Restore Old Photo

Restore an old photo

Repair scratches, creases, fading and water damage on a scan or a phone shot of an old print.

Damage repairedFaces kept intactColour optional

10 credits

Why use Restore Old Photo

Repair scratches, fading and damage on an old print.

Scratches, tears, creases, spotting and water marks — the things that actually happen to a print in a drawer for forty years.

Restoring a family photo is only worth doing if the person still looks like themselves. That constraint drives the whole process.

Yellowed, washed-out and colour-shifted prints get their contrast and tone brought back to something natural.

No scanner needed. Lay the print flat, shoot it in even light, and upload.

1
Scan or photograph the print
Flat, evenly lit, as square-on as you can manage.
2
Restore
Damage is repaired, fading corrected and detail brought back.
3
Save the result
Download it, print it, or send it to the family.

Does it add colour to black-and-white photos?: This tool repairs damage and corrects fading. For adding colour to a monochrome print, use Photo Colorizer — many people run both.
How badly damaged can the photo be?: Scratches, creases and spotting restore very well. Where a face is torn away entirely there is no information to recover, and anything filled in there is a guess.
Do I need a scanner?: No. A phone photo in good, even light works. Avoid direct flash, which reflects off the print surface.
Will it change how someone looks?: Facial features are preserved deliberately. If a result looks off, run it again — outputs vary between passes.
Can I restore several photos?: Yes, one at a time. Each restoration costs one generation.

Your first generation is free.