Will the people in my service photo still look like themselves?

The prompts instruct the restoration to keep every face, age and expression in a service photo as photographed. Where a face in military photos was tiny or badly blurred the result is a plausible reconstruction, so check it against other photos and family memory before printing.

Can I colorize military photos?

Yes. Run the Photo Colorizer after the repair. Colors on a service photo are inferred from the era and the materials, so if anyone remembers a dress or a car color, type it into the known-colors field.

What does restoring a service photo cost?

One Standard run of any tool on military photos is covered by the 4 free credits a new account starts with. Pro and Max use more credits and return more detail on a service photo; the pricing page has the current numbers.

Do I need a scanner for military photos?

No. A phone photo of the service photo works; run Photo-of-a-Photo Fixer first to crop, straighten and remove glare, then restore the result.

Subjects

Restore old military photos

A service photo carries a serviceman or servicewoman in uniform, often taken just before deployment, and the copy in the shoebox is often the only one there is. Prints of military photos from the 1860s to 1970s typically show foxing from a footlocker, folds from a shirt pocket and rank insignia faded into the cloth.

The AI-powered restoration works on a scan or a phone photo of the service photo and returns the repaired image in seconds, keeping the insignia, ribbons, unit patches and cap badge as they were photographed. Nothing in military photos is redrawn for effect; the tools repair the damage and leave the rest alone.

For most military photos the order is damage first, faces second, upscale last, and each step in the Studio takes the previous result as its input. The first Standard service photo restoration is covered by the 4 free credits every new account starts with.

Open with these settings Face Restoration

Restore old military 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

Color casts on military photos from the 1860s to 1970s that hide the real skin tones
The insignia, ribbons, unit patches and cap badge, which must stay as photographed while the damage is repaired
One surviving service photo that every relative wants a clean copy of
Military photos scanned years ago at low resolution and never reprinted

Suggested order of passes

01
Run Face Restoration on the service photo
The first pass for military photos: it takes on foxing from a footlocker, folds from a shirt pocket and rank insignia faded into the cloth while keeping the insignia, ribbons, unit patches and cap badge as photographed.
Face Restoration
02
Repair what the first pass left on the service photo
Photo Restoration picks up the remaining marks on military photos without touching the tone or grain elsewhere.
Photo Restoration
03
Sharpen the faces of a serviceman or servicewoman in uniform, often taken just before deployment
Recovers eye and skin detail in military photos; keep it at natural strength unless the faces are tiny.
Face Restoration
04
Upscale the service photo for reprinting
Adds the pixels a framed print or enlargement of military photos needs, with the shape of the upload unchanged.
Image Upscaler