There are more options than ever to protect, preserve, or restore old photos. Modern digital photo restoration is a blend of art and technology. The process is labor intensive, involving more than cleaning up or covering up dust and scratches with preset algorithms.
Original images are carefully analyzed, then the new digital image is adjusted for brightness, contrast, and color corrections. Mold, water spots, sun fading, heat, and other types of damage are removed or corrected. Rips, tears, damaged patches, and cracks are digitally fixed. Textures are added, backgrounds are softened or replaced. Extreme cases involve going over every square inch of each photo at high magnification to get the best results.