Photo albums are one of the treasures in almost every family because the pictures inside carry the most precious memories of the past. However, they would inevitably deteriorate as time passes by.
Have you ever noticed that those photos are getting obscure?
Are you looking for ways to remove scratches, tears, and spots on the old photos?
If yes, you are lucky to find this passage. Next, we are going to introduce what causes those flaws and how to repair old photos.
Common Reasons That Damage Photos
Before learning about photo repair, you are supposed to know why old photos deteriorate, so you will how to better preserve them. They could be damaged in many ways, either due to environmental or equipment problems.
Damage to storage media
The photo might fail to present clearly due to accidental shutdown or crush, malware and computer viruses, and incompatible file format. In this case, it is suggested to fix the vulnerabilities or not to scan photos with unknown software.
Creases & scratches
These damages usually result from improper methods of preservation. You might randomly put it in the cluttered drawer instead of laying it flat between books/albums or frame it. The old photos are creased as you rummage around the drawer.
- Heat
High temperature accelerates the degrading, no matter for photos with lamination or not. Kitchens, attics or basements are unfavorable places for photo storage because of fluctuating temperatures.
- Humidity
Water is a common cause of photo deterioration. Moist adds to the risk of color fading or rotting.
- Handprints
People’s skin would secrete oil. Each time you finger through the photos, the oil and handprints left behind might gradually stain the photos.
How to Repair old photos?
There are a wide range of ways for photo repair, depending on the damage conditions. This guide involves old photo repair online or with desktop applications, manually or automatically. To begin with, it is recommended to convert photos into digital forms with a scanner/printer. Compared with retaking the photo with cameras, scanning is a better way to reconstruct the original look of the old photo.
Photoshop
Photoshop, as a powerful graphic designing tool, offers a variety of editing techniques to repair old photos by following up the steps below.
- Import old photos and create a new layer.
Open the scanned pictures in Photoshop and it would be the background layer. Create a new layer for each step through “Layer＞Create” in the top menu bar. All adjustments are conducted in separate layers, so the original image would not be altered.
- Download the photo restoration filter
The filter is available in “Filter › Neural Filters”. It helps to improve clarity. The slider is used to adjust the intensity of the filter. Tune it to reduce scratches and enhance photos.
- Fix scratches, tears, and spots
If there are some flaws that the filter fails to restore, you have to repair them manually. Go to the toolbar on the left. Choose “Spot Healing Brush” and tap over the spots that you want to cover. For large areas of scratches and tears, use “Clone Stamp tool” to heal them. It is suggested to use small brush tips to repair photos bit by bit. Small strokes instead of giant areas of painting makes it look more natural.
- Export your restored photo.
After restoring all blemishes, the old photo looks like a new one. Now you can “save it as” any file format you want.
AVCLabs Photo Enhancer AI
While using Photoshop, you have to judge the restoration effects on your own and spend lots of time dabbing over damaged areas bit by bit. AVCLabs Photo Enhancer AI can repair old photos with just a few clicks. There are different versions for Windows or Mac. Please download and install it according to your system.
- Enhance the photo
Upload old photos and choose the “object selection too” on the left-side toolbar. Wait for a few seconds. Place the cursor on the person and you will see it is outlined with blue curve. Click the “Enhance” feature on the top. This process aims to increase sharpness and clarity.
- Restore the photo
Choose the “brush tool” on the left-side toolbar and paint over the scratches and tears. Adjust the size of brush tips through sliders at the bottom. The size should be about the width of the scratch, so the brush could cover it exactly. The more precise area you choose, the better repairing effect it will make. Click the “Enhance” feature on the top and you will see the scratches disappear.
- Save the photo
If you are satisfied with the old photo repair results, export it and save it. Moreover, AVCLabs Photo Enhancer AI allows you to process a large number of photos by clicking the “+” at the upper-left corner to add more images.
AiPassportPhotos
The photo repair tools mentioned above require download and installation. If you find it too complicated or take up too much space in your device, you can choose to repair old photos online. AiPassportPhotos completes the restoration by fixing spots and scratches, enhancing and colorizing with one click.
- Upload photo
Once choosing “AI Restore” function and uploading the photo, the tool would automatically start working without any manual selection or retouching. The preset algorithms will bring out the best effects.
- Preview and download photos
After the restoration finishes, you can preview the final results and click “Get the photo now” to download the photo. It takes only a few seconds to deal with one picture, so it would be quite efficient if you have a large number of damaged old photos to fix.
Summary
Modern technology makes it possible to keep our memory fresh by turning old photo to new photo. There is a lot we can do to extend the life of old pictures, such as preserving them in a cool and dry place, digitalizing and save in computers or repairing them in time. If they have been damaged already, don’t get frustrated. We hope you can learn useful tips for photo repair. In general, Photoshop, as a professional and multifunctional editing tool, is most suitable for experienced and patient users. AVCLabs Photo Enhancer AI, as a combination of manual and automatic application, is suitable for batch processing. AiPassportPhotos, as on photo repair online tool, is the fastest and easiest to use. Just choose what you need according to your budget, workload and skills.
Erin Lo