Restore and Colorize Old Photos with AI
Repair blurry, scratched and faded old photos and add natural colour with AI. One click, with optional controls for faces, hair and clothing.
Old family photos fade, crack and lose detail over the years. Scanning them is easy; repairing them is not. Removing scratches, rebuilding blurred faces and adding believable colour by hand can take hours for a single print.
Restore & Colorize in Foneo repairs old or blurry photos with AI. It reduces scratches, stains and noise, recovers detail and can add natural colour, while keeping the face, pose and composition of the original.
What it repairs
- Blur and lost detail in faces, hair and clothing.
- Scratches, stains and noise from damaged prints and old scans.
- Faded colour, with the option to colorize black-and-white photos.
- Backgrounds that have become soft or washed out.
Automatic first, control when you need it
For most photos you do not need to set anything. Select the photo, click Apply, and Foneo analyses the damage and restores it automatically.
When a photo needs a more careful approach, a set of optional controls gives you more say over the result:
- Draw hair rebuilds hair that is blurry, incomplete or unclear.
- Draw clothing rebuilds clothing that is blurry or damaged.
- Enhance background improves the quality and detail of the background.
- Follow face details tells the AI to stay as close as possible to the facial features in the original.
- Asian face gives the AI extra guidance when restoring the face of an Asian subject.
- Age lets you enter the age of the person in the photo to give the AI more context about the face and skin.
You can also write a prompt describing exactly what to repair and what must stay unchanged, and save prompts you use often.
How it works
- Open the scanned photo in Foneo and choose Restore & Colorize.
- Click Apply for automatic restoration, or switch on the options that match the condition of the photo first.
- Compare the before and after, then export the result or open it in Photoshop for final touches.
Getting faithful results
Restoration is only useful if the person still looks like themselves. A few habits help:
- Scan at the highest quality you can. The more detail the original keeps, the less the AI has to guess.
- Start with automatic restoration. Add options only when the result needs them.
- Turn on Follow face details for portraits where likeness matters most.
- Only enable the options that fit. Draw hair when hair is damaged, Draw clothing when clothing is damaged, and so on.
- Compare carefully. Check the face, skin tone, hair, clothing and background against the original before you print or share.
AI restoration rebuilds missing information, so very damaged areas may need another pass or a little manual work. Always review the result before delivering it to a client or family member.
Who it is for
Photo studios and retouchers who offer restoration services, photographers digitising family archives for clients, and anyone who wants to bring old family photos back to life without learning advanced retouching.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to adjust any settings?
No. Select the photo and click Apply to restore it automatically. The other options are there for when you want more control.
Can it colorize black-and-white photos?
Yes. Restore & Colorize can add natural colour as part of the restoration, in addition to repairing damage and detail.
How do I keep the person's face accurate?
Turn on Follow face details so the AI prioritises the facial features of the original photo, and compare the result side by side before exporting.
Can I restore the photo again if I don't like the result?
Yes. Change the options or the prompt and click Apply again.