Assess the condition of the photograph that you want to restore. In some cases, you can fix imperfections on vintage or antique photographs by hand-spotting with a spotting brush and proper spotting dyes and inks. If the paper is too fragile to take dyes, do not attempt to spot by hand. If the imperfections are minor and the photographic paper is strong, hand spotting is an excellent way to preserve the original print.
Prepare the photograph by placing it on a flat, clean surface. Wear cotton gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints on the photo. Carefully brush the surface of the print with a soft cotton cloth to clean it.
Place a very small amount of spotting dye or ink into an ink basin. Pick up a small amount of dye with your spotting brush and blot the brush on a piece of tissue or newspaper so it does not run. Dab the brush lightly over the white spot or crack on the photograph that you want to repair. Do not attempt to cover a large area with the brush. Use a light touch over a small area.
Let the ink dry completely, then examine the photograph again. Spotting ink appears lighter when dry. It may take several sessions to spot the imperfections on the photo so they appear seamless.
Place the photo carefully in a high-quality scanner if it is too fragile to retouch by hand. You can fix imperfections on the photo digitally by scanning the photo and using Photoshop tools to correct the flaws. Scan the photo at the highest possible resolution and save it in TIFF format.
Open the digital copy in Photoshop (CS3 or higher). Examine the photograph carefully at 100 percent resolution. Find the area with the imperfection that you want to repair. Choose the spot healing brush tool from the main menu (to the left). Adjust the size and texture of the spot healing brush by clicking on the drop-down menu and sliding the arrows back and forth.
Move the spot healing brush over the area to be repaired and click once. Keep clicking until the imperfection becomes invisible. If the result is not what you expected, go to the history palette (to the right) and click on "Previous step" to return the photo to its previous state. Continue until all spots and defects have been blended.