Old family photo fading? 5 ChatGPT prompts to restore, sharpen and colourise it

Old family photographs can become more precious over time, but their conditions often deteriorate with age. ChatGPT prompts can help restore, sharpen, and colourise these faded memories. First, using the prompt "Restore this photograph while preserving the original appearance and identity. Remove scratches, dust, stains, tears, fading, creases and other signs of physical damage.

Repair missing or damaged areas naturally, improve contrast and exposure, and recover details that have been lost over time. Do not change facial features, expressions, body proportions, clothing, hairstyle or the composition of the photograph," one can address visible wear and tear. For blurry or shaky photos, the prompt "Improve the sharpness and clarity of this photograph while keeping it authentic.

Reduce blur, haze, noise and softness, and enhance fine details without making the image look artificially processed. Preserve the exact facial identities, expressions, skin texture, clothing and background. Do not invent or modify facial features." can be used. When dealing with black-and-white photographs, the prompt "Colourise this black-and-white photograph with realistic, historically appropriate colours.

Keep the facial features, expressions, skin tones, clothing, hairstyles and surroundings unchanged. Use natural-looking colours rather than overly saturated tones. Consider the likely era, lighting and photographic conditions when choosing colours. Do not add, remove or redesign any objects or people. Make the result feel like an authentic colour photograph from the same moment." can help create a more natural finish.

Lastly, for photographs with tears or scratches across someone's face, it's better to use the prompt "Restore this photograph conservatively. Where facial details are damaged or missing, prioritize preserving the person’s original identity over creating new detail. Do not guess, beautify or redesign facial features. Only reconstruct details that can be reasonably inferred from the surrounding image. Clearly preserve any unavoi" to maintain the person's original identity.

Brief written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.