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Before-and-after split of a faded sepia portrait of an original person restored and colorized with AI

AI Photo Restoration

Repair, colorize, and sharpen old family photos.

How do I restore an old photo with AI?

Upload a scan of the old photo to Renoise Canvas, pick Nano Banana Pro, and describe the fix — "repair scratches and tears, colorize, sharpen the faces". Generate, compare against the original, then export the restored version at up to 4K. The same canvas handles repair, colorizing, and enhancement.

Want a polished portrait from your own current photos instead? See the headshot guide

What AI restoration fixes

The three jobs an old-photo restore usually needs.

Repair damage

Removes scratches, tears, creases, and stains from scanned prints.

Colorize

Adds natural color to black-and-white and sepia photos.

Up to 4K

Sharpens faded, blurry faces and exports at 1K, 2K, or 4K.

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Restore a photo in 3 steps

From a damaged scan to a clean, colorized print you can keep.

  1. Dragging a scanned old photo onto the Renoise Canvas upload card
    Step 1

    Upload the scan

    Drag a scan or photo of the original print onto the Renoise Canvas upload card.

  2. Selecting Nano Banana Pro from the model menu in the Renoise Canvas
    Step 2

    Describe the fix

    Pick Nano Banana Pro, then write the brief — "repair scratches and tears, colorize, sharpen the faces".

  3. Choosing resolution before exporting a restored photo in Renoise
    Step 3

    Generate and export

    Generate, compare with the original, then export the restored photo at up to 4K.

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What a restore looks like

Repair, colorize, and enhance — the same old-photo jobs handled in one canvas.

Before-and-after restore of a faded portrait of an original person, damaged sepia next to clean color

Before and after

A faded portrait of an original person restored and colorized side by side in one pass.

A 1950s black-and-white family group photo of original people colorized with natural tones

Colorized family photo

A black-and-white 1950s family group photo brought to life with natural color.

A scratched and torn old photo of an original person with the damage repaired by AI

Scratch and tear repair

A torn, scratched print rebuilt — damage filled in without changing the people.

A faded blurry portrait of an original person enhanced into a sharp, detailed image

Faded to sharp

A blurry, low-contrast portrait enhanced into a crisp, detailed face.

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Which model for restoration

Both live in the same Renoise canvas — pick by what the photo needs. Nano Banana Pro for photoreal skin, lighting, and natural color; GPT Image 2 when the fix is detail-heavy and you want precise instruction following.

For restorationNano Banana Pro (Recommended)GPT Image 2
Best forPhotoreal faces and colorPrecise, detail-heavy fixes
ColorizingBestGood
Reference imagesMulti-referenceUp to 16
Up to 4K export✓✓
Same canvas✓✓
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Restoring vs colorizing old photos

Restoring and colorizing are two different jobs, and most old family photos need both. Restoration is reconstruction: filling in scratches, tears, creases, and missing corners, and pulling detail back out of a faded or low-contrast print. The goal is to recover what was already there without inventing new features — a restored face should still read as the same person, just clean. Colorizing is the opposite kind of work: a black-and-white or sepia photo has no color information at all, so the model has to infer plausible skin tones, fabric, and background from context. It is an interpretation, not a recovery, which is why a good colorize looks natural rather than guessing loudly.

In Renoise you can do both in one pass. Upload the scan to Canvas, pick Nano Banana Pro for photoreal skin and lighting, and write the brief as a stack of fixes: "repair scratches and tears, colorize with natural 1950s tones, sharpen the faces, keep the original composition". Keep the people and framing fixed in the prompt so the model repairs rather than reimagines. For a detail-heavy print — fine lettering, jewelry, patterned fabric — switch to GPT Image 2 for tighter instruction following, then export at up to 4K for a print-ready copy.

Renoise capabilities used

Restoration leans on a few things — and Renoise gives you Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2, and other image models in one canvas.

Nano Banana Pro

Renders photoreal skin, lighting, and natural color for believable restores.

GPT Image 2

Tight instruction following for detail-heavy fixes; fuses up to 16 reference images.

Up to 4K

Export print-ready at 1K, 2K, or 4K for reprints, frames, or archives.

Many models, one canvas

Switch between Nano Banana Pro and GPT Image 2 per photo, no re-upload.

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Photo lab vs Renoise

Traditional photo lab

  • Mail in the original print
  • Days or weeks of turnaround
  • Per-photo restoration fee
  • Hard to iterate on the result
  • Limited reprint resolution

Renoise

  • Upload a scan, restore in minutes
  • Repair, colorize, and sharpen in one pass
  • One plan, every image model
  • Re-run with a tweaked brief instantly
  • Export up to 4K right away
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Choose your plan

One plan unlocks Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2, and every other image model.

StarterFor first-time AI content creators
$20/mo
Upgrade Plan
1,200 ©/mo
≈ 400 GPT Image 2 Generations≈ 60 Seedance 2.0 videos
$1 = 60©
Generation Discount
Seedance 2.0$0.083/s
Kling 3.0$0.267/s
Nano Banana 2$0.133/img
All other models
✓
GPT Image 250% OFF
✓
Watermark-free exports
✓
Image Models
✓
Video Models
StandardFor creators shipping content every week.
$60/mo
Upgrade Plan
3,600 ©/mo
≈ 1,200 GPT Image 2 Generations≈ 211 Seedance 2.0 videos
$1 = 60©
15% Generation Discount
Seedance 2.0$0.071/s
Kling 3.0$0.227/s
Nano Banana 2$0.113/img
All other models
✓
Seedance 2.0 Series15% OFF
✓
GPT Image 250% OFF
✓
Watermark-free exports
✓
Latest Image Models
GPT Image 2
Seedream 5.0 Lite
Midjourney V8.1
Nano Banana Pro
Grok Imagine Image Quality
✓
Latest Video Models
Seedance 2.0
Gemini Omni Flash
Kling 3.0 Omni
Grok Imagine Video 1.5
HappyHorse 1.0
Best Value
AdvancedFor studios and pros producing at commercial scale.
$200/mo
Upgrade Plan
14,000 ©/mo2,000© BONUS
≈ 4,666 GPT Image 2 Generations≈ 1,000 Seedance 2.0 videos
$1 = 70©17% MORE
30% Generation Discount
Seedance 2.0$0.050/s
Kling 3.0$0.160/s
Nano Banana 2$0.080/img
All other models
✓
Seedance 2.0 Series30% OFF
✓
GPT Image 250% OFF
✓
Watermark-free exports
✓
Latest Image Models
GPT Image 2
Seedream 5.0 Lite
Midjourney V8.1
Nano Banana Pro
Grok Imagine Image Quality
✓
Latest Video Models
Seedance 2.0
Gemini Omni Flash
Kling 3.0 Omni
Grok Imagine Video 1.5
HappyHorse 1.0
Before-and-after split of a faded sepia portrait of an original person restored and colorized with AI

Restore your old photos

Repair, colorize, and sharpen with watermark-free exports on paid plans.

Restore a photoSee Nano Banana Pro

Frequently asked questions

1.How does AI photo restoration work?

You upload a scan of the old print to Renoise Canvas and describe the fix in plain language. Nano Banana Pro reconstructs damaged areas, infers natural color, and sharpens faded detail, then you export the restored photo at up to 4K.

2.Can AI colorize black-and-white photos?

Yes. An AI photo colorizer infers plausible skin tones, clothing, and background from context, since black-and-white photos hold no color data. Prompt for natural period tones — "colorize with natural 1950s tones" — for a result that looks real rather than guessed.

3.Can it repair scratches and tears?

Yes. Describe the damage — "repair scratches, tears, creases, and the missing corner" — and the model fills in those areas while keeping the people and composition intact. For heavily torn prints, scan at high resolution first so there is more detail to rebuild from.

4.Which model is best for restoration?

Nano Banana Pro for most restores — it renders photoreal skin, lighting, and natural color. Switch to GPT Image 2 for detail-heavy fixes like fine lettering or patterned fabric, where precise instruction following helps. Both live in the same canvas.

5.Will the restored photo still look like the person?

It should, if you prompt for repair rather than reinvention. Keep the people and framing fixed — "keep the original faces and composition" — so the model recovers detail instead of inventing new features. Always compare the result against the original scan.

6.What resolution can I export?

Up to 4K. Choose 1K for sharing online, 2K for most uses, or 4K for reprints and framed copies. Generate at the highest resolution you may need so a printed restore keeps its detail.

7.How good does the original scan need to be?

The cleaner the scan, the better the restore. Flatten the print, scan at the highest resolution you can, and avoid glare. Even a damaged or faded scan works — more detail just gives the model more to reconstruct from.

8.Are restored photos watermark-free?

Outputs are watermark-free on paid plans, so a restored family photo exports clean and ready to print or share. The same canvas handles repair, colorizing, and enhancement, so one pass can do all three.

By Max, RenoiseLast reviewed Models verified: Nano Banana Pro, GPT Image 2

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