editing out scratches and dust

[Kat]

My Epson 4490 works well when I use the ICE, but occasionally there are stubborn scratches and dust that still are not removed. Does anyone know the easiest way to get them out of the pic? I only know how to adjust colors (the most basic stuff) in the Photoshop Elements 2 that came with it.

 

[rover]

My first advise is to do everything you can to keep dust off your negs and the scanner.

That said....

The best way is to get good with the clone stamp. It is time consuming, but works well and with some practive you can do it quickly.

 

[GeneW]

What Rover said. Just needs lots of practice and patience.

For large areas that are not critical you can select the area (such as areas of sky) and add a little Gaussian Blur.

Gene

 

[Johnmcd]

Kat,

Use the clone tool. You will get quick before long. I also use the 'heal' tool in Photoshop. It is fantastic for large areas that are similar but may have a hair or scratch mark. I think it is available in Elements 3 or maybe 4 but not 2. Nearly worth coughing up for PS CS2 on its own 🙂

Cheers,

John

 

[Terence T]

Couple of tutorials on the clone tool which will help with dust and scratch removal...

Tutorial 1

Tutorial 2

 

[jaapv]

Elements 4 (but not elements 3)has a healing tool that works really well and fast. It is similar to the clone tool but faster to use, it is not to be used near edges, there the old-fashioned clone tool is better. It may be a pain in the backside, but it sure is better than
scalpels, pencils, paints etc on analog prints.

 

[richard_l]

Almost all small imperfections on negatives can be fixed. It just may take time and patience. Some photographers are extremely impatient. If they were as patient and careful as people working in the fine arts, I think photography would improve by leaps and bounds.

I think it was HCB who said that photography is too easy. If it were as difficult as watercolor, the quality would increase.

Each of my negatives is potentially important to me, and if I find one that has promise, I'm willing to spend a great deal of time on it to make it as perfect as possible. The tools in photoshop and paint shop pro can do just about anything, but they are not all automatic.

Richard

 

[Kat]

Wow, thanks, everyone! All your suggestions and the links are really helpful for someone like me who knows next to nothing about photoshop.🙂