How to restore old photos without rewriting history
Short answer: scan the print at 600 dpi or more, mark only the visible damage, repair conservatively, and check every changed area against the original before saving. Never let software invent faces or details that no longer survive.
1. Scan it well — most detail is won here
- Clean the scanner glass; lay the print flat. Don't flatten curled prints by force.
- 600 dpi for postcards and cabinet cards, 1200 dpi for small snapshots or tintypes.
- Turn off auto-colour, sharpening and dust removal — they destroy original grain.
- Keep the untouched scan forever. It is your evidence.
2. Know what can — and can't — be repaired
Repairable: scratches, dust, foxing, silvering, creases, light stains, fading and small tears with surviving detail around them.
Not truthfully recoverable: missing faces, torn-away corners with unique content, or detail burned out by light. Any tool that "fills these in" is guessing. A faithful restoration leaves them visibly unresolved.
3. Restore conservatively
In Heirloom Restore, paint over the damage with the brush, choose Surface repair, and keep intensity low (1–2) for first attempts. Unmarked pixels are kept from your original whenever the sizes match.
4. Inspect before you save
Open the review map: red marks strong changes where original detail is uncertain. Go through each close-up, compare it with the original at full resolution, and only then download.
5. Keep the provenance
Every PNG and JPEG export embeds a record — the original's SHA-256 fingerprint, the settings used and what was requested — so future generations know what is original and what was repaired.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best way to scan an old photograph for restoration?
- Scan the print flat at 600 dpi or more (1200 dpi for small prints), in colour even for black-and-white photos, with no auto-enhancement. Keep the full edges visible and save as PNG or high-quality JPEG.
- Can a torn or creased photo be restored?
- Yes. Creases, small tears, scratches, dust and fading are surface damage and can be repaired from surrounding evidence. Large missing pieces can't be recovered truthfully; a faithful restoration leaves them visibly unresolved.
- Will AI change my ancestors' faces?
- Generic AI enhancers often do. A faithful approach protects faces: mark only the damage, keep unmarked pixels from the original, and inspect every strongly changed area side by side before saving.
- Should I colorize an old black-and-white photograph?
- Colorization is an interpretation, not restoration — the original colours are unknown. Keep the original monochrome tone for an archival copy, and label any colorized version as such.
- How should I store the original after restoring it?
- Keep the physical print in an acid-free sleeve away from light and humidity, and keep the untouched scan alongside the restored file. Heirloom Restore embeds a record with the original's SHA-256 fingerprint in every download.
Start restoring a photograph → · See plans (1 free restoration a month)