Fix photos with photoshop history brushes

We know that it is troublesome to repair the damaged and scratched photos. Usually, we use dusty and scratch filters to handle these kinds of photos, or, as we've described before, spend quite a bit of time with rubber stamp tools to cover the damaged areas. Today, before you do this work, you can first try the method we're going to introduce: Patch the image with the characteristics of the history brush. Then how to create a nostalgic effect in a simple way, using a filter to personalize your image, and finally a perfect pop-retro illustration.

1. Open the image

Use Photoshop to open a picture that needs to be removed from scratch, as shown in Figure 01, which is our example today.

Figure 01

2. Set History Brush Options

Open the History panel, click on the black triangle on the right side of the panel and select the History option from the pop-up dialog box. In the History Options dialog box, select Allow Non-linear history. (Figure 02)

Figure 02

Note: In general, when you select a state from the history and change the image, all states after the selected state are erased to record your action, and the program displays the list of editing steps in order. However, if you choose to allow Non-linear history, you can change the selected state without deleting its subsequent state. This feature of the history brush, this is the key to our technology.

3. Add Blur

Select Filter > Blur > Gaussian blur, and drag the RADIUS value slider while observing the image until the scratches in the image disappear. Don't worry about the loss of image details, we'll get them back next. (Figure 03)

Figure 03

4. Select the previous step

In the History panel, select the open state so that the image returns to the Gaussian blur before the defect is revealed again. (Figure 04)

Figure 04

5. Set the source of the history brush

In the history panel, move the source of the history brush from the open snapshot to the Gaussian Blur state, noting that the current state remains open (Figure 05). Bring up the brush panel and select one and medium sized soft brushes, such as a 13-pixel brush with soft corners.

Figure 05

6. Repair scratches