Can AI Restore Old Photos? Testing Aiarty Image Enhancer

Old photos hold precious family memories as well as important moments in history. However, as valuable as they are, time isn’t always kind to them – especially if they weren’t properly safeguarded.

Fading colors, blur, noise, humidity stains, scratches, and other physical damage can make them look dull or unusable.

Given that AI is revolutionizing all aspects of our lives, you might wonder: How can I restore old photos using AI tools?

This is where Aiarty Image Enhancer comes in. Quickly emerging as a contender for the best photo enhancer for old photos, it’s packed with powerful AI tools that restore color, clarity and overall quality in your old photos automatically.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Aiarty Image Enhancer to restore old photos with a detailed breakdown of its most powerful features.

Whether you just find a box of old family photos at the back of the closet or you’re facing a professional archival project, I’ll show you how to achieve high-quality, natural-looking results using Aiarty Image Enhancer.

If you’re ready, let’s bring those memories back to life.

What is Aiarty Image Enhancer?

Before diving into how you can enhance photos using AI tools, it’s worth discussing the software behind the process.

Aiarty Image Enhancer is part of a family of products developed by Digiarty, a new but rapidly evolving company focused on AI-powered creative tools.

In previous articles, I’ve already explored some of their other tools and even reviewed Aiarty Image Enhancer in full. However, recent updates and improvements make it worth revisiting it.

What stands out with the latest updates is the clear direction the software is taking. With improvements in the face restoration tool, the addition of Color restore, HDR, and the AI erase features, Aiarty is not just positioning itself in the general market, but it’s aiming to become the best photo enhancer for old photos.

And this distinction matters because Aiarty isn’t focusing on generating new content with AI, but restoring existing material with the highest possible fidelity.

However, it’s best if you see for yourself what Aiarty Image Enhancer can do to enhance old photos.

How Can I Restore Old Photos Using AI Tools? (Step-by-Step)

Aiarty Image Enhancer has all the AI tools you need to restore old photos. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

Download and install Aiarty Image Enhancer

After purchasing Aiarty Image Enhancer, you have to install it on your computer. This is a self-standing app, so you don’t need any other software to run it.

Aiarty Image Enhancer is available for both Mac and Windows.

Import your photo(s)

As you launch Aiarty Image Enhancer, you’ll see a big plus sign. Click on it to open a browser window where you can navigate to the files on your computer and select which one to import. You can do them in a batch as well.

You can also drag and drop the files into the interface to upload them. In the future, whenever you launch Aiarty, it will ask you whether you want to continue working on the images you were working on.

So, if you’re continuing work you previously started, you won’t need to upload the files again.

For the best results, upload the highest quality version you have of the image; there isn’t an import size limit. The only consideration is that, if the image is already 32K on Windows or 16K on Mac, you won’t be able to upscale it.

Choose the AI enhancement model

Once the photo is uploaded, Aiarty Image Enhancer starts working automatically with the default settings. You can either wait for it to finish and make changes if necessary, or click Abort and choose a different AI model.

It’s possible to disable the automatic processing by using the checkbox next to “Auto start next time”.

In any case, the default model is More Detail GAN V3, which suits most purposes by generating greater detail, clarity, and sharpness. It also applies Deblur and Denoise.

You can click on the question mark next to the menu to learn what each AI model does and when it’s better to use them.

Personally, I always start with Real Photo v3 when I’m restoring old photos.

Adjust the settings (optional)

In addition to using the AI model to enhance your old photos, you can also make them bigger, which is usually necessary because they often have low resolution.

Right below the AI model menu, you’ll find the Upscale one. They’re linked, so you won’t always find the same possibilities.

For example, the model More Detail GAN V3 offers all the upscaling options, but the Real Photo v3 I was telling you about only allows x1 and x2.

It’s also worth noting that working with a large file may not provide additional upscaling options. As I mentioned in the uploading step, the output size limit is 32K on Windows or 16K on Mac.

If you don’t want to change the photo’s size, choose x1 upscaling.

Once the enhancement and upscaling are complete, you can adjust the effect’s intensity.

Simply drag the strength slider and keep an eye on the preview to find the best amount.

Pro tip: Don’t over restore! It’s best to keep things natural when restoring old photos.

Other settings you can use are the Color feature if your image has a strong color cast, or if its colors are fading.

The HDR feature is also helpful to balance the tonal range, and it’s best when used together with the Color one.

You can also turn on the Face Enhancer feature if you’re working with portraits.

Remove imperfections (optional)

In my experience, thanks to the sharpening and detail recovery, some dust specks may become more noticeable – this is the perfect tool to remove these distractions.

Also, old photos often have folds, scratches, blotches, or dust. If you want to fix this problem, head to the AI Eraser feature. Enable it, then click Edit Mask.

Then, use the brush to paint over the imperfections you want to remove and click Apply.

You can repeat this step as many times as you consider necessary. Note that you don’t have to do one scratch at a time.

Once you’re happy with the result, click Finish. This will get you back to the main screen.

Export the results

When your image is ready, go to Export settings on the bottom right of the screen. Here, you can choose the destination folder, file format, size, and quality.

Then click Single Export for the photo currently open, or Batch Export for all the images loaded in the film strip.

Why Is Aiarty Image Enhancer Ideal for Restoring Old Photos?

Here, you’ll find the features that make Aiarty Image Enhancer one of the best photo enhancers for old photos, especially for low-resolution, faded images.

Upscale low-resolution photos without losing details

One of the biggest challenges when restoring old photos is their low resolution. Whether scanned from prints or saved from early digital cameras, these images lack the clarity you need to appreciate them on modern screens.

They’re also often quite small, and enlarging them may result in lost detail and pixelation.

Aiarty Image Enhancer solves this problem by offering AI models that can upscale your images up to 4k, 8k and even 32k – although, remaining below 8k yields better results.

The AI reconstructs the missing information to create texture, edges, and subtle elements that look natural. To do so, Aiarty Image Enhancer offers multiple models – each trained to prioritize different details.

Some models are optimized for high-fidelity reconstruction, others focus on detail enhancement, such as hair strands or skin texture. Don’t worry, there are also models that aim to keep a balance between the different needs.

You can easily change the AI model and see which one works best for each photo – you always have the before and after window to compare with the original.

Removes noise and grain

Noise is one of the most common issues when restoring old photos – but not all ‘noise’ is the same. In digital photography, you can see it as random speckles or color distortions across the image.

There are many reasons an image can have noise, but in old digital photos, it’s usually because camera sensors weren’t as sensitive to light, and processing software wasn’t as sophisticated at handling challenging lighting conditions.

However, when you’re working with scanned film photos, what you’re seeing is not noise – it’s grain. Film grain is a texture caused by the silver halide crystals embedded in the film emulsion. After scanning, the grain can be problematic, aesthetically displeasing, or both.

Whichever type of noise or grain you’re dealing with, Aiarty Image Enhancer is designed to remove it without losing texture – offering a beautiful, natural result.

Fix blur and restore sharpness

Blur and pixelation are common in old photos. This may be a problem from the original photograph, an aging issue that causes details to fade in prints, or poor compression when scanning the pictures.

Whatever the reason, Aiarty Image Enhance recovers lost details and sharpens the photograph. Each AI model will do it in a unique way – so, you can try them all to find the best result.

Not just that, if you feel the result is too sharp and makes the image lose its original feel, you can regulate the intensity of the effect using the strength slider.

The changes are immediately available on the before-and-after screen, so you can find the sweet spot where all the details are present but the image still feels authentic.

Additional features to enhance restoration results

Remove stains and scratches

While Aiarty automates tasks like upscaling, denoising, and deblurring, restoring physical damage like scratches, stains, or dust introduced during the scanning process requires a more targeted approach.

This is where the AI Eraser tool comes in. Currently labelled as experimental, it’s fully functional, and it worked quite well during my tests.

I also tried using it to remove photo bombers and other elements not necessarily related to old photos, and it works great.

I do hope they add the option to automate dust and scratch removal in the future, though.

In any case, if you want to try it out yourself, scroll down the tools on the right side of the screen, click the Enabled checkbox under the AI Eraser tool, and click Edit Mask.

Now, use the Brush tool to paint over anything you want to remove and click Apply.

Pro tip: Use a small-sized brush and zoom in for better results. You don’t need to make a precise selection, but including just what’s necessary makes the program work faster and more efficiently.

AI-powered face restoration

Details in faces are often a critical point in old photos. Perhaps it’s fading, or it was blurry since the beginning, and it’s the most important part of any portrait.

Aiarty Image Enhancer has an AI Face Restoration tool that works wonders. If you tried it in an older version of the software, let me tell you that it’s highly improved – it’s the feature that most impressed me in comparison to previous versions.

Once enabled, the AI focuses on key facial features, including skin texture, eyes and eyebrows, lips, facial contours, and hair.

It has two AI models and two blend modes to choose from.

Simply enable the tool to try it out, or disable it if you don’t like the effect. That’s how easy it is to use.

Restore faded colors and correct color casts

Color degradation is one of the most visible signs of aging photos. Over time, prints can develop a color cast or the original colors start losing vibrancy and saturation. As a result, old photos look flat.

To bring back its original lively colors, enable the Color Restore tool. You can even control the strength of the effect by dragging the slider. Don’t forget that the manual tools to correct Color Temperature and Tint are also available.

Additionally, these tools work particularly well when combined with the HDR feature, helping improve color depth and overall tonal balance.

Privacy and security

When restoring old photos, especially personal and family photos, privacy is a major concern.

Many AI solutions rely on cloud-based services to process your images, which means they upload them to external servers. This can raise concerns about potential data leaks, unclear data usage policies, and related issues.

This isn’t the case with Aiarty, which processes everything locally on your device. This means that your photos never leave your computer.

In addition, Aiarty is an ethical company with a strong awareness of copyright. So, all their models were trained using properly sourced data.

Value for Money

When it comes to value for money, the lifetime license of Aiarty Image Enhancer is the best on the market.

Most software is only available by subscription, and the few that offer a one-time purchase will eventually require you to buy an update to access their latest features.

This isn’t the case with Aiarty Image Enhancer. Here, you pay one time and get access to a lifetime of updates for free – you’ll never have to pay again, and you’ll still have the latest developments.

You’ll also get unlimited access to all features, so you can enhance as many photos as you need. All of this at a very competitive price.

Currently, there’s a special discount that gets you the lifetime license for only US$79 – that’s 49% off. This applies to the Mac, PC, and cross-platform licenses.

Restoring Old Photos Using Aiarty Image Enhancer – FAQs

How can I restore old photos using AI tools?

Using Aiarty Image Enhancer, you just have to import your old photo and let the AI automatically enhance, upscale, and improve its overall quality. If needed, simply enable the Color Restore tool to fix fading and color casts, and use AI Eraser to manually remove scratches and imperfections.

How to enhance image quality in an old photo?

To enhance the quality of an old photo, upload it into Aiarty Image Enhancer and let the AI automatically improve sharpness, remove noise, and upscale the resolution. You can then fine-tune the result by adjusting color settings or using additional features such as the Face Restoration and AI Eraser tools.

Is Aiarty Image Enhancer safe?

Yes, Aiarty Image Enhancer is safe to use because all processing occurs locally on your device, without uploading images to external servers or cloud services. This ensures your images remain private and under your control.

How much does Aiarty cost?

The regular price of the Aiarty Image Enhancer lifetime license is $155. However, you can often find great offers, such as the 49% discount currently available. You can also get better deals by buying bundles. Alternatively, you can purchase a 1-year license. To check current prices and discounts, it’s best to visit the official website.

Is Aiarty available for Mac?

Yes, Aiarty is available for Mac and Windows. If you purchase a license for either one, you can use it on up to three computers running the same operating system. It’s also possible to buy a cross-platform license that includes one for Mac and one for Windows.