Do I need to scan scratched wartime photos?

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

How many credits does a scratched wartime photo take?

The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard restoration of scratched wartime photos. Pro and Max return more detail on the uniform, the date on the back and the handwriting where the scratching was heavy; see pricing for the current amounts.

Can I colorize the wartime photo after fixing the scratching?

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

What if the scratching took part of the wartime photo away entirely?

Run Missing Parts Filler after Scratch & Tear Repair and describe the gap the scratching left in the wartime photo. It continues the scene, clothing and background of the wartime photo from what survives; a face fully gone from scratched wartime photos cannot be recovered, only inferred.

Wartime Photos

Scratched Wartime Photos

Scratched wartime photos usually come out of loose storage in a shoebox, a drawer shared with keys and coins, or a print dragged across scanner glass. On a wartime photo the scratching shows as fine white or dark lines across the emulsion, often clustered in one direction, right across a soldier at camp, a sweetheart back home or a family in a bombed street.

Upload a scan or a phone photo of the scratched wartime photo and the AI-powered repair comes back in seconds with the uniform, the date on the back and the handwriting left as they were. Where the scratching covered a face in wartime photos, check the result against family memory before you print it.

If the scratching on the wartime photo is worse than it looks, run Scratch & Tear Repair twice rather than reaching for a heavier setting. Then upscale the scratched wartime photos for a reprint, since the output keeps the shape of the upload.

Open with these settings Scratch & Tear Repair

Scratched Wartime 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 scratched wartime photo needed for a memorial, an anniversary or a reprint
Fine white or dark lines across the emulsion, often clustered in one direction, spread over a wartime photo
A scratched wartime photo that is the only copy anyone has
The uniform, the date on the back and the handwriting, hidden under the scratching

Suggested order of passes

01
Remove the scratching
Scratch & Tear Repair targets fine white or dark lines across the emulsion, often clustered in one direction while keeping the uniform, the date on the back and the handwriting in the wartime photo untouched.
Scratch & Tear Repair
02
Run a full pass on the wartime photo
Picks up the remaining scratches, fading and softness on scratched wartime photos after the scratching is removed.
Photo Restoration
03
Sharpen the faces of a soldier at camp, a sweetheart back home or a family in a bombed street
Recovers the eye and skin detail the scratching softened; keep it at natural strength on wartime photos unless the faces are tiny.
Face Restoration
04
Upscale the wartime photo for reprinting
Adds the pixels a wall print needs after the scratching repair, with the shape of the scratched wartime photos unchanged.
Image Upscaler