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Fix & Restore Photos

Repair damage, restore old memories, and bring photos back to life with AI.

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How AI Photo Repair Works

Traditional photo repair means hours in Photoshop with the healing brush, clone stamp, and curves adjustments. You need to understand layers, masks, and color theory just to fix a blurry birthday photo. AI-powered repair works fundamentally differently — and produces results that used to require professional retouching skills. With EditThisPic, you describe what needs fixing in plain language. The AI analyzes the entire image to understand what went wrong — whether it is camera shake causing blur, high ISO introducing grain, physical scratches on a print, or decades of fading washing out colors. It then applies targeted reconstruction specific to that damage type. This matters because different problems need different solutions. Blur requires intelligent sharpening that reconstructs edge detail without amplifying noise. Grain requires denoising that preserves texture. Scratches require inpainting that fills gaps with contextually appropriate content. The AI identifies the damage type automatically and applies the right repair technique. For old photos with multiple issues — fading, scratches, tears, and color shifts all at once — the AI handles everything in a single pass. You can restore an old photo by simply describing all the problems, and the AI addresses each one while maintaining consistency across the entire image.

What You Can Fix

Quality Issues — The most common photo problems are quality-related. Fix blurry photos caused by camera shake, motion blur, or missed focus. Clean up grainy, noisy images from low-light shooting or high ISO settings. Restore detail to pixelated photos that were over-compressed or saved at too low a resolution. Physical Damage — Old prints accumulate damage over decades. Repair scratches and scuffs on the surface, reconstruct torn and ripped sections, and fix water damage, stains, and mold. The AI reconstructs missing areas based on surrounding context, filling in gaps so seamlessly you cannot tell where the damage was. Exposure & Lighting — Rescue shots ruined by bad exposure. Recover blown-out highlights in overexposed photos, reveal shadow detail in underexposed photos, correct uneven lighting, and fix harsh flash that flattens faces. Even backlit silhouettes can be recovered. Color Correction — Fix color casts from mixed lighting, correct white balance errors that make photos look too warm or too cool, and restore natural skin tones that indoor lighting distorted. Old Photo RestorationRestore aged photos with multiple problems at once: yellowing, fading, scratches, and lost detail. Bring back faded photos to their original vibrancy. The AI handles all types of age-related deterioration in a single pass. ColorizationTransform black and white photos into full color with historically accurate tones. Colorize vintage photographs to see old family memories the way they were actually experienced.

Tips for Better Restoration Results

1. Start with the best source possible. If restoring a physical print, scan it at the highest DPI your scanner supports — 300 DPI minimum, 600 DPI preferred. A high-quality scan gives the AI more detail to work with. A phone photo of a print can work but produces inferior results compared to a proper scan. 2. Fix one category of damage at a time. For severely damaged photos, consider multiple passes. Fix structural damage like tears and scratches first, then address fading and color issues on the repaired image. Each pass builds on clean results from the previous one. 3. Be specific about what needs fixing. "Fix this photo" works, but "sharpen the faces, remove the yellow tint, and repair the scratch across the bottom" works better. Naming each problem helps the AI prioritize and allocate effort correctly. 4. Start with structural damage before color. Repair tears, scratches, and missing sections first. Once the image is structurally complete, fix color issues and lighting problems. Color correction on a damaged image often produces uneven results because the AI is compensating for damage artifacts. 5. Check faces at full resolution. Faces are the most important and most difficult element to restore well. After any restoration, zoom in to 100% on all faces to verify the eyes, mouth, and skin look natural. If a face looks slightly off, do a targeted follow-up pass just on that area using a marker. 6. Save intermediate results. After each successful repair pass, save the result before doing additional edits. This gives you a fallback if a subsequent edit introduces artifacts. You can always start the next pass from a known-good state.

Common Use Cases

Restoring Old Family Photos — The most popular use case. That box of photos in the attic — grandparents' wedding portraits, childhood snapshots, military service photos — all suffering from decades of yellowing, fading, and physical damage. Fix old photos and add color to vintage images to preserve family history. Many users restore photos for anniversary celebrations or memorial displays. Fixing Phone Camera Issues — Phone cameras struggle in challenging conditions. Fix motion blur from shaky hands, clean up grainy low-light shots, and correct photos that came out too dark. Perfect for rescuing birthday party shots, sports action photos, and spontaneous moments where you had one chance. Correcting Event & Wedding Photos — Professional photographers get it right most of the time, but venue lighting is unpredictable. Fix harsh flash on dance floor shots, correct white balance under mixed lighting, and rescue underexposed ceremony photos. Essential for wedding photos and graduation photos where reshooting is impossible. Rescuing Low-Light Shots — Restaurant dinners, concerts, evening events — low light produces noisy, grainy images and motion blur. The AI can brighten underexposed photos while removing the grain, recovering detail that looked lost. Professional Photo Preparation — Need a headshot for a job application, speaking engagement, or conference badge? Fix bad lighting, correct color casts, and ensure your photo looks polished without hiring a photographer.

AI Restoration vs Traditional Photo Editing

Manual photo restoration in Photoshop is a skilled craft. A professional retoucher restoring an old family portrait might spend 2–4 hours: carefully cloning texture over scratches, painting in missing sections, adjusting curves for color correction, and rebuilding facial details pixel by pixel. The results can be exceptional — but the skill floor is high and the time investment is significant. AI restoration produces comparable results for the vast majority of repair tasks in seconds. The key differences: Damage Detection — Traditional editing requires you to visually identify every scratch, stain, and defect, then manually address each one. AI scans the entire image and identifies all damage types simultaneously, including subtle problems you might miss. Reconstruction Quality — Photoshop's clone stamp copies nearby pixels, which can create visible repetition patterns. AI reconstruction understands what should be there: it knows what skin looks like, how fabric drapes, how backgrounds should extend. This produces more natural fills, especially for torn sections and large damaged areas. Color Restoration — Manually correcting decades of yellowing and fading requires understanding of color science and careful curves adjustment. AI color correction analyzes what the original colors likely were based on the content (skin, sky, foliage) and restores them automatically. Accessibility — Traditional restoration requires Photoshop ($22/month) and significant skill. AI restoration requires one sentence. Anyone who can describe what is wrong with their photo can fix it. For museum-grade archival restoration of irreplaceable historical photographs, professional manual work still has an edge in precision. For the other 99% of photo repair needs — family photos, personal memories, everyday quality fixes — AI is faster, easier, and produces excellent results.

Quality Fixes

Exposure Fixes

Photo Restoration

Red Eye Removal

Photo Colorization

Example prompts to get started

restore this old photo, fix all damage, scratches, and fading, bring back clear details and natural colors
sharpen this blurry photo, restore clear focus and crisp details throughout the image
remove the grain and noise while preserving natural details and texture
fix the overexposed areas, recover the blown highlights and bring back detail
colorize this black and white photo with realistic, period-appropriate colors
repair the tears and scratches, reconstruct the missing areas to match the rest of the photo
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Frequently Asked Questions About AI Photo Repair

What types of photo damage can AI fix?

Almost any kind: blur, grain, pixelation, scratches, tears, fading, yellowing, water damage, stains, color casts, exposure issues, red-eye, and more. The AI identifies the damage type automatically and applies the right repair technique. For physical damage like scratches and tears, it reconstructs missing areas based on surrounding context. For quality issues like blur and noise, it uses intelligent sharpening and denoising that preserves natural detail. EditThisPic has 100+ specialized fix and restoration tools.

How do I fix a blurry photo?

Upload your blurry photo and describe the problem: 'sharpen this blurry photo and restore clear detail.' The AI analyzes the type of blur — camera shake, motion blur, or missed focus — and applies targeted sharpening. It reconstructs edge detail and texture rather than just increasing contrast like basic sharpening filters. Works for slightly soft images through moderate blur. Extreme blur has limits, but results are usually significantly better than the original.

Can I fix, repair, or restore a photo — what is the difference?

The AI understands all variations. Whether you say 'fix,' 'repair,' 'restore,' 'correct,' 'rescue,' or 'clean up,' it performs the same action: analyzing the damage and reconstructing the image. 'Fix' tends to imply correcting a specific problem (blur, exposure). 'Restore' implies bringing an old or damaged photo back to its original state. 'Repair' implies fixing physical damage. Use whichever feels natural — the AI handles them all.

Can I restore old family photos?

Yes — this is one of the most popular use cases. Upload a scan of your old photo and describe all the issues: 'restore this old photo, fix the yellowing, repair the scratches, and make the faces clear.' The AI handles fading, yellowing, scratches, tears, stains, and lost detail in a single pass. For best results, scan the original print at 300+ DPI rather than taking a phone photo of it.

Can AI colorize black and white photos?

Yes. AI colorization analyzes the image content — skin, sky, foliage, clothing, architecture — and applies contextually appropriate colors. Skin tones, natural elements, and common objects are typically rendered with impressive accuracy. While the AI makes educated guesses (it cannot know the actual original colors), results are visually convincing and historically plausible. You can also guide it: 'colorize this photo, the woman is wearing a blue dress.'

How do I fix a grainy or noisy photo?

Upload the grainy image and say 'remove the grain and noise while preserving natural detail.' The AI distinguishes between noise (random speckles from high ISO or low light) and actual detail (texture, edges, fine features). It removes the noise while keeping the detail, producing a clean image that does not look over-smoothed or plastic. Works especially well for phone photos taken in dim restaurants, concerts, and evening events.

Can I fix overexposed or underexposed photos?

Yes. For overexposed (too bright, washed out) photos, the AI recovers detail in blown-out highlights and restores natural contrast. For underexposed (too dark) photos, it reveals shadow detail and brightens the image while maintaining natural color balance. Even backlit silhouette photos where faces are in shadow can be significantly improved.

Will fixing my photo change important details?

Quality fixes like sharpening, noise reduction, and exposure correction preserve original content while improving technical quality. The AI enhances what is already there rather than inventing new content. For physical damage repair (tears, scratches, missing sections), the AI does reconstruct missing areas, which involves intelligent guessing based on context. Results are typically very accurate, but for irreplaceable historical photos, review closely and save originals.

What is the difference between fixing and enhancing a photo?

Fixing addresses specific problems: blur, grain, damage, exposure errors. The goal is to correct what went wrong. Enhancing improves overall quality even when nothing is technically wrong — making good photos look better with improved color, contrast, and sharpness. Many photos benefit from both: fix the problems first, then enhance for the best possible quality.

Is this better than Photoshop for photo repair?

For most everyday repairs, AI produces comparable or better results in seconds versus the hours manual restoration takes in Photoshop. You do not need to learn the healing brush, clone stamp, curves, or layer masks. The AI handles damage detection, texture reconstruction, and color correction automatically. Professional retouchers doing museum-grade archival work may still prefer Photoshop's manual control, but for personal photos, family restoration, and everyday quality fixes, AI repair is dramatically faster and easier.

How do I restore a scratched or torn photo?

Upload a scan of the damaged print and describe the damage: 'repair the scratches and tears, reconstruct any missing areas.' The AI identifies the damaged regions and fills them in based on surrounding context. For scratches, it removes the marks and restores the underlying image. For tears with missing sections, it reconstructs what should be there — background textures, clothing patterns, even facial features.

Can I fix a photo of a photo or a screenshot?

Yes, but results depend on source quality. A sharp, well-lit scan of an original print works best. A phone photo of a print can work but introduces its own blur, glare, and perspective distortion. Screenshots and heavily compressed images have limited recoverable detail. When possible, scan the original at high DPI or work from the highest quality version available.

Do I need to download an app?

No. EditThisPic works entirely in your browser — no app download, no software installation. It works on any device: desktop, tablet, or phone. Just open the website, upload your photo, and start fixing. Your photos are processed securely and not stored after editing.

Is it really free?

Yes. You get free edits every week with no signup required. There are no hidden fees, no watermarks on your results, and no account needed to start. Power users who need more edits can purchase credit packs or a subscription.

Do I need to create an account?

No. You can start fixing photos immediately — no signup, no email, no password. Creating an optional account lets you save your editing history and purchase additional credits, but it is not required for basic use.

How is this different from other AI photo fixers?

Most AI photo tools offer a single function — sharpening OR denoising OR colorization. EditThisPic handles every type of photo repair with one tool. Describe the problems in your own words and the AI figures out the right combination of techniques. You can fix blur, remove scratches, correct colors, and restore fading all in the same session, no switching between apps.

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