Guides: restore, colourise and print your old photos

Case by case, what the tool does well and what it misses; then articles to digitise, preserve, understand the AI and print well.

By the state of the photo

Yellowed, blurry, dark, grainy, damaged or too small: what the tool fixes, and what it doesn't.

Yellowed or faded photoOld print gone yellow and flat? Get the contrast back, twice the resolution and suggested colours if it has faded to one tint. Free preview, HD €1.99.
Blurry old photoSlightly out-of-focus family photo? Twice the resolution and every face rebuilt on its own. What improves and what stays soft. Free preview, HD €1.99.
Damaged, scratched or torn photoScratched, stained, creased or torn photo: what automatic restoration fixes, what it leaves, and when a professional retoucher is the better call.
Dark old photoUnderexposed indoor shot, faces lost in shadow? Contrast recovered gently and shadow noise cleaned up. Free preview, HD €1.99.
Grainy old photoFilm grain, noise, blocky pixels from an old JPEG: cleaned during a ×2 enlargement. What goes, and what may get smoothed. Free preview, HD €1.99.
Small photo to enlargeTiny print or low-res scan? Enlarged ×2 with faces rebuilt, plus a warning if it's too small for the print size you pick. Free preview.

Sepia, postcard, Polaroid, ID photo, cabinet card, slide, class photo: how to digitise them and what to expect.

Sepia photoOld sepia photo? Sharper ×2, faces rebuilt, then colourised or kept sepia on the print. Free preview, HD for €1.99.
Old postcardAn old postcard of your high street, church or seafront, restored, enlarged ×2 and colourised, then printed as a fine art print or canvas.
Polaroid photoFaded Polaroid, dull colours, tiny picture? Contrast back, ×2 sharper, faces rebuilt, and a Polaroid border on your print. Free preview.
Old ID photoA tiny passport or ID photo of an ancestor, stamped or faded: enlarged ×2, face rebuilt, ready for a 10×15 print. Free preview, HD for €1.99.
Old cabinet cardA studio portrait mounted on card, faded or stained: contrast back, ×2 sharper, faces rebuilt, kept sepia or colourised. Free preview.
Scanned slideA slide already scanned or photographed, with colour casts or dust: contrast, ×2 sharpness, faces rebuilt. The tool does not scan. Free preview.
Old school class photoOld school photo? ×2 sharper with every face rebuilt one by one, plus 10×15 prints for a class reunion. Free preview, HD for €1.99.

Weddings, WWI soldiers, the 1940s to the 1970s, first communions, gifts for grandparents, funerals.

Old wedding photoYour grandparents' wedding photo restored, colourised or kept black and white, then framed with a caption for a golden anniversary. Free preview.
WW1 soldier photoA great-grandfather's portrait in uniform, a WW1 photo postcard: sharper, face rebuilt, kept sepia or colourised. Why to be careful with uniform colours.
1940s photoA grandparent in uniform, a wartime wedding, a tiny black and white print: sharper ×2, faces rebuilt, kept black and white or colourised. Free preview.
1950s–1960s photoSmall black and white prints with deckled edges, or faded early colour prints: sharper ×2, faces rebuilt, colour handled automatically per photo.
1970s colour photoA washed-out 1970s colour print: contrast recovered, sharper ×2, faces rebuilt, original colours kept. Free before/after preview, HD for €1.99.
Old first communion photoA parent's or grandparent's first communion photo restored, face rebuilt, to give on a child's own communion day. Free preview, prints delivered.
Photo gift for grandparentsGive your grandparents their old photos restored, in a frame, on canvas or as captioned prints. Delivered in 6–10 days, or 4–7 by express.
Photo for a funeralQuickly restore a photo of your loved one for the service: an HD file within minutes, a print or frame delivered in 4–7 days by express.

Scan or photograph your prints, store them, back them up, date them and find out who is on them.

Restore an old photoRestore an old family photo: digitise it, repair it with AI, check the faces, choose colour or black and white, then print it and keep copies.
Scan photos with your phonePhotograph an old print with your phone before restoring it: light, angle, glare, the settings to turn off, and the mistakes that spoil the result.
Scan resolution300 or 600 dpi for old photos? Common guidance by print size, which file to keep, and what actually matters for restoration.
Store old photosWhere and how to store old photographs: light, damp, archival boxes and sleeves, albums to avoid, handling tips and common mistakes.
Back up family photosStop losing your digitised family photos: the 3-2-1 backup rule, which storage to combine, naming and sorting files, and checking your copies.
Date an old photoDate an old family photo: format and mount, photographer's stamp, clothing, background, writing on the back, and how to cross-check clues.
Identify people in old photosWho is in this old photo? Ask relatives, compare faces, use the context, records and genealogy resources, and stay careful with guesses.

What AI does to faces, how it colourises, and when a human retoucher does better.

Does AI change faces?What AI really does to a damaged face, why the result can drift from the real person, and how to check the likeness before you pay.
How AI colourisation worksHow an AI adds colour to a black and white photo, why the colours are a guess, and what Souvenotte does at each step of the process.
The real colours of old photosCan AI recover the true colours of a black and white photo? What is reliable, what is guessed, and how to get closer to what was really there.
AI or a photo retoucherAI or a retoucher for an old photo? What automatic restoration does well, when a human is essential (tears, missing pieces) and how to combine both.

Which size to choose for your photo, and how to frame an old photo.

Which print size to choose10×15 cm, 20×25 cm, 40×50 cm or canvas? Which print size suits your restored photo, with the pixels you need and the prices.
Framing an old photoHow to frame an old photo without harming it: original or reprint, choosing frame and mount, combining several photos and adding a caption.

Souvenotte compared with other tools, prices taken from official pages and dated.

Let's Enhance alternativeOnly a few old photos to restore and no wish to subscribe? A factual comparison of Let's Enhance and Souvenotte, prices from the official pages.
Palette.fm alternativeWant to colourise an old photo and restore it at the same time? A factual comparison of Palette.fm and Souvenotte, prices from the official pages.
Pixelcut alternativeRestore an old family photo without a yearly plan? A factual comparison of Pixelcut and Souvenotte, prices taken from the official pages.

Facts and exact pricesWhat the tool does, what it costs and its limits, on one page.