Photo Plus - UK (2019-09)

62 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

PHOTOSHOP CC

THE MISSION

Retouch an old

photo then add a

hand-coloured

treatment

Time needed

One hour

Skill level

Beginner

Kit needed

• Photoshop
  Elements

Hand-colour old photos

James Paterson breathes new life into old prints by restoring and then

colouring them using a series of straightforward Photoshop skills

estoring old photos is

one of the most

satisfying of digital

touch-up jobs. Not only

are we able to remove dirt,

scratches and all the other

detritus of time, we can also

add our own creative input

by colourizing these old

prints. This is a simple process of

painting on different layers set to

the Color Blend mode, a technique

that – with a little practice – even

the complete Photoshop novice

can get through.

Often the trickiest part of the

process is choosing which colours

to use. But with some images a

little research can help. Here, for

example, my initial plan was to

paint London’s famous Tower

Bridge with the iconic bright blue

styling that we see today. But after

a little digging, it emerged that

ZKHQWKHEULGJHÀUVWRSHQHGLQ

1894 the cables were chocolate

brown (they were only painted

blue in 1982). I also discovered a

painting of the opening ceremony

by William Lionel Wylie that

proved invaluable. It’s details like

this that can not only help you

choose the right colours, but also

lends the photo extra authenticity.

If you like you can take things

beyond hand-colouring and add

other enhancements too. Here the

original sky was washed out, so I

dropped in a few clouds from

another image to add depth to the

scene. Touches like this might

leave an archivist aghast, but if it

makes sense visually then a little

creative licence can add to the

effect of the photograph.

R

A F T E R

BEFORE^

BEFORE^

VIDEO ALSO ONLINE

http://bit.ly/pp_156_6

DOWNLOAD PROJECT FILES

TO YOUR COMPUTER FROM:

http://downloads.

photoplusmag.com/pp156.zip

VIEW^ TH

E^ VIDEO