Restore a portrait — make that photo clear again
The one photo that matters most — cleaned up, made clear, ready to print and frame
Tap to pick from your library — results in under a minute
For many people the first thing they ever restore is that one photo at home — often the only portrait of someone, often already re-shot several times, edges frayed and colours grey. This kind of photo is different from the rest: looking like them matters far more than looking sharp.
The principle: rather too little than too much
Ordinary restoration aims for a visible improvement. A memorial portrait is the opposite case. Sharpness is easy to add, and the price is that the model quietly nudges features towards the typical — a straighter nose, a more symmetrical face, softer lines. Each change on its own reads as an improvement; together they are no longer them. And that this is them is the entire point of the photograph.
- Features, bearing and expression are never altered — this outranks sharpness absolutely
- Lines, marks and grey hair are part of the person and are kept by default; ask explicitly if you want them softened
- Yellowing, scratches, creases and background clutter are damage to the photo and are handled freely
- No beautification, no skin smoothing, no reshaping — and nobody is made to smile more
- Where it is uncertain, it stays conservative: better a trace of the original than a face you do not recognise
If you want the most cautious pass available, one line in the notes does it: "scratches and yellowing only, leave the face alone". Conversely, if the photo is already too blurred to make out the face, there is a fact to accept — a sharp face coming back from it is partly reconstruction. In that case we suggest running a conservative version first and deciding from there.
Copying an old print: thirty seconds sets the ceiling
If you still have the paper print, the quality of this one step matters more than everything that follows. Shooting at an angle, through glass, or with flash introduces distortion, reflections and glare — and later processing will treat all of that as part of the photograph and amplify it accordingly.
- 1
Take it out of the frame and flatten it
Remove it from the frame or album — shooting through glass always brings reflections and a faint double image. Press a curled print under books for a day or two; only a flat print copies without the edges drifting out of focus.
- 2
Daylight by a window, no flash
Lay it flat on a table near a window, ideally with the light coming from one side, and keep it out of direct sun. Never use flash: photographic paper throws back a white hotspot, and whatever that hotspot covers cannot be recovered.
- 3
Square-on, filling the frame, tap the face to focus
Hold the phone parallel to the photo rather than at an angle, and let the photo fill the viewfinder. Tap the face on screen before shooting so focus lands on the image rather than the sheen of the paper. Bracing your hands against the table edge noticeably reduces shake.
- 4
Upload, and tick only what you actually need
This page deliberately preselects nothing — how far to go is your judgement. A common choice is "scratches and damage" plus "fix yellowing", leaving "sharper" unticked at first; look at the result before deciding whether to add it. Put anything specific in the notes.
Printing: size and keeping it
The end of restoration is a photograph you can hold and put somewhere. For framing, 6 and 8 inch are the usual sizes: 8 inch is fine when the original is sharp, while 6 inch is safer when much of the detail was reconstructed — the same image printed smaller has more pixels per inch and looks more solid. If you are unsure, print a 6-inch first and judge the physical print; it tells you far more than the screen does.
We print with genuine inks on professional photo paper, which holds up in normal storage. Two suggestions for something meant to stay on display: mount with acid-free board so the print is not pressed directly against the glass, and choose a spot out of direct sunlight and away from damp walls. One more thing worth considering — print a second copy for someone else in the family. One photograph sits in one place; two sit in two.
Common questions
I am worried it will not look like them any more.
For this kind of photo, keeping features and expression unchanged takes absolute priority — we would rather do less. Do go through the comparison slider afterwards, particularly the eyes and the corners of the mouth, which is where likeness lives. Run it again if it is not right, or ask for "scratches and yellowing only, leave the face alone" for the most conservative pass available.
I only have a copy that has been re-photographed many times — can it still be restored?
Yes. Repeated copying compounds blur and colour shift, so tick "sharper" and "fix yellowing" together. That said, if the paper print still exists, re-shooting it once will do more good than any algorithm — see the steps above.
Can one person be taken from a group photo and made into a portrait?
Yes, but by cropping rather than erasing. Cropping one person out of a group and then restoring is a clean route; removing the people beside them requires inventing the hidden parts and tends to show. When cropping, leave a little space above the head and keep the shoulders complete.
Should a black-and-white memorial photo be colorized?
It can be, but take your time deciding and do not feel obliged. Some families want to see them in colour; others find black-and-white more fitting. There is no right answer — it is a family decision. If you do colorize, note the colours of the clothing, which is both the easiest thing to get wrong and the easiest for family to spot.
What print size works best?
6 or 8 inch is usual for framing. 8 inch is fine when the original is sharp; 6 inch is safer when much of the detail was reconstructed — the smaller the print, the more solid it looks. For a large piece in a main room, be cautious: enlarging an original that was never sharp only exposes it, so go one size down, or print a 6-inch first to see how it holds up.
Can an ID photo be restored into a portrait?
Yes. Passport-style photos are a common source and are often better preserved than snapshots. Be aware they are usually flat-lit against a plain background, so they can look flat when enlarged — say in the notes if you would rather keep it as it is without added lighting effects.
How long does it take? I need it soon.
Restoration usually completes within a minute. Printing then depends on delivery — same-city pickup and same-day delivery are available; the order page shows what applies to you. If it is urgent, restore it now and download the digital file as a stopgap, then collect the print afterwards.
Is the photo stored, or visible to anyone else?
No. Uploaded photos are used only for your own restoration — not for training, never made public, and the result is visible only to you. The one exception is if you deliberately create a share code to send to family, and then only someone holding that code can open it.