Will a couple posed under an arch or against a painted backdrop still look like themselves after the staining is removed?

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

Do I need to scan stained prom photos?

A flat scan is best, but a phone photo of the stained prom 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 prom photo take?

The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard restoration of stained prom photos. Pro and Max return more detail on the corsage, the dress color and the backdrop where the staining was heavy; see pricing for the current amounts.

Can I colorize the prom photo after fixing the staining?

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

Prom Photos

Stained Prom Photos

Prom 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 a couple posed under an arch or against a painted backdrop, which is still there underneath.

Nothing in the prom photo is redrawn for effect; the staining is treated as a layer to remove and the image of a couple posed under an arch or against a painted backdrop as the thing to keep. If the stained area covered the corsage, the dress color and the backdrop, the fill is inferred from what survives around it.

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

Open with these settings Stain & Spot Remover

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 prom photo
A stained prom photo that is the only copy anyone has
The corsage, the dress color and the backdrop, hidden under the staining
Staining from coffee, ink, adhesive, fingerprints and whatever else was on the kitchen table that day, on prom 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 corsage, the dress color and the backdrop in the prom photo untouched.
Stain & Spot Remover
02
Repair the rest of the prom photo
Red-Eye Removal addresses the usual wear on prom photos, a cardboard folder stuck to the print, red-eye from the flash and a heavy magenta shift, once the staining is gone.
Red-Eye Removal
03
Sharpen the faces of a couple posed under an arch or against a painted backdrop
Recovers the eye and skin detail the staining softened; keep it at natural strength on prom photos unless the faces are tiny.
Face Restoration
04
Upscale the prom photo for reprinting
Adds the pixels a wall print needs after the staining repair, with the shape of the stained prom photos unchanged.
Image Upscaler