Restore an Old Black and White Portrait

How it works

1. 1

   Scan the portrait at the best quality you can

   A flatbed scan at high resolution beats a phone photo for a portrait, because faces need the strongest source you can give them. If you are photographing it, lay the print flat in even daylight with no glare — JPG, PNG, or WebP up to 7MB.

   Expect: Dust, specks, and flat contrast clean up reliably. Soft focus improves but is limited by what the original captured — a face that was never sharp will be reconstructed, not recovered.
2. 2

   Describe the repair and say to keep it black and white

   Type what needs fixing: 'restore this old black and white portrait — remove the dust specks and scratches, bring back the faded contrast, and keep it black and white.' That last clause is what stops the result coming back colorized.

   Tip: Name the specific faults you can see — 'white specks', 'flat grey contrast', 'soft focus' — rather than asking to 'restore' in the abstract.

   Copy one of these to get started:

   General clean-up restore this old black and white portrait — remove the dust specks and scratches and bring back the faded contrast, keeping the photo black and white

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   Soft or blurry focus sharpen the soft focus in this old black and white portrait and restore crisp detail in the face and clothing without colorizing it

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   Flat, washed-out greys restore the contrast in this faded black and white portrait so the blacks are deep and the whites are clean, keeping it monochrome

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   Dust and white specks remove the dust specks and white spots from this old black and white photograph without softening the face

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   3 more prompts

   Faded edges and border restore the faded edges of this old black and white portrait and even out the tone across the whole print

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   Group or family portrait restore this old black and white family portrait — clean up the damage and sharpen every face, keeping the photo black and white

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   Full monochrome restoration fully restore this old black and white portrait — remove dust and scratches, recover contrast, and sharpen detail while keeping the original film grain and monochrome tones

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3. 3

   Check the face first

   Zoom into the eyes, mouth, and hairline before anything else. A restored portrait lives or dies on whether the likeness still reads as the same person, and those are the areas where a reconstruction shows.

4. 4

   Refine with a marker if needed

   If one spot still shows damage — a scratch across a collar, a mark on the backdrop — tap a marker there and describe what should be there instead. Markers are optional and meant for touch-ups, not the main pass.