Will the family around the tree, the table or the menorah still look like themselves after the staining is removed?

The prompts keep every face, age and expression in the stained holiday photo as photographed. Where the stained area covered a face, compare the result with other holiday photos and with family memory before you print.

Do I need to scan stained holiday photos?

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

How many credits does a stained holiday photo take?

The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard restoration of stained holiday photos. Pro and Max return more detail on the decorations, the wrapping paper and the tree lights where the staining was heavy; see pricing for the current amounts.

Can I colorize the holiday photo after fixing the staining?

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

Holiday Photos

Stained Holiday Photos

Holiday photos showing brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky have almost always met coffee, ink, adhesive, fingerprints and whatever else was on the kitchen table that day. The staining sits on top of the image of the family around the tree, the table or the menorah, which is still there underneath.

Nothing in the holiday photo is redrawn for effect; the staining is treated as a layer to remove and the image of the family around the tree, the table or the menorah as the thing to keep. If the stained area covered the decorations, the wrapping paper and the tree lights, the fill is inferred from what survives around it.

Start with Stain & Spot Remover on the stained holiday photo, then chain Face Restoration or the upscaler in the Studio if the holiday photos need it. The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard run on stained holiday photos.

Open with these settings Stain & Spot Remover

Stained Holiday 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

Brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky, spread over a holiday photo
A stained holiday photo that is the only copy anyone has
The decorations, the wrapping paper and the tree lights, hidden under the staining
Staining from coffee, ink, adhesive, fingerprints and whatever else was on the kitchen table that day, on holiday photos from the 1950s to 1990s

Suggested order of passes

01
Remove the staining
Stain & Spot Remover targets brown or grey blotches with hard edges, sometimes a ring, sometimes a smear across the sky while keeping the decorations, the wrapping paper and the tree lights in the holiday photo untouched.
Stain & Spot Remover
02
Repair the rest of the holiday photo
Exposure Fixer addresses the usual wear on holiday photos, an orange cast from indoor bulbs, red-eye from the flash and a date stamp in the corner, once the staining is gone.
Exposure Fixer
03
Sharpen the faces of the family around the tree, the table or the menorah
Recovers the eye and skin detail the staining softened; keep it at natural strength on holiday photos unless the faces are tiny.
Face Restoration
04
Upscale the holiday photo for reprinting
Adds the pixels a wall print needs after the staining repair, with the shape of the stained holiday photos unchanged.
Image Upscaler