This handsome portrait of Merchant Marine Captain Costas Tripolitis was taken in South Africa in the late 50’s or early 60’s. His son Nicholas, sent it to pixlfixl to have it colored. People who submit their photos for colorizing are asked to select the colors they want. The more specific, the better. Nicholas told me about the color of his father’s eyes and was particular about the colors he desired for the backdrop and the table covering. He also sent helpful reference materials for the colors of the insignia on the hat. I’m delighted when given plenty of color information – it makes the job a lot easier.
 

Since people are curious about how I do the hand-coloring, I thought I’d break this one down and explain each of the steps in the process. Here goes…

1. I started by scanning (at 600 dpi) the original photo that was mailed in. I needed this high resolution, because I was asked to enlarge the image by 20%, so that it could be printed at an 8″ x 10″ size.

2. The image is 50 years old and it’s already showing signs of fading. One of the ways to correct this kind of tonal deterioration is to use either the levels or curve adjustment functions in Photoshop. With either of these tools you can restore the original values to what they might have looked like when the photo was newly printed. 

3. I always de-saturate the colors, even if it looks like it’s B&W. Sometimes I’ll do this before I adjust the tonal values, but this time I did it after. You can see that image #2 has a green cast to it which is gone in photo #3.

4. Before I get started doing anything with color I always set my “proof set-up” under “view” (this is in Photoshop) and make sure that, “proof colors” is turned on. The reason I mention this, is that I always want to be viewing the colors on my monitor as closely to how they’ll look when printed on the paper that the customer has selected. I print on two different surface papers, one has a matte finish (my favorite) and the other is a semi-gloss. The semi-gloss replicates the feel of the older fiber based photographic papers. Back to image #4. You can see here that I painted the blue parts of his uniform first. I create a layer for each color, so that I’ll have the ability to control the color fine tuning that I do later on. I set the layer mode to, “color”. This allows the color to mix in naturally with the tones of the underlying B & W photo. I also use the layer “opacity” slider to adjust a level mix of the color that looks right. Because I control the final value, saturation and hue of each color by using the “adjust hue/saturation” function, I’m not that concerned with painting with the exact color I’ll end up using. As long as it’s in the ballpark, I’ll be fine.

5. Here I’ve added all the gold color to his uniform and hat. Something else I like to do, after the paint is complete for each layer, is blur the paint slightly. I find that the soft edges allow the paint to blend more naturally.
 

6. Next I apply the skin tone, being careful around the eyes and ears.

7. Then I give the lips a bit of a pinkish hue.

8. Some blue for the eyes. Often I lighten the white parts of the eyes as well as the specular reflection that sometimes appears in the irises. I find this gives the eyes a more lively feeling.

9. Here I’ve combined many layers to add the colors of his medals and the insignia decorating his hat. Each of these colors would have their own layer in my Photoshop file.

10. Similarly, I’ve combined what would have been separate layers of the seat cover, the table fabric and the wall behind him.
  
After using this method of applying color, I’m now ready to show my customer an on-line preview image (#12) for their approval. It’s at this point that the customer can comment on the colors that she/he described before getting started. Words are rarely sufficient to describe colors, so I expect there to be some changes needed. In this case, Nicholas showed the preview proof to his mother and she requested that the skin values be more saturated, and the blue in the eyes be more blue/grey, like she remembered them. These revisions were made and they approved picture #13.

The beauty of working this way is that if there are; colors that have to be changed, saturation levels that need to be adjusted or colors lightened or darkened, I can easily make them because each color is controlled separately.
 

I start by telling them that photography has been a big part of my life since I was a kid. I grew up in NYC, and my first real exposure to photography was back in grade school (this is in the 1960’s mind you). The science teacher at the school I went to did all sorts of wonderful hands-on projects with us. My favorite was taking a self-portrait with a large format camera. After unloading the film from the camera, we went into the smelly darkroom and were shown how to develop film and make contact prints. Seeing the image appear in the developer tray, on that precious photo paper, was what really hooked me. Now that was magic! 

Skip forward forty years and people are using computers to do the same kind of darkroom magic, except with a whole lot more control. The tool of choice from the start has been Photoshop. My fourteen year experience as a digital artist at Industrial Light & Magic trained me to look at images and figure out strategies to manipulate them. Every time I restore a damaged photo, I treat it like it’s a puzzle. First, it’s brainstorming what needs to get done, and then figuring out how to do it. Each photo presents itself with a unique set of challenges. This is what makes the work so much fun for me.

I’m going to talk a bit about the thought processes I had, and the techniques I used, to restore the photo below on the left. The soldier is my father in-law, Harold Goldsmith. Taken in 1946 at Okinawa, where he was in the 494th Bomb Group doing code cryptography. I love the picture because it’s so evocative of it’s time and of Harold’s wry sense of humor.

When www.pixlfixl.com gets a photo like this one, the first thing I do is just take a long look at the picture. I try to identify the subject(s) of interest and any other important elements. I also think about what motivated the photographer or the subject to make the image. Answering these questions helps me determine what it is I need to do to make the image come alive.

In this picture there’s no mystery to the subject. It’s a visual one-liner. What did strike me immediately was the composition.  I thought the picture could be improved by cropping it to give it a more pleasing balance. Also removing some of the distractions, like the sun glare on the plane’s window, the auto behind the plane and the dark patch on the right side of the plane, would all help to keep your eye on the main subject. At the same time I decided to slightly adjust the tonal range by darkening the darkest darks and lightening the other values. Because the photo’s focus was a little soft, I subtly sharpened just Harold’s face.

One of the real challenges in photo restoration is always to make changes that reinforce the spirit of the photo, and at the same time have the modifications be invisible. If someone sees my restored photo and senses that something’s missing or notices anything that doesn’t look right, then I’ve failed. That’s the test!