Almost all of us will have seen this particular photographic problem, namely, your old colour photographs appear to have taken on an overall pink or blue tint.
This is primarily due to the chemicals within the various layers of the photographic paper starting to breakdown, often due to age, and the way that the photographs have been stored.
In many cases it is due to reactants in the environment (remember acid rain?) causing a chemical reaction which results in the fading of certain colour pigments in the photo.
Pink and blue colour shifts are commonplace.
Luckily, these colour shifts can be easily corrected, using your favourite image manipulation software, in such a way as to be able to produce an acceptable corrected image.
In the example image on our web-site the "before" image of the house clearly shows a colour shift to pink.
Before we start using any of the image manipulation software tools we first need to access the photograph in question and determine the steps we need to take.
What do you know about the photograph in question?
Well ... it's a house with a front lawn of grass, a few bushes and flowers, what appears to be a blue rubbish or compost bin, and some (right now) pink edged clouds.
What else ... ?
If you know the actual house, as I do (it is my sister's), I can tell you the window frames are painted white/cream and the front lawn is always in good condition, lush and a deep green. The bricks are a sandstone colour and because this house is in the North of England it is fair to say that the colour of the sky when the photo was taken would most probably have been a bit grey/white and overcast.
The point of this exercise is to use "your mind's eye" to try establish what the original photograph would have looked like and the end result you want to match as closely as possible.
Basic Correction Method
The Basic Correction method described here can restore colour faded or tinted photos and eliminate almost all of a particular colour cast.
The simplicity of the Basic correction method is that it only uses one command from Adobe Photoshop CS, namely the Levels command.
The "After" image on our web-site does still have a slight pink edge to the clouds, but the final image is more than acceptable for printing.
The source of the your problematic image may have come from a scanned negative, scanned print or digital camera image all converted to an image format (most probably .JPG pronounced "jaypeg") that can be opened in your image manipulation software.
I will be using Adobe Photoshop CS, but almost all other image manipulation software packages have similar tools so the method described should be repeatable with your own software package.
Step ? 1
Select the Levels command in Photoshop using Image->Adjustments->Levels.
A pop-up window will appear showing what appears to be a "mountain range" which is correctly called a histogram.
Below the histogram you will notice small black, grey and white arrow sliders.
What does the Levels Histogram tell us about the photo?
Well ... the black arrow to the left hand side is well away from the "mountain range" telling us that the photo contains no (or very little) pure blacks.
Similarly, the white arrow on the far right tells us there is no (or very little) pure whites in the photo.
We already know this because the white areas of the photo as we perceived the original to be (i.e. the clouds and window frames) have the pink cast to them.
Also notice in the bottom right hand corner of the pop-up Levels window there are three "eye-dropper" buttons, one filled with black, one with grey and one with white.
These can be used to "sample" your photo and pick out where it is perceived the original black, grey and white areas of the photo are. These eye-droppers are what we will use in the basic correction of the photo.
Which one to use I hear you ask? Well it depends on the photo. I tend to favour using the grey eye-dropper first since I can usually evaluate a photo and find a mid grey part to sample from.
If your photo has a definite area of pure black or pure white then try the corresponding eye-droppers.
Remember one of the best tools to be using here will still be your eyes.
In our example image on our web-site I am going to use the grey eye-dropper and sample the cloud just above and to the left of the house roof-line because I think in the original this would have been a mid grey in colour.
Step ? 2
Click on the middle eye-dropper button and then moving the mouse cursor to the photo, left click on the bottom side of the cloud.
What happened?
The histogram shape changed and you will notice that most of the pink colour cast has disappeared.
The clouds still have a tinge of pink to them, but on the whole the photo is starting to look like I think it should.
Overall though, the photo now looks a little flat.
Step ? 3
Let's have another look at the histogram.
Notice the black and white arrows still tend to be at the far left and right of the "mountain range".
Left Click and hold on the black arrow and drag towards the start of the "mountain range" and watch the photo.
Repeat this for the white arrow on the right hand side.
The resulting photo has now been given a bit of a boost in contrast and more closely resembles what I think the original photo would have looked like.
In many cases, the technique of using just the Levels histogram and eye-droppers can produce an acceptable corrected image.
There is still a slight amount of pink in the bottom of the clouds of our example image, but the aim of the exercise was for a basic correction method using just one tool from Photoshop CS.
Less than five minutes of digital image manipulation to produce an acceptable corrected image.
If you find the steps being taken are a little hard to understand in this text based article, you can click on the link at the end of this article to see the same method explained on our website with the aid of example graphical images.
© Gary Wilkinson 2005 - All Rights Reserved
You can see this correction method complete with example images at Correction of Colour Faded or Tinted Photos
Feel free to re-print this article provided that all hyperlinks and author biography are retained as-is.
Gary Wilkinson is a photographer, photographic restorer and the owner of a photographic retail business. He is also the publisher of the http://www.restoring-photos-made-easy.com website, where other methods of correcting common photographic restoration problems are discussed.
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
That's right, you go through all the trouble of making... Read More
As a professional wedding photographer I get this question asked... Read More
Understanding light is one of the very basic principles of... Read More
There are also some excellent online courses available and some... Read More
The warm feelings are flowing all around when the pet... Read More
Digital Photo Diary - memories that last a life timeThe... Read More
The digital camera is not meant only for capturing images... Read More
Almost any shot will look better if you take two... Read More
Get a good face shot: Use Higher quality cameras at... Read More
There are major obstacles to overcome to get into nude... Read More
Composition is defined as the combining of distinct parts or... Read More
About Personalized Photo Calendars:Photo Calendars are 12-month, wall-hanging calendars that... Read More
In a device such as a digital camera it is... Read More
While analyzing any camera, one of the most important qualities... Read More
Looking at the most intricate details of the digital camera... Read More
With modern technology in the form of SLR digital cameras,... Read More
Good wildlife safari photography is not only about composition and... Read More
A common problem with old photos is that they often... Read More
It was widely reported in the press (15 September 1997)... Read More
Your first thought when you read "Alligator Farm" might be... Read More
Photos are a great way to share your travel experiences... Read More
Choosing the right digital camera for general use can be... Read More
With such a fantastic device as the digital camera for... Read More
The article given here was written for Adobe Photoshop 5,6,7,CS,... Read More
Gone are the days when you would need to employ... Read More
1. Myth: Digital photos are pixilated or fuzzy. Reality: most... Read More
IntroductionModern cameras are highly automatic in operation. They have auto... Read More
Tight BudgetsTight budgets are common these days. But the demand... Read More
When I promised readers that I was going to do... Read More
Have you read the manual that came with your digital... Read More
There are many different types of photography. You can take... Read More
So your picture came out less then perfect. Blemishes or... Read More
You may have joined the photo-sharing craze to share your... Read More
Pre-Production:It's all got to start somewhere, so before you even... Read More
What Is... Exposure BracketingExposure bracketing is a simple technique professional... Read More
Digital photography promises much. Store your photographs on your computer,... Read More
It was widely reported in the press (15 September 1997)... Read More
What have you done with the photos you've taken with... Read More
Purchasing any gift item for your child is a mind-numbing... Read More
You arrive at your photo shoot excited about the images... Read More
Everyone has a digital camera today and we all take... Read More
The world of photography is an amazing one. It's been... Read More
Choosing the right digital camera for general use can be... Read More
There are also some excellent online courses available and some... Read More
You may have already started to make money from your... Read More
At a Photo Club meeting I attended recently, the President... Read More
Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills... Read More
The digital camera is a wonderful device that allows a... Read More
If you use a digital camera (I use a Canon... Read More
You will need an underwater camera housing to keep your... Read More
Have you read the manual that came with your digital... Read More
There are a large number of digital camera accessories available... Read More
There is one simple technique any body can do to... Read More
There are two sources for obtaining the moulding for making... Read More
Early cameras of the 16th and 17th century were able... Read More
Are you having megapixel envy each time you walk by... Read More
STAY CONNECTED WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS.Making your own digital photo... Read More
Candid photography is photography that focuses on spontaneity rather than... Read More
Almost any shot will look better if you take two... Read More
Let's get something straight right out of the box. If... Read More
While analyzing any camera, one of the most important qualities... Read More
Once you have clicked photos through your digital camera, then... Read More
Strike one! Strike two! Strike three!Baseball! America's Pastime, and a... Read More
Do you like to take photos? Are you always standing... Read More
There are really great advantages in digital photography:You can shoot... Read More
Digital Camera Basics? The VocabularyShopping for a digital camera can... Read More
Photography |