How to remove vertical motion blur from an old photograph in CS3?

Question

I have an old photo that is in need of some restoration.

The first problem is that there is a ghosting in the image because the camera must have moved while the image was being taken. I've already tried using the Smart Sharpen filter, as well as trying to counter the effect by creating a Motion Blur, both to no avail.

The second problem is that the paper it was printed on is a dimpled sheet, roughly 3"x3". These dimples in the paper show up in the scan, and I am wondering if anyone has any techniques that may help me remove them.

I would appreciate help from professional Photoshoppers or photo restorers, but any and all help would be appreciated.

Answer 1

How come you didn't give us a link to the scanned photo?

Surely you realize it is hard to help out without seeing it.

Answer 2

The vertical blur is impossible to get rid of entirely. Adjusting contrast and using Unsharp Mask may help.

Dealing with the texture is another challenge.  But I've found that you're probably going to get a better copy from this kind of paper by shooting the image with a really good macro lens on your digital camera instead of scanning it.

Why?  Because the flat, harsh character of the scanner's light source makes that texture even worse.  The key is to use more subtle cross-lighting.

Here's my tutorial on shooting old photos this way:

http://www.jimsdigitaldiary.com/copy_old...

I hope this helps. I've done many, many restorations from these old nubbly testured 3x3s - most from my own family album.