How can I restore old photos?
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How can I restore old photos?
It’s not uncommon for old family photographs to take on wear and tear over the years. A crease here, a rip there—faded details from sunlight after being left in a picture frame by the windowsill. However, no one wants the family history kept in these photos to fade away; and there are few things that bring a smile to someone’s face than showing them restored old family photographs from their youth. If you want to restore the family memories kept in damaged old photos, take a look at this guide that will help you restore your old photos.
How to Restore Old Photos
There are several different options for restoring old photos, but the simplest way for the everyday person to restore them is through computer photo editing programs. There are both free and paid programs that can help you digitally restore old photos, which can then be printed out after they’re restored so you have a “clean” copy.
Scan and Digitally Restore
The first thing you need to do with your old family photographs is scan them. Use a good quality scanner so that the digital file is as high quality as possible, as this will make it easier to restore problems and result in a better looking finished restoration.
Once you scan the file, you’ll need to open up a photo editing program. There are two primary options you’ll want to consider for restoration: Photoshop and Gimp.
Photoshop
Photoshop is a paid program which comes with countless features that can help you restore and edit your family history photos. Photoshop also comes with built-in tools that can help you quickly and easily restore many types of damage, include creases, missing segments of a photo, and even discoloration. If you are looking for a full-service photo editing program that really gets the job done, it may be worth it to buy Photoshop—especially if you plan on restoring lots of photos or you have other uses for a photo editing software program.
Gimp
Gimp is the most advanced free photo editing software around, which has often earned it the nickname “free Photoshop.” Although Gimp doesn’t have quite as many features as Photoshop, it does have a number of features that are ideal for restoring old photos. You can “heal” cracks and creases, revert everything to greyscale to eliminate discoloration, remove spots, and so on. Gimp’s interface can be confusing, but if you’d rather opt for something free, it’s a good option.
Once you have the photos restored, don’t forget to save them! Then you can have them printed out with any photo printing service and share with the rest of the family.
Preserve Original Photos for Future Generations
One last thing: just because an old family photograph is damaged doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be part of your family history. After scanning the photo, preserve it in archival-friendly plastic and tuck it away somewhere safe so that future generations will be able to look at it in the future.
To learn how to make family videos from photos click here.
To learn how to back up your old photos click here.
To learn how to convert old family slides click here.
To learn how to Label Your old photo digital scans by using metadata click here.
To learn which free video editing software is the best click here.