Restore old family photos with AI

AI photo restoration is one of the most genuinely magical things AI does. Take a faded, scratched, black-and-white photo of your grandparents from 1955, and 30 seconds later you have a clean, sharp, sometimes colorized version. Free tools work for most family photos. The result can be the kind of thing you cry seeing for the first time.

Step 1: Get the old photo into digital form

Option A: Use Google PhotoScan (best for one-by-one)

1. Install Google PhotoScan from App Store or Play Store.
2. Open the app. Point your phone at the photo.
3. Follow the dots that appear on screen (4 dots around the photo).
4. The app captures and stitches a clean version, removing glare.
5. Save to your phone's photo library.

Option B: Use a flatbed scanner (best for many photos)

• Cheap flatbed scanners: Epson V39 (~$100), Canon LiDE 300 (~$80).
• Scan at 600 DPI for old photos (sharper than the original print).
• Save as TIFF or high-quality JPEG.

Option C: Pay a service

• Local photo shops (Walgreens, Costco, professional shops) scan for $0.10 to $0.50 per photo.
• Mail-in services like ScanMyPhotos: cheap and bulk-friendly.
• iMemories: ship them your photos and slides, get back digital files.

Step 2: Restore with AI (free options)

Remini (mobile and web)

The most user-friendly option. Generous free trial.

1. Download Remini app (or go to app.remini.ai).
2. Tap Enhance Photo.
3. Upload your scanned photo.
4. Wait 10 to 30 seconds. Tap Save.

Best for: faded photos, blurry faces, low resolution. Watermark removed with paid version.

MyHeritage Photo Tools

Free with a MyHeritage account (no need to subscribe to their genealogy service).

1. Go to myheritage.com/photo-tools.
2. Sign up free.
3. Upload a photo. Choose Enhance, Colorize, or Animate.
4. Download the result.

Best for: colorizing black-and-white photos. The free tier allows a handful of free enhancements; after that, paid.

Google Photos

If you have a Google account:

1. Upload the scanned photo to Google Photos.
2. Open the photo. Tap Edit.
3. Use Unblur (sharpens faces).
4. Use Magic Eraser (removes scratches or unwanted objects).
5. Use Color Pop (boosts faded color).

Free for everyone with a Google account.

Adobe Photoshop Express (free)

• Web version free at adobe.com/express.
• Includes basic AI enhancements without buying full Photoshop.

ChatGPT + Image Generation

For more specific edits, ask ChatGPT (with image generation):

1. Upload your old photo to ChatGPT.
2. "Generate a restored version of this photo with the scratches removed, faces sharper, and faded colors brought back. Keep the photo composition exactly the same."

Results vary; sometimes excellent, sometimes weird. Best for creative reinterpretations rather than faithful restoration.

Step 3: Restore with AI (paid options for serious work)

Topaz Photo AI ($199 one-time)

The gold standard for serious photo restoration. Desktop software, no subscription.

• Sharpens incredibly well.
• Recovers detail from blurry photos.
• Upscales low-resolution to print-ready.
• Handles batch processing of many photos.

If you have hundreds of family photos to restore, this is worth the money.

Adobe Photoshop Generative Fill (Creative Cloud subscription)

For tricky restorations where you need to manually fix specific parts. Steeper learning curve but extremely powerful.

What AI restoration does well

• Sharpening blurry or out-of-focus faces
• Removing dust, scratches, and small tears
• Boosting faded color
• Increasing resolution (so you can print larger)
• Colorizing black-and-white photos
• Removing yellow or sepia stains
• Cleaning up creases and fold lines

What AI restoration does badly

• Hands and small features get distorted. Check carefully.
• Background sometimes gets "imagined." AI may invent details that aren't real.
• Colorization is a guess. AI does not know what color your grandmother's dress actually was. Treat as artistic interpretation, not historical accuracy.
• Severely damaged photos (large missing pieces) often produce weird artifacts. Hand restoration or skilled human help is needed.
• Glasses, jewelry, watches can come out wrong.

Tips for the best results

• Start with the best scan you can. AI works with what you give it. A bad scan gives bad results.
• Scan at high resolution. 600 DPI for prints, 1200 DPI for 35mm slides.
• Try multiple tools. Run the same photo through 2 or 3 different services. Pick the best result.
• Don't restore over the original. Always keep the original scan untouched. Save restored versions as new files.
• For very important photos: consider professional human restoration. AI is great for the 95% case; the 5% case where every detail matters (wedding portraits, last photos of someone who passed) deserves a human.
• Print and back up. Once you have a beautiful restored photo, print a copy and back up the digital file in multiple places.

Other AI photo magic worth knowing about

Bring photos to life (animate them)

MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia animates old portraits to make them gently smile, blink, and move their head. Can be moving or unsettling depending on your taste. Free with a MyHeritage account.

Remove someone from a photo

Google Photos Magic Eraser, Photoshop's Generative Fill, or the Snapseed app's Healing tool can remove a stranger walking through your shot.

Combine multiple photos

If you have several photos of the same event where someone has their eyes closed in each, Google Photos' "Best Take" can combine them into one photo where everyone looks good.

Generate a missing family photo

You can ask AI image generators to "create a watercolor painting in the style of a 1960s family portrait" if you want art rather than a real photo. Don't pretend it's an actual historical photo.

Storage and sharing what you've restored

• Back up to the cloud: iCloud, Google Photos, OneDrive. All offer free tiers.
• Local backup: external hard drive or thumb drive. See our backup guide.
• Share with family: create a shared Google Photos album or iCloud Shared Album.
• Print: Mpix, Shutterfly, or local photo shops produce excellent prints.
• Make a family photo book: Mixbook or Shutterfly's book service. Restored photos look amazing in print.

A weekend project: restore an heirloom box

1. Pull out an old box of photos.
2. Scan 20 to 30 of the best with PhotoScan or a flatbed.
3. Run each through Remini or MyHeritage.
4. Save originals and restored versions in two folders.
5. Share the best with family. Watch the reactions.
6. Make a small photo book of the highlights.

5 things to try first

1. Find one photo from before 1980 in your collection. Scan it.
2. Upload to Remini. See the restoration.
3. Try the same photo in MyHeritage with colorization.
4. Compare. Pick which version you prefer.
5. Share it with the family member it's of (if they're still alive) or with siblings.

Video walkthrough

Video by AlfredTech on YouTube