+- Gimp-Forum.net (https://www.gimp-forum.net)
+-- Forum: GIMP (https://www.gimp-forum.net/Forum-GIMP)
+--- Forum: General questions (https://www.gimp-forum.net/Forum-General-questions)
+--- Thread: Need help for restoring old BW pictures (/Thread-Need-help-for-restoring-old-BW-pictures)
Need help for restoring old BW pictures - ALAR - 08-23-2025
Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum. I hope I can find (and even offer) advice and help.
I personally need to use GIMP because I want to publish a photography book (ebook and paperback) of about 40 historical black-and-white photographs of monuments and landscapes dating back to the 1950s, all taken with the same camera at the same time on the same day.
The photographs, measuring approximately 10" x 6" (20cm x 15cm), have already been physically "cleaned" and scanned into high-quality lossless TIFF LZW files at 600dpi, approximately 6000x4500 pixels each, about 40MB each.
I'm very familiar with audio-video editing programs, but I'm having some difficulty with photo editing, which is a whole other ballgame! :-)
I'm asking for your help in defining a workflow to apply to all the photographs. I'm personally capable of rotating, cropping, and using the Heal (H) command to remove scratches from photographs with satisfactory results, but I need your help figuring out how to correct contrast and brightness and improve the final quality of the photo.
Thank you, I hope someone can help me!
P.S. I'm attaching an example (JPG format, so really downscaled compared to the TIFF files). All the other photographs share the same attributes.
RE: Need help for restoring old BW pictures - denzjos - 08-23-2025
Try something that isn't complicated : Colours / Levels / Auto Input Levels
RE: Need help for restoring old BW pictures - rich2005 - 08-23-2025
I might try a little sharpen. Try the Wavlet Decompose filter: see: https://docs.gimp.org/3.0/en/plug-in-wavelet-decompose.html
This a 40 second example: I would avoid using the layer group option until you know how it works. I put a original copy on top just to show before / after.
https://i.imgur.com/PsAxPcn.mp4
There is also the gimp_gmic_qt plugin http://www.gmic.eu which has several sharpen filters + others
RE: Need help for restoring old BW pictures - sallyanne - 08-24-2025
I have a little blog that shows my workflow - with gimp to restore photos
https://howtrp.blogspot.com/search/label/02.%20First
Follow the numbers on the right side