How to Fix Blurry, Faded, or Damaged Old Photos

Old prints age in predictable ways: they fade, they crack, they blur. The good news is that each problem now has a fix that takes seconds rather than hours of manual retouching.

1. Fix blurry photos

Blur usually comes from a soft original lens, a bad scan, or low resolution. Modern face restoration and super-resolution models rebuild detail that looks real, especially on faces. Upscale to at least 2–4× for a print-worthy result.

2. Restore faded color and contrast

Prints lose punch over decades. Tone correction restores contrast and color balance. If the photo is black-and-white, consider colorizing it for an even stronger revival.

3. Repair scratches, creases and spots

Creases and dust scans leave lines and specks. A median-filter style repair pass removes them without smearing detail — then tone is renormalized so the fix is invisible. This is the step that turns "damaged" into "preserved."

A simple workflow

1. Scan at 300 DPI or photograph flat, in even light.
2. Open OldPhoto and enable Colorize + Upscale + Face + Scratch repair together.
3. Use the Before/After slider to confirm each fix.
4. Download the cleaned version and back it up (see preserving family photos).

Always keep your original scan. Restoration should produce a new copy — never overwrite the only digital version you have.

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