Decades
Restore photos from the 1950s
The 1950s put Kodacolor and Ektacolor prints in family hands, made slide evenings with Kodachrome a ritual, and kept square black-and-white snapshots with scalloped edges going. The common formats of the 1950s were Kodacolor prints, Kodachrome slides and scalloped-edge black-and-white snapshots.
Early 1950s Kodacolor prints have faded to orange or lost their cyan dye almost completely, while black-and-white from the decade survives well. Scan 1950s prints once at a high resolution, by the edges, and let the restoration work on the copy.
Faded Photo Fixer is the usual first tool for a 1950s print, then Face Restoration and the upscaler in the Studio if it is going into a frame. The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard restoration of a 1950s photo.
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.
Print and file requirements
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dominant process | Kodacolor and Ektacolor negative film; Kodachrome slides; gelatin silver |
| Common formats | Kodacolor print, Kodachrome slide, scalloped-edge snapshot |
| Color | Color arrives for families; early Kodacolor prints unstable |
| Cameras | Brownie Hawkeye, Kodak Signet 35, Duaflex |
| Typical size | 3.5 x 3.5 in square print; 2 x 2 in slide mount |
| Typical condition today | Kodacolor faded to orange, cyan gone, black-and-white intact |
What matters for these photos
- Kodacolor faded to orange, cyan gone, black-and-white intact on 1950s prints
- Faces in 1950s group and studio photos that are too small to enlarge
- 1950s colors that have drifted away from what the family remembers
- A single 1950s print that is the family's only copy, with no negative to go back to
Suggested order of passes
- 01
Run Faded Photo Fixer on the 1950s scan
Targets the most common failure of 1950s prints: kodacolor faded to orange, cyan gone, black-and-white intact.
Faded Photo Fixer - 02
Repair the marks left on the 1950s print
A second pass for the scratches, creases and fading that 1950s prints usually carry together.
Photo Restoration - 03
Restore the faces
1950s faces are often small; natural strength keeps them soft and believable, strong rebuilds tiny ones.
Face Restoration - 04
Upscale for reprinting
3.5 x 3.5 in square print; 2 x 2 in slide mount is small for a frame; the upscaler adds the pixels with the 1950s shape unchanged.
Image Upscaler
Questions
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