Will the repaired sun-bleached photo look retouched?

The prompts ask for a real photographic print of its era, with grain and natural tonality, so the sun bleaching repair should read as the same photograph in better condition. Heavily rebuilt areas of a sun-bleached print are inferred, so look them over before printing.

Which tool do I use for sun bleaching?

Faded Photo Fixer first. If the sun-bleached print also has fading, blur or small faces, chain Faded Photo Fixer, Unblur Old Photos or Face Restoration in the Studio on the result.

How much does fixing a sun-bleached photo cost?

A new account has 4 free credits, enough for one Standard run on a sun-bleached print. Pro and Max use more credits and recover more texture under the sun bleaching; the pricing page has the current numbers.

Can I colorize a photo after repairing the sun bleaching?

Yes, and the order matters: repair the sun-bleached print first, then colorize the clean result so the inferred colors are not confused by a washed-out image with almost no contrast, sometimes with a darker stripe where the mat protected it.

Damage

Fix sun-bleached photos

Sun bleaching is one of the most common reasons a print reaches this site, and the cause is usually a frame on a sunny wall or a windowsill, where ultraviolet light broke the dyes down year after year. Look closely at a sun-bleached print and you will see a washed-out image with almost no contrast, sometimes with a darker stripe where the mat protected it.

The AI-powered repair for sun-bleached photographs treats a washed-out image with almost no contrast, sometimes with a darker stripe where the mat protected it as something to remove, not something to paint over. Faces the sun bleaching destroyed come back as plausible reconstructions, so compare them with other photographs of the same people.

Below are the subjects people most often bring in sun-bleached: each page describes what sun bleaching does to that kind of print and the order of tools to run. The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard pass at sun bleaching.

Open with these settings Faded Photo Fixer

Fix sun-bleached photos, the original print

OriginalRestored

Original on the left, restored on the right; hover to see more of the repair. Made in the Studio from a scan of the print.

What matters for these photos

A washed-out image with almost no contrast, sometimes with a darker stripe where the mat protected it
Sun bleaching caused by a frame on a sunny wall or a windowsill, where ultraviolet light broke the dyes down year after year
Faces and clothing under the sun bleaching that need rebuilding from what survives
Sun-bleached prints that are the only copy in the family

Suggested order of passes

01
Remove the sun bleaching
Faded Photo Fixer is written for a washed-out image with almost no contrast, sometimes with a darker stripe where the mat protected it and rebuilds the area beneath from the surrounding image.
Faded Photo Fixer
02
Run a full restoration on the sun-bleached print
Picks up the fading, scratches and softness that usually travel with sun bleaching.
Photo Restoration
03
Restore the faces
Recovers eye and skin detail where the sun bleaching had softened it; use strong only for tiny faces.
Face Restoration
04
Upscale for reprinting
Adds the pixels a reprint of the sun-bleached photo needs, with the shape of the upload unchanged.
Image Upscaler