Need Help with restoring a partially ruined photo

[Kim32467898vnpz]

Hello friends.

I'm somewhat new to restoring.  I've watched a few tutorials and tried using the healing brush and clone stamp, but I'm not getting anything that could be close to passable.  This is for personal use, so it doesn't need to be perfect, but the white streak is too distracting.

Thanks,

Kimberly

[hatstead]

Try this:

1. Open the picture file

2. Activate the Eyedropper tool and sample the brown background. This will be your foreground color as seen in the color chip.

3. Use the lasso tool to select the area with the white streaks but leave the gentleman's scalp area as is. Delete the selection  with streaks that you have made by hitting delete on the keyboard

4. Go to Edit menu>Fill selection>Foreground color.

5. Press CTRL+D to get rid of the marching ants outline.

6. Open a blank layer at the top and with the Brush tool paint any void areas with brown -- clean up!!

7. Open another blank layer at the top, and press CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E to merge all the layers---- "a stamp visible layer".

8. Open another blank layer at the top, and activate the clone stamp tool. Clone the lady's hair & the gentleman's scalp.

9. I have left the streak in the eyeglasses as is.

[Kim32467898vnpz]

Thanks for the help!

[Greg_S.]

Kimberly, your photo is very challenging and @hatstead has done a great job restoring the photo for you in Elements.  I was curious to see what Adobe Firefly would do.  Here is the result. 

[Kim32467898vnpz]

Thanks!  What is Firefly?  Your result was far better than I was able to get.

[Kim32467898vnpz]

[hatstead]

Kim,

Firefly uses AI for you! Try it out.

Adobe Firefly – Generative AI for Everyone

For your purpose and in order to restore the picture, the steps that I have delineated shoiuld work in PSE for you. Let us know if you encounter a problem. We look forward to your progress.

[Valentina ♡]

 Hello

Hello, I've tried to adjust a little some parts. Really challenging!

And this is what AI have done:

https://ibb.co/41cgytW 

Anyway, if is possible, I give the advise to use a scanner to acquire the photo, and not a photography over the photo, as the quality of adjustments, will be much more better if we will start from a real photo scanning instead of a photo taken from another photo with a picture shot

[99jon]

Hi Kimberly

Like Greg I tried A.I. generative function. I also tried black & white but retaining the smaller scratches for authenticity.

In Firefly you can click generate and get three choices. But you can keep generating another three until you get something you like.