Military Photos
Sun-Bleached Military Photos
Military photos showing a washed-out image with almost no contrast, sometimes with a darker stripe where the mat protected it have almost always met a frame on a sunny wall or a windowsill, where ultraviolet light broke the dyes down year after year. The sun bleaching 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 sun bleaching 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 sun-bleached area covered the insignia, ribbons, unit patches and cap badge, the fill is inferred from what survives around it.
Start with Faded Photo Fixer on the sun-bleached 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 sun-bleached military photos.
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 sun-bleached service photo needed for a memorial, an anniversary or a reprint
- A washed-out image with almost no contrast, sometimes with a darker stripe where the mat protected it, spread over a service photo
- A sun-bleached service photo that is the only copy anyone has
- The insignia, ribbons, unit patches and cap badge, hidden under the sun bleaching
Suggested order of passes
- 01
Remove the sun bleaching
Faded Photo Fixer targets a washed-out image with almost no contrast, sometimes with a darker stripe where the mat protected it while keeping the insignia, ribbons, unit patches and cap badge in the service photo untouched.
Faded Photo Fixer - 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 sun bleaching is gone.
Face Restoration - 03
Sharpen the faces of a serviceman or servicewoman in uniform, often taken just before deployment
Recovers the eye and skin detail the sun bleaching softened; keep it at natural strength on military photos unless the faces are tiny.
Face Restoration - 04
Upscale the service photo for reprinting
Adds the pixels a wall print needs after the sun bleaching repair, with the shape of the sun-bleached military photos unchanged.
Image Upscaler
This subject, by damage type
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