My experience and expertise in choosing Software

Choosing the right photo software can breathe new life into your photos. SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher is a popular option, but it's important to consider all your choices before deciding. Here's a breakdown of what this software offers and some alternatives to explore.

Photo Retoucher
It is a downloadable software program designed specifically for photo restoration. It boasts a user-friendly interface and offers a variety of tools to remove dust, scratches, and blemishes.
Strengths

• Easy to Use: It is designed with beginners in mind. The interface is straightforward, and the tools are clearly labeled.
• Automatic and Manual Tools: The software offers both automatic and manual tools for dust and scratch removal. This allows for flexibility depending on the severity of the damage and your desired level of control.
• Additional Restoration Features: Beyond dust removal, the program provides tools for blemish removal, color correction, and image cropping.

Limitations:

• Paid Software: this program is not a free one. While there may be trial versions available, you'll need to pay to unlock the full functionality.
• Limited Batch Processing: The software's batch processing capabilities might be limited compared to higher-end photo editing programs.
• Not Cloud-Based: As a downloadable program, it requires installation on your computer and won't work on other devices unless you transfer the files.

Suitable for Beginners and Occasional Picture Restoration
It is a simple program to fix up old pictures. It's ideal for occasional use or for those who have a small collection of photos that need some TLC.
However, if you:

• Need to restore a large number of photos: Consider software with more robust batch processing capabilities.
• Are a professional photo editor: You might benefit from a more advanced photo editing program that offers a wider range of restoration tools.
• Prefer a cloud-based solution: Explore online services that can be accessed from any device.

It is a user-friendly option for beginners, but there are other tools available to suit more advanced users or those with larger photo restoration projects.

As a professional photographer and software expert, I prioritize software with robust dust and scratch removal algorithms, precise control over editing tools, and compatibility with various image formats. The software should offer both automatic and manual restoration options, allowing for flexibility in addressing different levels of damage. Additionally, a user-friendly interface and efficient performance are crucial factors in selecting a reliable dust and scratch removal tool.

Paul

Features

After removing scratches, stains, date stamps, etc., you can also use the editing program to process your image.

Image Correction

No photo can be restored entirely without slight brightness, contrast, and white balance adjustments.
Clicking on the Image Correction option in the toolbar will give you different lighting adjustments like contrast, tint, gamma, and temperature.
You will not have to open any other software to get the perfect exposure!
There is also an Auto Correction button, where the program adjusts the parameters to give you the correct exposure and white balance.

Colourize Option

Photo Retoucher also comes with an automatic colorize option. You can find this option under the list of tools on top.
No matter the black-and-white image, the program will analyze the areas and fill them with different colors. Adding colors to a faded photo will bring it back to life!

Manual Cleaning Tools

Some areas may not be removed in one go with highly damaged images. In such cases, you can try using the following three options for restoration, which offer more control over how the spot will be removed:

Clone Stamp Tool

Clone stamp features are a boon for photographers because they let you replicate a part of the image over another part. You can duplicate a flower or bokeh in your photo or cover up any damaged area with a clean one.
Photo Retoucher has a Clone stamp tool in its toolbar. You can manually choose the area used to cover the scratch or stain.

How to use clone stamp:

1. After opening the photo, select the Clone Stamp icon from the toolbar. Your mouse pointer will now look like a cross.
2. Now you have to select the good area – which will be cloned and used to cover up whatever part of the photo you wish. Before making this selection, do not forget to adjust the brush size. You must increase the brush size if you want to clone a large area, like some seashells in your beach photo.
3. While holding down the Alt button, left-click on the mouse and brush over the area. For restoring an old photo, you must select a clean area that matches the background of the damaged area.
4. Once you are done cloning, you need to stamp that over the bad part of the image. Release the Alt key, right-click with your mouse, and start moving over the bad part.
5. As you click and paint, you will see that the selected area is replicated over the image's bad area.

This method is very effective for cleaning minor scratches which have damaged different parts of the image. By selecting other areas to clone – as per the background color – you can cover up the scratch in small steps!

The clone tool, as it is known in Adobe Photoshop, Inkscape, GIMP, and Corel PhotoPaint, is used in digital image editing to replace information for one part of a picture with information from another part. In other image editing software, its equivalent is sometimes called a rubber stamp tool or a clone brush.

Wikipedia

Smudge Tool

As the name suggests, you can use the Smudge tool to blend and blur a part of the image with it's surrounding.
By simply clicking on the affected area, you can blend the spot into the background and make it less visible.