looking for software to repair old photographs?

Answer 1

For advanced and fully functional photographic manipulation gimp2 is very similar to Photoshop and is available from http://www.gimp.org

The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a freely distributed piece of software suitable for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It is a powerful piece of software with capabilities not found in any other free software product. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, and an image format converter.

Answer 2

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most advanced graphics packages available, and as the name suggests, it was originally made for touching up photos.

It is quite pricey, however. One of the most expensive pieces of software you will find, but you can find a 30-day trial of Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 2 (CS2) on the Adobe website. A full version will set you back around £300-600.

Another popular program for this, is Corel Paint Shop Pro. I don't know much about this application, as I tried it after Photoshop, and prefered Photoshop a lot more.

It has many of the same features, but not quite as many, and not quite as advanced. It is however, a lot cheaper. The last I checked, it costs around £75 to buy. Again, a 30-day trial is available at the Corel website.

Hope I helped! :)

Answer 3

I use Roxio Photosuite 7 Platinum it allows you to repair scratched or dusty photos, it also allows you to edit and fx other problems like facial blemishes etc.. The cost of this program is about $70, there are some others out there that can do more if your willing to pay the price.Adobe Photoshop is supposed to be one of the best, but the price can range from $150 to $600.
Good Luck I Hope this helps

Answer 4

Yes, I agree - paintshop pro or photochop are very good for restoration and so on, but can cost a bit. If you can use a friends PC that has it or perhaps a library then I would recommend that! Otherwise, try a cheaper version of the software. Or even download a test version?

Answer 5

It's got to be photoshop! There was a tutorial in Digital Photo Magazine a few weeks ago about repairing old photographs, it's the issue with the headline about black and white photos. That was a great tutorial if you can get your hands on it.

Answer 6

Adobe Photoshop Elements is available from Amazon for around £80 or less, the full version is about £500.
Or there's the open source freeware alternative, The Gimp. Its a bit harder to learn so I'd recommend you get the manual. There's loads of plug ins for it from the same site.
http://www.gimp.org

Tho biggest problem is when you install you get the 'graphics for web' install and you need to change that to be able to work to print, which needs bigger filesizes. You do that in the Options panel.
Plus The Gimp doesn't support printing; but I recommend you burn to disc and take it to a photo printers anyway. Its cheaper then printing yourself and the results are better!
If you want to print you have to use the built in XP print option.

Answer 7

Keep an eye out for magazine freebies. I have been using Micorgrafix Publisher for years now and it is still a fully featured piece of software with stuff on it that I have never used.

Answer 8

I think Picasa2(version 2.5.0) will be the best solution for your problem. You can get it from http://packs.google.com. Because, it has some features as follows:
Basic Effects: crop, straighten, auto contrast, auto colour
Tunning Effects: fill light,highlights, shadows, color temperatures
Effects: warmity, B/W effects, glow etc.
These effects will definitely help to repair old photographs.

Answer 9

Ehm..
To retouch, modify and edit your picts I use GIMP. It's 100% free here http://bitly.com/1zbn2oc
You should definitly try it
Have a nice day

Answer 10

Use Macromedia Fireworks.