By Eva Williams 14 days ago, Software Reviews
If you need a good photo restoration software to retrieve old photos for free and not being an expert in editing, these programs will help you. Having downloaded these photo restoration apps and software, you can remove scratches, make dull photos bright, correct missing parts or even colorize photos on your own.
Digital photo restoration is the process of retrieving the appearance of a digital copy of a physical photo that has been damaged manually or by water/fire/time.
If you have an old family album with many child photos that have been damaged, you will definitely need to use a digital photo restoration software for Mac or PC to save these old photos from decay.
Photo restoration programs will help you restore your pictures by removing scratches, stains and giving them a fresh look. You may also edit skin defects or draw clothes digitally. However, not all programs provide a good result and are user-friendly. In this article, I will review only recommended photo restoration software available today.
Verdict: My first photo restoration software is Adobe Photoshop CC. Thanks to the user-friendly interface, top-grade updates, and an extensive selection of tools, you may perform picture restoration at the professional level.
Currently, the program supports almost all raster formats, while the basic Photoshop format (PSD) is compatible with many other editors. This is the best photo restoration software that works on PC with macOS and Windows operating systems. Besides, you can use it on iPads.
A free trial version of Photoshop is used for all kinds of digital picture restoration work. Take at least the famous Clone Stamp tool, which allows you to copy pixels from the surrounding areas and remove any damage that the image may have.
Besides, Photoshop has AI-driven tools, including neural filters, and Object Aware Refine Mode. With the help of the filters, you can fully transform the look of your model and optimize your workflow when working in Photoshop to restore old pictures. Thanks to the Object Aware Refine Mode, you can select and delete distracting details with little to no effort.
Moreover, you can edit your photos even more quickly using an extensive selection of Photoshop actions and Photoshop overlays.
Verdict: No matter what kind of image you want to get, all your demands will be fulfilled by the team of specialists standing behind the FixThePhoto app. Upload your old photo to be restored, instruct them about all details you’re expecting to be visible, and you will get your photo in a few hours professionally edited. An additional benefit you can get here is a Free Trial.
They don’t use AI photo editors, prefer to perform the entire range of edits by manual work. Their retouchers can colorize b&w pictures, restore, improve flawed parts, and make scratches get disappear or remove damage caused by water, age, or other plagues.
If is there a problem with missing pieces or parts on your picture, they can get your old/spoiled photos to be recreated, so that the result will appear to your eyes as realistically restored.
Verdict: Luminar Neo allows eliminating splotches and stains. As a result, you can recover photos that have been slightly damaged and get rid of unnecessary elements like scratches and dirt.
When working in Luminar Neo, with EnhanceAI tool, it’s easy to improve colors and tones, make photos more detailed, and fix color balance after a quick analysis of the picture.
With this software, you can easily add more details and increase its clarity. The StructureAI option comes in handy when you need to improve image contrast and emphasize details, without affecting human figures.
All the blemishes are automatically selected and removed. Just a few clicks and the photos look perfect. The program may seem expensive, but you can save $10 with a FIXTHEPHOTO promo code.
Verdict: PhotoWorks’ precision healing tool will assist in erasing scratches, lint and dust to help you revive shots from the past. The software will miraculously eliminate all the folds and creases from years of storing photos. Textures, colors and values will be smoothly blended so that no one will guess that the picture was originally restored.
Open this photo editing software for PC whenever you need to deal with old photos. Just upload the shot and get to work! Healing and cloning tools will neutralize scratches, dust, and undesired parts of the shot. Then, add a filter and export the result.
Verdict: Photo Retoucher is a SoftOrbits photo restoration software, which you can use to improve scanned images by eliminating defects, restoring spoilt parts, and performing basic retouching.
You just need to upload an image, use intuitive tools, and the program will automatically detect areas that call for improvement. It eliminates scratches, dust particles, and other traces of time, so your finished photo looks flawless and realistic.
Another thing that I like is that you can colorize black-and-white photos in a few clicks.
Verdict: Imgkits can fluently turn old photos into high-resolution images you’ll like, elevating their resolution to a higher level without decreasing quality. Another attractive function resides in colorizing images through AI, with which you can turn black and white photos to color in a few seconds.
Another great function of Imgkits renders it possible to remove scratches automatically, sharpen colors, and enhance faces, turning damaged photos into valuable memories. Besides, the enhancing color and contrast can go only via a single click.
Against most similar software, the Imgkits’ AI algorithm does all the work you might have done on your own, and, furthermore, the results turn out to be very impressive.
Verdict: Image Colorizer has handy tools that will help you bring colors to your images. It is based on AI technology, using which you can colorize your photos without extra skills. It allows you to improve pictures with low resolution as well.
With the help of Image Colorizer, you can make your cherished family photos look like new. This service securely protects your data, so you don’t need to worry that it will be accessed by third parties.
Your photos will be deleted from the server in 24 hours so that nobody could ever access them in the future.
Verdict: Retouch Pilot is a photo restoration program that removes minor defects or those appeared after scanning photos, such as scratches, stains from dust particles and hair. Retouch Pilot is a basic picture restoration software, so experts will certainly need to buy Photoshop for more complex editing.
The photo repair software's interface is basic but user-friendly, and most of its functions are organized in the tool palette on the sides. The way the program uses the available workspace is not always optimal, particularly when working with vertical pictures. However, it isn't a significant minus.
After opening this photo restoration software, you get access to a series of short tutorials that clarify each of the functions. The key advantage of Retouch Pilot is that it supports automatic color correction.
Verdict: AKVIS Retoucher is an efficient and convenient photo restoration software with a modern and understandable interface, organized layout that lets you get a great overview of your current photo.
This picture restoration software assists in the removal of dust, scratches and other undesired elements as well as drawing missing parts. AKVIS Retoucher uses intelligent cloning techniques to cover selected areas and gives excellent results.
The program can remove a date stamp, distracting elements, and enlarge the photo’s canvas using image patterns to fill in empty areas. The only thing that confuses me is the price. The basic license for AKVIS Retoucher is $87.
Verdict: PhotoScape is designed specifically to provide users with maximum ease when they are editing. Unlike the previous programs, PhotoScape is less convenient for digital restoration but more practical in terms of color correction. PhotoScape works on Windows and Mac systems.
After working with it for a while, I could state that it is really convenient and has an understandable interface. Has all the options that you might need for restoration, including Clone Stamp. With it, you can delete scratches, splotches, and stains as well as add frames and apply effects.
Besides, PhotoScape provides other features such as an image viewer, a built-in screen capture tool, batch editing function. Taking into account all its advantages, it is rightfully one of the best photo restoration software for editing faded colors.
Verdict: SketchWay old photo restoration software is a free program for basic repairing using content filling algorithms. These algorithms analyze the image and reproduce the original background behind the cropped object. Compared to the above-mentioned software, SketchWay looks simpler in terms of functionality but doesn’t support quick retouching.
With it, you can improve brightness and contrast, adjust sharpness, remove unwanted objects and eliminate scratches, bends, and other defects. All these functions are logically arranged, so even inexperienced users can quickly master this picture restoration software.
You can cope with the tasks either automatically or adjust each parameter manually. This is important if you have scanned the images and see that there are some flaws, but you don’t want to lose the beautiful “old picture” effect.
You can cope with the tasks either automatically or adjust each parameter manually. This is important if you have scanned the images and see that there are some flaws, but you don’t want to lose the beautiful “old picture” effect. You may have a photo with faded colors or a picture with an unwanted object/person. Use this program to brighten colors or remove unnecessary elements.
Verdict: Inpaint is a paid basic photo restoration software initially designed for removing unnecessary elements. Besides, you can get rid of time signs, logos, and even remove watermarks. Use the smart Marker for that. However, if you have elements of unusual shape and colorful background or foreground, you may have some problems.
InPaint is a cheap photo restoration software that costs about $20. If you have some doubts, you may try its free trial. For first-time users who are only learning different retouching tricks, InPaint is a great alternative that requires almost no training.
Verdict: With the help of PhotoGlory, you can colorize your B&W pictures with a few clicks using the available automatic tools or smart brushes. In this software, you will find a range of tools for removing creases, scratches, stains, scribbles, and damaged edges. You can make colors more saturated, restore bleak photos, add custom text labels and date stamps.
This program will help you sharpen image and remove blur, raise contrast and saturation, straighten images and crop edges.
You will have access to a collection of 100 effects for making photos look beautifully vintage. By using this editor, you can also convert negatives and restore torn pictures.
Verdict: Unlike previous special-purpose programs, restoration is not the strongest side of Fotor, but it is still very good thanks to its good color correction features. It supports all the most popular graphic file formats and even supports the processing of RAW images.
If you compare it with Photoshop, it becomes obvious that Fotor also cannot compete with its set of tools, brushes and plug-ins. Fotor is very good for RAW editing and color correction, white balance adjustment, and similar tasks with faded colors and shades.
Fotor Online Editor comes with a set of automatic tools for restoring old portrait photos. It has a range of features for cropping, vignette adding, blurring, sharpness, rotation, adding text, removing red eyes effect, etc. However, you should remember that most functions are available only in the paid version.
Verdict: Fotophire Editing Toolkit is a paid photo restoration software that includes several programs in one pack – Editor, Cutter and Eraser. Most of all I am interested in the Photo Eraser mode, which almost automatically removes unnecessary elements or scratches. It also provides Clone and Crop tools that you can use to correct any flaws that old photos may have.
In addition to restoring old photos, you can also change the background or add retro effects.
The annual Fotophire subscription costs $50, and a lifetime license costs $80. With Fotophire photos restoration software, you get 3 programs in one kit. This option is good for amateur retouchers.
Verdict: Corel Paintshop Pro is an advanced photo restoration software with a set of AI-based tools and creative effects. With it, you can quickly remove scratches and make faded colors richer. It is very easy to manage, so even beginning retouchers will cope with basic tasks.
The available tools are logically grouped by function, which makes the program easy to use and navigate. The software provides a one-click correction function, which can save a lot of time. HDR or Lens Correction tools allow you to customize photos with amazing accuracy.
This editor costs $80. The paid version has a huge collection of editing and organizing tools, which allows it to double as a photo organizing software. Download Paintshop Pro free using the 30-day trial version. In general, this is an excellent photo repair program for beginners.
