Everygen
Old photo restoration should begin with a preserved source and a limited repair brief. Clean up visible damage, compare recognizable details and keep colorization as a separate interpretation. Use a supported image enhancement workflow for a draft, then inspect the output beside the untouched scan. A sharper face is not evidence that missing detail has been recovered accurately. This guide helps you specify repairs, identify changes worth rejecting and keep an honest record of what the edited image represents.
Prepare a clean scan and keep it untouched
Use the best available scan or photograph of the print, with even lighting and the whole image visible. Avoid applying heavy sharpening or a stylized filter before evaluating the damage. Save an untouched copy under a clear name. Note scratches, tears, dust, faded areas and missing edges separately. A written damage map makes it easier to see whether the next version repaired the requested problem or quietly changed the photograph itself.
Ask for limited repairs instead of a new portrait
Example instruction: “Clean visible dust and fine scratches in this scanned photograph. Reduce uneven fading while preserving the original face shape, expression, clothing, background arrangement and photographic grain. Keep the image monochrome. Do not modernize the scene or add new objects.” Adapt the request to the actual damage. Begin with cleanup rather than asking for perfect detail everywhere. If a localized edit is supported, use it for a specific repair instead of transforming the entire image.
Compare identity and scene details at useful zoom
Place the source and the edited file side by side. Compare eyes, mouth, jawline, hairstyle, clothing folds and background shapes. Watch for a smile that changes, an invented badge, a window that moves or skin that loses all texture. Inspect both the full image and important crops. A repair can be acceptable at normal viewing size yet misleading in a face close-up. Keep a change only if it serves the preservation brief.
Review colorization as an interpretation
Make a monochrome repair before a color version so the two decisions remain separate. If reliable color references exist, name them and compare the result to them. Without those references, clothing, skin tones and environmental colors are inferred. Label the colorized file accordingly. Do not use a plausible color choice as historical evidence. If colorization causes new facial or costume changes, return to the approved monochrome version and narrow the next instruction.
Archive source, cleanup and alternate versions
Keep distinct files for the untouched scan, the accepted cleanup and any colorized interpretation. Record the repair brief and the visible changes you accepted. Save a useful master before creating smaller sharing copies with the resize tool or compression tool. Reopening a compressed copy can make later inspection harder. A simple version record lets family members or later reviewers understand which details came from the original and which came from editing.
Photo restoration acceptance check
Check whether the requested damage is reduced, the person still looks like the source and the environment has not been redesigned. Reject invented features that cannot be confirmed. Retain grain and softness where they belong to the photograph. Read filenames and notes before sharing so a colorized or reconstructed version is not mistaken for the untouched image.
For a composition that needs a different crop, use the crop tool on a copy. For export formats and clear backgrounds, the transparent PNG guide explains a separate file property. Finishing a file should not replace comparing the edited content against its source.
