I Spent 6 Months Restoring My Family's Photo Archive—Here's What Actually Works in 2026

When my mother handed me three cardboard boxes from my grandmother's attic last spring, I had no idea what I was getting into. 847 photos spanning 1920–1995. Half of them stuck together. Many with visible mold. Some so faded you could barely make out faces.

"Just scan them when you have time," she said.

Six months later, I've digitized, restored, and organized the entire collection. Here's what I learned—the hard way—about bringing old photos back to life.

Reality Check: What "Restoring Old Photos" Actually Means

Let's be honest about what you're signing up for:

Time investment for 847 photos:

• Scanning: 28 hours (2 minutes per photo average, including cleanup and labeling)
• Sorting and organizing: 12 hours
• AI restoration: 6 hours (including reviewing results and re-running failures)
• Manual touch-ups: 15 hours (for the ~40 photos that mattered most)
• Total: 61 hours over 6 months

That's working on it most weekends. If you have "just a shoebox" of photos (let's say 100), expect 7–10 hours of actual work.

Step 0: Assess What You're Dealing With (The Part Nobody Talks About)

Before you scan anything, lay out your photos and categorize damage types. This determines your workflow.

The "Easy" Photos (30% of my collection)

• Minor fading or yellowing
• Intact emulsion layer
• Stored in albums or sleeves
• Approach: Scan → AI restoration → Done in 2–3 minutes each

The "Challenging" Photos (50% of my collection)

• Significant fading or color shifts
• Surface scratches or stains
• Stuck to backing paper or other photos
• Approach: Scan → AI restoration → Manual review → Possible touch-ups (10–15 minutes each)

The "Disaster" Photos (20% of my collection)

• Stuck together in clumps
• Active mold growth
• Emulsion peeling or cracked
• Water damage with image loss
• Approach: Professional conservator assessment → Careful separation → High-res scan → AI + manual restoration (30+ minutes each, sometimes not salvageable)

Pro tip from my mistakes: Don't try to separate stuck photos yourself if they're truly valuable. I destroyed two irreplaceable photos of my great-grandfather by trying to peel them apart. A photo conservator charges $50–75 to separate stuck photos properly. Worth it for the 10–15 photos that really matter.

The Digitization Workflow That Actually Works

Equipment Reality Check

What I started with: Epson V600 scanner ($220), cotton gloves ($8), microfiber cloths ($12)

What I wish I'd known: The scanner matters way more than I thought.

Scanner comparison (based on my experience):

| Scanner | Resolution | Speed | Photo Quality | My Take | |---------|-----------|-------|---------------|---------| | Smartphone + PhotoScan app | ~200 DPI effective | Fast (30 sec/photo) | Acceptable for snapshots | Used this for 200+ non-critical photos. Good enough for family sharing. Not good enough for faces you want to enlarge. | | Epson V600 | 6400 DPI | Slow (2 min/photo @ 600 DPI) | Excellent | My workhorse. Sweet spot: 600 DPI for 4×6 prints, 1200 DPI for smaller photos. | | Professional service | 3000–4000 DPI | Outsourced | Excellent + they handle fragile photos | Used ScanMyPhotos.com for 50 disaster photos ($85 total). Saved me hours and avoided damaging heirlooms. |

Scanning Settings That Matter

After scanning 847 photos, here's what actually makes a difference:

Resolution:

• 4×6 inch prints: 600 DPI (produces ~3600×2400 pixel images—enough to enlarge to 12×18 inches)
• Wallet-sized or smaller: 1200 DPI
• Slides/negatives: 2400–3600 DPI

Why not scan everything at max resolution? File size. A 4×6 print at 600 DPI = ~8 MB TIFF. Same photo at 6400 DPI = ~350 MB. For 847 photos, that's 297 GB vs. 6.8 GB. Storage adds up fast.

Format:

• TIFF for archival masters (keep forever, never edit)
• JPEG (max quality) for working copies (edit these, share these)
• PNG for final restored versions (for web, social media)

Color mode: Scan black-and-white photos in color mode. Sounds counterintuitive, but it captures yellowing, fading, and stains that AI can correct. Scanning in grayscale throws away that information.

The Separation Problem (When Photos Are Stuck)

I had 67 photos stuck together or stuck to album pages. Here's the safe approach:

For photos stuck to album pages:

1. Don't pull. Seriously, don't.
2. Freeze the album page (sealed in plastic bag) for 2–3 hours
3. Use a thin plastic spatula (like for guitar picks) to gently lift corners
4. Work slowly—5 minutes per photo is normal

For photos stuck to each other:

• If they're valuable: Pay a conservator. I learned this the expensive way.
• If they're duplicates or less important: Try the freeze method
• If emulsion is actively peeling: They may be unsalvageable at home

What worked for mold:

• Wear a mask (mold spores are no joke)
• Dry brush with soft makeup brush outdoors
• Scan immediately after cleaning (mold returns)
• Consider professional ozone treatment for extensive mold ($150–300 for a batch)

I paid a conservator $380 to properly clean and separate 12 high-value family photos. Painful expense, but those photos are irreplaceable.

AI Restoration: What Works (and What Doesn't)

I tested three AI tools on the same 50-photo sample:

ArtImageHub (Free tier, then $9/month)

Best for: General family photos, faces, black-and-white colorization Results: 82% of photos needed no further editing Speed: 30–90 seconds per photo Limitations: Struggled with extreme damage (>60% image loss), occasionally over-smoothed faces

My workflow:

1. Upload batch of 20–30 photos
2. Enable face enhancement + scratch removal
3. Review results—download keepers, re-run with different settings for misses
4. Average processing time: 15 minutes for 20 photos including review

Remini (Mobile app, $5/week subscription)

Best for: Quick mobile workflow, face enhancement Results: Great face restoration, aggressive on smoothing Speed: 20–40 seconds per photo Limitations: Over-processes skin texture (the "plastic face" effect), expensive for bulk work

Used this for 30 photos where faces were the only thing that mattered. Good for social media sharing but not archival quality.

MyHeritage Photo Enhancer (Free for 10 photos/month, $99/year unlimited)

Best for: Colorization with historical accuracy awareness Results: More conservative than ArtImageHub (less dramatic improvements but fewer artifacts) Speed: 1–2 minutes per photo Limitations: Doesn't upscale as aggressively

Used this for 15 historical photos from the 1920s–1940s where color accuracy mattered.

Real-World Results

Photo #237: 1947 wedding portrait, severe silver mirroring

• Manual restoration estimate: $250, 6–8 hours
• AI restoration (ArtImageHub): 47 seconds, $0 (free tier)
• Result: 90% as good as professional work
• Time spent on manual touch-ups: 20 minutes (fixing one artifact near veil)
• Verdict: AI worth it, saved $250 and 5+ hours

Photo #412: 1973 Kodachrome slide, extreme fading

• AI restoration (ArtImageHub + MyHeritage): Both failed to recover detail in shadow areas
• Manual restoration: 2 hours in Photoshop, still not great
• Verdict: Some damage is too severe for AI. Accepted 70% recovery and moved on.

Photo #628: 1958 family reunion, stuck to cardboard

• Separation: Paid conservator $65
• Scanning: 1200 DPI due to small size (3×4 inches)
• AI restoration: Perfect result in 52 seconds
• Verdict: Worth the conservator cost for a photo that would've been destroyed by DIY separation

The Manual Touch-Up Reality

Even with AI, some photos need human judgment. I manually edited 41 of 847 photos (5%). Here's when it's worth it:

When to Manual Edit

1. AI invented details that look wrong (e.g., added earrings that weren't there)
2. Color is plausible but historically inaccurate (you know Grandma's dress was blue, AI made it pink)
3. Faces are important and AI over-smoothed (lost character wrinkles)
4. The photo is truly irreplaceable (only photo of a specific person)

When to Accept AI Results

1. The photo is "good enough" for family sharing
2. Manual fixing would take 30+ minutes for minimal improvement
3. You have 800+ more photos to process (my situation)

Time trap I fell into: Spending 45 minutes perfecting a 1982 birthday party photo because I could, not because anyone would notice. After wasting 6 hours across 8 photos, I adopted the "good enough" standard for anything except the top 20 heirloom images.

Colorization: Should You Do It?

I colorized 127 black-and-white photos. Here's what I learned:

Colorization works well for:

• Outdoor scenes (sky, grass, trees—AI recognizes these easily)
• Common clothing (suits, dresses in typical fabrics)
• Standard events (weddings, graduations—AI has seen thousands)

Colorization struggles with:

• Unusual wall paint colors (AI guesses neutral tones)
• Vintage car colors (AI doesn't know your 1956 Chevy was turquoise)
• Specific fabric patterns (florals, plaids get generic colors)
• Ethnic skin tone accuracy (still improving but not perfect)

My approach:

1. Colorize everything as a first pass
2. Share both B&W and colorized versions with family
3. Ask: "Was Grandpa's truck actually red?" If yes, manually adjust
4. For photos where no one remembers colors, keep both versions

Controversial opinion: Some black-and-white photos should stay black-and-white. I colorized my grandfather's 1943 military portrait and it lost the historical gravitas. Converted it back. Not everything needs color.

Organization: Future You Will Thank Present You

After 61 hours of work, the last thing you want is a disorganized mess. Here's the system that's working:

Folder Structure

Family Archive/
├── 01_Originals_NEVER_EDIT/
│   ├── 1920s/
│   ├── 1930s/
│   └── ... (by decade)
├── 02_AI_Restored/
│   ├── 1920s/
│   └── ...
├── 03_Manual_Touchups/
│   └── (only the 41 I manually edited)
└── 04_Best_Of/
    └── (Top 50 photos for printing, framing, sharing)

Naming Convention

YYYY-MM-DD_Event_People_Location_Original-or-Restored.jpg

Example: 1947-06-12_Wedding_Carmen-Joseph_StPaulsChurch_Restored.jpg

Why this matters: Six months from now, you won't remember which file is which. Searchable filenames save hours.

Metadata I Wish I'd Added Earlier

Use photo management software (I use Lightroom Classic, $10/month) to embed:

• Date (even if approximate: "circa 1950")
• People (tag faces—makes searching trivial)
• Location
• Event
• Original condition (in caption: "Severe water damage, AI restored")

I went back and added metadata to all 847 photos. Took 8 hours. Absolutely worth it.

Preservation After Restoration

You've spent 60 hours digitizing and restoring. Now what?

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule

3 copies of everything 2 different storage types 1 offsite location

My setup:

1. Primary: 2TB external SSD (fast access for editing)
2. Backup 1: Synology NAS (automatic nightly backups)
3. Backup 2: Backblaze cloud backup ($9/month for unlimited)

Why this matters: Hard drives fail. Houses flood. Cloud services shut down. Redundancy means your 60 hours of work survives.

Sharing With Family (The Often Forgotten Goal)

What's the point of restoring 847 photos if no one sees them?

What worked for me:

1. Google Photos shared album (free, unlimited storage for "high quality" which is plenty)—added 150 best photos, invited 12 family members
2. Printed photo book (Shutterfly, $89 for 100-page hardcover)—gave copies to parents, aunts, uncles
3. Digital picture frame (Nixplay, $160)—loaded 200 rotating photos, gave to my 83-year-old grandmother

Response: My grandmother cried when she saw her wedding photo restored. My uncle identified 8 people in photos that no one else recognized. My 16-year-old nephew asked about his great-great-grandfather's WWII service after seeing the restored military photos.

That's why you do this.

Cost Reality Check

For my 847-photo project:

| Item | Cost | |------|------| | Epson V600 scanner | $220 | | ScanMyPhotos.com (50 disaster photos) | $85 | | Photo conservator (12 stuck photos) | $380 | | Cotton gloves, cleaning supplies | $35 | | ArtImageHub subscription (3 months) | $27 | | Remini subscription (1 month for testing) | $20 | | External SSD (2TB) | $140 | | Backblaze cloud backup (annual) | $99 | | Printed photo book | $89 | | Digital picture frame | $160 | | Total | $1,255 |

Per-photo cost: $1.48

If you have 100 photos and skip the conservator, you're looking at $400–600 total investment.

Is it worth it?

For me: absolutely. These photos will outlive me. My kids and grandkids will see their ancestors' faces clearly. Worth every dollar and hour.

The Top 10 Mistakes I Made (So You Don't Have To)

1. Trying to separate stuck photos myself → Destroyed 2 irreplaceable photos
2. Not wearing gloves → Fingerprints on 30+ photos (had to re-scan)
3. Scanning at inconsistent DPI → Had to re-scan 200 photos later
4. Editing original scans → Almost lost master files twice
5. Not organizing as I scanned → Spent 12 hours sorting later
6. Perfectionism on unimportant photos → Wasted 6 hours
7. Forgetting to back up for 2 months → Nearly lost everything when external drive failed (recovered from cloud backup—barely)
8. Over-colorizing → Some B&W photos look better in B&W
9. Not asking family for context early → Missed opportunity to identify people before older relatives passed
10. Almost not starting because it felt overwhelming → Breaking it into weekend chunks made it manageable

When to Hire a Professional

I'm a DIY person, but I paid professionals for:

• Separating stuck photos (12 photos, $380) → Saved irreplaceable images
• Scanning disaster photos (50 photos, $85) → Avoided damaging them further
• One heirloom restoration (1847 daguerreotype, $425) → Required expertise I don't have

When pros are worth it:

• Photos older than 1900
• Daguerreotypes, tintypes, glass plate negatives
• Photos with sentimental value beyond money
• You don't have time (professional services can scan 1000 photos in a week)

Start Small: The "One Box" Weekend Project

If 847 photos sounds insane (it should), start here:

Weekend 1 (Saturday, 3 hours):

• Gather ONE box/album of photos (aim for 50–100)
• Sort by condition (easy/challenging/disaster)
• Scan the "easy" half using a phone + PhotoScan app
• Upload to Google Photos

Weekend 2 (Saturday, 3 hours):

• Scan the challenging photos (borrow/rent a flatbed scanner)
• Run through AI restoration (ArtImageHub free tier: 10 photos)
• Review results, celebrate wins

Weekend 3 (Sunday, 2 hours):

• Share Google Photos album with family
• Order one small photo book ($20–30)
• Gift it to your parents/grandparents

Total time: 8 hours Total cost: $50–70 (if you don't buy a scanner) Impact: Preserves 50–100 family memories forever

Final Thoughts: Just Start

Six months ago, I was overwhelmed staring at three cardboard boxes. Today, I have a fully digitized, AI-restored, backed-up archive of 847 family photos spanning four generations.

The secret? I didn't try to do it all at once.

20 photos on a Saturday morning. Another 30 the next weekend. Slowly, box by box, the archive came together.

Your grandmother's attic box isn't getting any younger. Those photos are degrading right now. Emulsion is flaking. Mold is spreading. Colors are fading.

Start with 10 photos this weekend. Scan them, restore them, share them.

You'll never regret preserving your family's visual history. But you might regret waiting.

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Tools I Actually Use:

• Scanner: Epson V600 (Amazon)
• AI Restoration: ArtImageHub (free tier → $9/month)
• Backup: Backblaze (backblaze.com)
• Sharing: Google Photos (free for "high quality")
• Metadata: Adobe Lightroom Classic ($10/month)

Related Reading:

• How AI Photo Restoration Actually Works: The Technology Explained
• Comparing AI Photo Tools: Real Tests with Damaged Photos
• Photo Preservation 101: Long-Term Digital Storage