Guide
AI Photo Restoration
How to restore an old or damaged photo — free steps that help today.
Improve an old photo now
Scan or photograph the print as sharply as you can, then run it through AI Image Enhancer to rebalance faded contrast and colour, and AI Upscaler to bring back size and sharpness lost to age and low-resolution scanning.
This won't repair scratches or torn areas — that's what the dedicated restoration tool will add — but it noticeably revives most faded, soft, undamaged photos.
Start with AI Image EnhancerHow to Restore an Old or Damaged Photo (Free Options)
Old family photos fade, yellow, pick up scratches and creases, and lose sharpness. Full restoration means repairing physical damage, correcting colour, and recovering detail — and the hardest part, repairing scratches and missing patches, needs a model trained specifically for it.
A one-click AI Photo Restoration tool is on ConvertBrio's roadmap and depends on a restoration model that isn't on the free tier yet. But several steps that make a real difference to an old scan are available now, for free.
How to use this tool
- 1
Get the best possible scan
Use a flatbed scanner at 600 DPI if you can, or photograph the print flat in bright, even, indirect light with no glare. Everything downstream depends on this.
- 2
Rebalance tone and colour
Run the scan through AI Image Enhancer. It stretches faded contrast back to the full range and lifts washed-out colour automatically.
- 3
Recover size and sharpness
Run the result through AI Upscaler (about 4×) to rebuild resolution lost to a small print or a low-res scan, so it holds up when printed or viewed large.
- 4
For scratches and tears
Use a desktop editor's healing/clone tools for now, or wait for ConvertBrio's dedicated AI Photo Restoration tool.
What each problem needs
- Fading and low contrast — fixed well today by AI Image Enhancer
- Yellow or colour-shifted tone — improved by AI Image Enhancer's auto colour balance
- Softness / small size — improved by AI Upscaler
- Scratches, creases, torn corners, missing areas — needs the dedicated restoration model (in development) or manual retouching
- Black-and-white photo you want colourised — needs a colourisation model (not yet on ConvertBrio)
Why scratch repair is the hard part
Correcting colour and contrast is maths applied evenly across the image. Repairing a scratch means recognising that a white line isn't part of the photo, then reconstructing the face, fabric, or background it runs across — different content in every case. That's a trained inpainting task, which is exactly the capability ConvertBrio's AI Photo Restoration tool will add.
Privacy
AI Image Enhancer and AI Upscaler run on ConvertBrio's own servers with no human review, and delete both the upload and the result within 24 hours. Family photos never go to a third-party service.
Related Tools
AI Photo Restoration — FAQ
Common questions about restoring old and damaged photos.
Can I restore an old photo free on ConvertBrio?
You can meaningfully improve one now: AI Image Enhancer fixes fading and colour, and AI Upscaler restores sharpness and size. A dedicated tool for repairing scratches and tears is in development.
Will this remove scratches and creases?
Not yet — the current tools handle fading, colour, softness, and size. Physical damage repair needs the AI Photo Restoration model that's still being added.
How should I scan an old print for the best result?
A flatbed scanner at 600 DPI is ideal. If you're using a phone, shoot the print flat in bright, even, indirect light with no glare or shadow across it. Scan quality sets the ceiling for everything after.
Can it colourise a black-and-white photo?
Not currently — colourisation needs a separate model that isn't on ConvertBrio yet. The enhancer and upscaler work on black-and-white photos to improve contrast and sharpness.