Portrait Restoration of Tahirih Khanum

Tahirih Khanum was a prominent member of the early Baha'i community in Tehran, active during the early 20th century. Dedicated to women's education, she played a key role in founding some of Iran's first modern schools for girls, such as the Tarbiat School.

While compiling these historical archives, author Mr. Bijan Masumian commissioned me to restore these vintage photographs. The goal was to ensure high-fidelity visual results for printing, maintaining facial accuracy while recapturing the original character and elegance of the subjects.

This case involves a portrait of significant historical importance. Extracted from a newspaper print circa 1900–1910, the image suffered from severe dot gain and detail blurring due to the limitations of the printing medium. Facial features lacked definition; critical expressive areas such as the eyes, eyelashes, and the corners of the mouth had completely lost their structure. Furthermore, the narrow dynamic range resulted in harsh lighting transitions and a lack of three-dimensionality.

Texture Reconstruction:
Applied smoothing filters to eliminate halftone patterns and reintroduced subtle skin micro-textures, giving the face a realistic biological feel rather than a rigid "plastic" appearance.

Sharpness Enhancement:
Precisely reconstructed the eye contours, pupillary highlights, and the edges of the hand joints, significantly enhancing the subject's spiritual presence and vitality.

Lighting Equalization:
Simulated a studio-style soft lighting effect by deepening background shadows and brightening facial highlights, thereby increasing the portrait's depth and dimensionality.

Hair Detail Restoration:
Focused on restoring the flow of the curls across the forehead and the tresses at the back, transforming what was once a blurred mass of shadow into distinct, realistic strands of hair.