly and succinctly finished without many hiccups, since the process was repeated and was not interrupted by any other technical difficulties.
The project was finished on time, and both of the images were restored as if nothing had happened.
The Final Product
