Do I need to scan low-resolution church photos?

A flat scan is best, but a phone photo of the low-resolution church photo works too; run Photo-of-a-Photo Fixer first to crop and remove glare, then repair the low resolution.

How many credits does a low-resolution church photo take?

The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard restoration of low-resolution church photos. Pro and Max return more detail on the architecture, the vestments and the steps where the low resolution was heavy; see pricing for the current amounts.

Can I colorize the church photo after fixing the low resolution?

Yes. Repair the low-resolution church photo first, then run the Photo Colorizer on the result. Colors are inferred from the era and the materials in the repaired low-resolution church photos, so type any remembered colors into the hints field.

What if the low resolution took part of the church photo away entirely?

Run Missing Parts Filler after Face Restoration and describe the gap the low resolution left in the church photo. It continues the scene, clothing and background of the church photo from what survives; a face fully gone from low-resolution church photos cannot be recovered, only inferred.

Church Photos

Low-Resolution Church Photos

Church photos showing blocky pixels, mushy skin and faces the size of a fingernail that fall apart when enlarged have almost always met a tiny contact print, a wallet photo, a heavy crop or a scan made at 72 dpi years ago. The low resolution sits on top of the image of a congregation on the steps, a robed choir or the church building itself, which is still there underneath.

Nothing in the church photo is redrawn for effect; the low resolution is treated as a layer to remove and the image of a congregation on the steps, a robed choir or the church building itself as the thing to keep. If the low-resolution area covered the architecture, the vestments and the steps, the fill is inferred from what survives around it.

Start with Face Restoration on the low-resolution church photo, then chain Face Restoration or the upscaler in the Studio if the church photos need it. The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard run on low-resolution church photos.

Open with these settings Face Restoration

Low-Resolution Church 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 low-resolution church photo that is the only copy anyone has
The architecture, the vestments and the steps, hidden under the low resolution
Low resolution from a tiny contact print, a wallet photo, a heavy crop or a scan made at 72 dpi years ago, on church photos from the 1890s to 1980s
Small faces of a congregation on the steps, a robed choir or the church building itself that the low resolution has taken the detail from

Suggested order of passes

01
Remove the low resolution
Face Restoration targets blocky pixels, mushy skin and faces the size of a fingernail that fall apart when enlarged while keeping the architecture, the vestments and the steps in the church photo untouched.
Face Restoration
02
Repair the rest of the church photo
Exposure Fixer addresses the usual wear on church photos, dark interiors, stained glass blown to white and a print that hung for years in a damp vestry, once the low resolution is gone.
Exposure Fixer
03
Sharpen the faces of a congregation on the steps, a robed choir or the church building itself
Recovers the eye and skin detail the low resolution softened; keep it at natural strength on church photos unless the faces are tiny.
Face Restoration
04
Upscale the church photo for reprinting
Adds the pixels a wall print needs after the low resolution repair, with the shape of the low-resolution church photos unchanged.
Image Upscaler