Old family photographs hold a special place in our hearts. They remind us of cherished memories, loved ones, and moments that have shaped our lives. However, over time, these photos might become damaged and faded. Thankfully, with a little effort and some simple techniques, you can breathe new life into these precious memories.
In this article, we’ll share 5 useful tips to restore old pictures. But these are going to be general tips. For more details, check out this guide on how to make old photos look new. Below, we’ll show you the process using PhotoGlory. This is an AI-powered restoration program designed to be accessible to users of any level of skill. So, you’ll be able to make your old pictures look new regardless of your previous experience. Now, let’s get started.
When you look at an old photo, you might notice some unwanted borders or distractions that take away from the main subject. By cropping your photo, you can focus on what truly matters in the image and enhance the overall composition.
PhotoGlory lets you crop images with a free aspect ratio or by using some common options like 1:1 and 16:9. In this software, you can also fix lens distortions that old cameras used to create in photos.
Your family pictures might have different kinds of defects - this could be scratches, stains, creases, or even water damage. Repairing an old photo is a breeze in PhotoGlory as it has an automatic tool for this. Just hit the Restore Old Photo button and see how the program gets rid of the defects. But you can also do it manually if you prefer so. There are such useful tools as Healing Brush, Patch, and Clone Stamp.
It’s important to zoom in and take your time with this part to make sure the repairs look seamless. When done right, these corrections can make the photo appear as though it was never damaged in the first place.
Colorizing images is an important part of making old photos look new. You can convert grayscale pictures to color with the help of an AI tool or colorize them on your own. If your image is originally colorful but it’s faded, you can correct it using HSL sliders and one-click filters. But you need to be careful not to overdo it - you want to restore rather than change the original look of the photo. For a natural look, it’s also recommended to adjust exposure, temperature, and saturation.
Sometimes, old images can appear blurry or pixelated. To enhance the quality, it’s important to know how to make old pictures look new by using sharpening tools. For instance, too much sharpening can create an unnatural look. Instead, aim for a subtle enhancement that adds clarity without compromising the photo's authenticity.
If you plan to print the picture, you should also consider adjusting the resolution. Higher resolution images look better in print as they contain more detail. A good rule of thumb is to keep the resolution at 300 DPI. To adjust this setting, click File and choose Resize and Save. Then enter the desired DPI amount.
After you make old photos look new, it’s crucial to save your images in the right format. Different formats serve different purposes. If you want to share your restored photo online, saving it as a JPEG or PNG is usually the best option. These formats balance quality and file size, so it’s easy to upload and share them. If you are going to make further edits in the future, it’s a good idea to save a copy in a format that retains more information, such as TIFF.
By the way, a good way to preserve your memories is to backup your photos. You can use an external hard drive or cloud storage to keep your family photos safe even if something happens to your computer or mobile device.
This is how to make old photos look new. As you can see, there’s nothing complicated about it, and you can deal with damaged pictures even with zero experience. In this article, you have discovered several essential steps to revive old photos. If you follow the tips and use an intuitive program, you’ll achieve stunning results in mere minutes. Now you can launch the software you prefer and put it all into practice right away.
