AI Photo Restoration

Sticky-Album Military Photos

Military photos showing yellow stripes of adhesive on the front and back, torn emulsion where the print was peeled off, and a tacky film have almost always met the self-adhesive magnetic albums sold from the 1970s onward, whose glue yellows and bonds to the print. The album-page residue sits on top of the image of a serviceman or servicewoman in uniform, often taken just before deployment, which is still there underneath.

Nothing in the service photo is redrawn for effect; the album-page residue is treated as a layer to remove and the image of a serviceman or servicewoman in uniform, often taken just before deployment as the thing to keep. If the sticky-album area covered the insignia, ribbons, unit patches and cap badge, the fill is inferred from what survives around it.

Start with Scratch & Tear Repair on the sticky-album service photo, then chain Face Restoration or the upscaler in the Studio if the military photos need it. The 4 free credits on a new account cover one Standard run on sticky-album military photos.

Sticky-Album Military Photos, the original print
Sticky-Album Military Photos
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

  • Small faces of a serviceman or servicewoman in uniform, often taken just before deployment that the album-page residue has taken the detail from
  • Sticky-album military photos that a copy shop refused to touch
  • A sticky-album service photo needed for a memorial, an anniversary or a reprint
  • Yellow stripes of adhesive on the front and back, torn emulsion where the print was peeled off, and a tacky film, spread over a service photo

Suggested order of passes

  1. 01

    Remove the album-page residue

    Scratch & Tear Repair targets yellow stripes of adhesive on the front and back, torn emulsion where the print was peeled off, and a tacky film while keeping the insignia, ribbons, unit patches and cap badge in the service photo untouched.

    Scratch & Tear Repair
  2. 02

    Repair the rest of the service photo

    Face Restoration addresses the usual wear on military photos, foxing from a footlocker, folds from a shirt pocket and rank insignia faded into the cloth, once the album-page residue is gone.

    Face Restoration
  3. 03

    Sharpen the faces of a serviceman or servicewoman in uniform, often taken just before deployment

    Recovers the eye and skin detail the album-page residue softened; keep it at natural strength on military photos unless the faces are tiny.

    Face Restoration
  4. 04

    Upscale the service photo for reprinting

    Adds the pixels a wall print needs after the album-page residue repair, with the shape of the sticky-album military photos unchanged.

    Image Upscaler

Questions