To restore an old photo with AI, scan or photograph the print carefully, upload it to AI4Chat's photo editor, and write one prompt that lists the damage (“remove the scratches and the crease across the middle, fix the torn top corner, keep every face exactly as it is”). Run it on Nano Banana. Add color in a second, separate pass if you want it, then run the result through the upscaler at 2x or 4x before you print. Google names both photo restoration and adding color to black and white photos among the things people use Nano Banana for, which is why it is our starting model here.
Pass 1: capture the print without adding damage
The AI works from the file you give it. Glare, a skewed angle or a phone shadow across the print become “damage” the model then tries to interpret, and it cannot recover detail the scan never caught. Scan once at a high setting and keep that file as your master. The U.S. National Archives' advice for family collections is blunt: keep your originals after you digitize them, because digital files have their own preservation risks.
Source: Touchstone, photo scanning resolution guide citing archival guidance, checked November 7, 2026
Before you upload
- Flatbed scanner if you have one: 600 DPI, color mode even for black and white prints, so the tone of the paper is kept.
- Phone instead: lay the print flat in daylight near a window, turn the flash off and hold the phone parallel to the print.
- Tilt the print or move until no glare spot sits on a face. Glare reads as missing detail.
- Take the print out of its frame. Glass adds reflections and a layer of dust.
- Crop to the photo edge, but keep any torn or missing corner inside the frame so the model knows the shape to rebuild.
- Wipe loose dust off the print with a soft, dry brush before scanning. Do not use liquids on old photographs.
Pass 2: repair the damage with one prompt
List what is wrong, in plain words, and end with what must not change. The model is good at the things it can see the edges of (a scratch, a crease, a stain) and has to guess when information is missing (a torn-off corner, a face in the blur). That is why the “keep every face” line matters most. Start on Nano Banana, with the damage listed in full: the editor can hand a one-line request to a lighter model. If faces look slightly off, try the same prompt on Seedream 4.5, which ByteDance says strictly preserves the details of the reference image.
Restore this old photo. Remove the scratches, dust spots and the crease across the middle. Keep every face, expression and piece of clothing exactly as it is. Keep it black and white. Repair the torn top-left corner by continuing the wall and window that are already visible. Do not add any new objects. This print has faded and turned yellow. Restore the contrast and neutral gray tones. Do not sharpen faces or change any features. Remove the water stain on the right side. Rebuild the man's jacket under it to match the left side of his jacket. Reduce the blur slightly so the scene reads clearly. Do not invent new facial detail; keep faces soft if they are soft.
One prompt per photo is usually enough. Do the repair before you think about color.
Pass 3: colorize old photos as a separate step
Adding color is a guess. The model does not know that your grandmother's coat was dark green or that the car was cream, so it picks colors that suit the era. Doing it as its own pass, on the already repaired file, means you can keep the black and white version and judge the color version on its own. Tell the model whatever you know, and say “faded” or “muted” unless you want postcard colors.
Add natural color to this black and white photo, as if it were a faded color print from the same decade. The woman's coat is dark green and the car is cream. Natural skin tones. Keep every detail, face and shadow exactly as it is.
Pass 4: upscale before you print
Edited images come out at screen size, which is fine on a phone and soft on an 8 x 10 print. Run the finished file through the upscaler: 2x doubles the resolution for moderate enlargement, 4x quadruples it for a large print. The upscaler sharpens what is there; it does not bring back detail the original scan never had, which is the other reason Pass 1 matters.
Restored is not the same as recovered
What AI restoration does well
- Scratches, dust, cracks and creases it can see the edges of
- Yellowing, fading and lost contrast
- Stains on plain areas like walls, sky or clothing
- Small missing pieces next to areas it can copy from
Where it guesses
- Faces that are blurred or half missing: it may draw a plausible stranger
- Large torn-off areas: the fill is invention, however convincing
- Colors: always a guess unless you tell it
- Text on signs or documents in the photo, which can come back garbled
Tidying the scene, such as taking out a stranger at the edge of a group shot, is a separate edit with its own prompt, covered in our guide to removing objects from a photo. For the model menu as a whole, see the AI photo editor guide.
Questions people ask
Can AI restore a badly damaged photo?
It can clean up a lot: scratches, stains, fading and small tears. The worse the damage, the more the model has to invent, so a photo with half a face missing will come back with a face the model drew. Treat heavy restorations as a likeness, not a record.
How do I turn a black and white photo into color?
Repair it first, then upload the repaired file and ask Nano Banana to add natural, slightly faded color. Name any colors you know, such as clothing or a car, and say to keep every face and shadow unchanged.
Will AI change the faces in my old photo?
It can, especially on small or blurry faces. Always include “keep every face exactly as it is” and compare the result with the scan at full size before you keep it.
Should I throw away the print after scanning?
No. The National Archives recommends keeping originals after digitizing, because digital files can be lost too. Store the print flat, away from heat and damp, and keep your scan in two places.
Is AI photo restoration free on AI4Chat?
You need a free account to open the editor, but a restoration pass costs more than its starting balance, so edits run on AI4Chat Unlimited, which starts with a 7-day free trial; the price for your country is shown before you pay.