Undoubtedly you have older photographs in albums or frames that have become damaged by the sun or general wear and tear. Thanks to the technology available through the computer and photo editing software, including Adobe Photoshop Elements, it is easy to restore these cherished photographs.

Photoshop Elements is an easy to learn program. Using Elements you have options that can help restore your photographs. One of these tools is the Dust and Scratch Filter which can be used to remove any marks, scratches and blots on your old photos. The Dust and Scratch Filter is found on the Menu Bar under the Filter Tab. A drop down menu lists your choices where you want to click on the Noise tab and then Dust and Scratches.

After selecting the Dust and Scratches menu, a pop up window opens with two control sliders. The first slider option is called the Radius and the other one is called the Threshold. If the preview box is checked you may also have another window open. The main options we use when restoring photos are radius and threshold.

Adjusting the Radius slider removes any scratches. Please understand that overdoing it may make the edges blurred as well. If blurring does occur you can adjust the Threshold slider. This allows the details to return and makes the picture clearer. Also, be careful not to set the sliders too far or you will only create blotches on the picture.

To get rid of any marks on the photograph you will want to highlight only the part of the photo where the scratches are located, not the entire photograph. To highlight these areas you can use the Lasso tool.

Once you have fixed the damaged areas you can use the feather tool to soften the edges of the selected area so that the fixed area will not be obvious on the picture. To use the feather tool you select the Feather option and choose the Scratch and Dust Filter again. You may want to do the radius and threshold adjustment process again to get the correct texture and make sure all the scratches and marks are removed.

To finish the process and make the photograph appear professional I recommend you crop the image enough to remove any cracks or torn edges of the photograph. The canvas may be use to equally crop the image.

A person may add drama on the picture by adding a drop shadow on it. This will make the picture appear as if it has been lifted off the page. The color may also be removed using the controls Shift+Ctrl+U. He can then add color by putting a little amount of Sepia. He can do this with the Hue or Saturation tab. The contrast may be adjusted using the Levels option.

This is one easy way on how to remove the blotches and marks on an old picture. This is also a good way to make the picture look new but still appear classical. It will be a pleasant and easy way to display pictures kept on old albums and cabinets for a long time.