Photo Enhancement

[BobH]

I'm in the middle of a project to convert hundreds of old family photos to digital images. Of course almost all of them need enhancing. Some to remove cracks and scratches, some to sharpen, some to remove unwanted backgrounds, etc.

I'm looking for an app or online service to use. It has to be cheap (I'm retired on fixed income) or, better still, free. I has to be easy to use and allow me to capture the resulting images. Processing speed is also important. I don't have hours to spend processing just a few images.

If anyone can a) give me any tips and tricks and gotchas on doing the enhancement (I already have a camera set up to use my iPhone to capture them that's working for me) and or b) recommendations for software or online services, I'd be much obliged.

[stuck]

The restoration of old photos is far from straightforward, each image tends to have it's own particular requirements so that makes automating the clean up complex. That in turn means you / the person doing it for you needs skill and skill rarely comes cheap. If I had need of such skills I'd be looking to find a local to me human being to do the work. I have no idea who would provide such a service in your part of Texas but there are bound to people offering such a service.

Meanwhile, have read of this topic on the Affinity Forum:
    https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index. ... it-please/
The image it starts with is almost likely to be in far worse a condition than any of the ones you have but the replies to the OP's initial question should give you an insight into the complex world of photo restoration. (Yes, the comment from a user called 'stuck' in that topic, is me.)

Ken

[jolas]

Here is one (PhotoBooth) you may want to try

[BobH]

Thank you, Jolas. That one has great promise. I tried a couple of 'difficult' images and it did a very good job.

[jolas]

Uploading and reprocessing a restored photo in most cases that I tested would result in more details. Try it.