Fading is slow and easy to accept as normal — until you see the original contrast beside it. In most faded prints the detail is still present, just compressed into a narrow band of tone.
Contrast rebuilt
Tonal range recovered without crushing shadows detail.
Cast removed
Yellow, magenta and cyan shifts neutralised selectively.
Detail kept
Recovery stops where noise begins — no forced contrast.
From $19
Fading correction is part of Standard. Delivered within 24 hours.
Colour prints fade because their dyes break down under ultraviolet light. Black and white prints silver out: the metallic silver oxidises and the image takes on a metallic sheen and a blue or brown cast.
Both are accelerated by heat, humidity and display in daylight — which is why a photo kept in an album often looks markedly better than the same photo kept in a frame on a wall.
Contrast recovery works by redistributing the tones that survived. It works well when the image is compressed but intact, and poorly when the highlight and shadow detail has genuinely been bleached away.
Pushing contrast too far amplifies grain and paper texture. We stop at the point where recovery would start inventing rather than revealing, and we will tell you where that line fell.
A global white balance correction is the usual approach and the usual failure: it fixes the background and turns faces grey. We correct casts selectively — neutralising the paper and background first, then working skin separately.
The result should look like the photograph did when it was new, not like a contemporary digital image.
Recommended
Standard — $19
Most customers choose this for restore faded photos. Add colour, printing files or archive batches at checkout — the price is per photo and nothing is charged until you approve the quote.
Start with this photoOften yes. Fading compresses tone rather than erasing it, so most of the detail is still recorded. Send the photo and we will tell you honestly what is recoverable before you pay.
Yellowing comes from dye breakdown in colour prints, oxidation in black and white prints, and acid migration from poor-quality mounting board. It can usually be neutralised during restoration.
Not if it is done with restraint. Contrast recovery amplifies existing grain, so we stop before noise becomes the dominant feature and pair the correction with light noise reduction.
Repairing old photographs
Repair old family photographs: creases, scratches, mold, water damage and fading. From $19 per photo, human-checked, delivered within 24 hours.
Photo restoration, done properly
Professional photo restoration from $19. Torn, faded and scratched photographs repaired by AI and checked by a human artist. Delivered within 24 hours.