How Model Selection Works
When you upload a photo, the diagnosis step identifies damage types, color mode, face detection, and scan quality. Based on this analysis, the pipeline builds a recipe — an ordered sequence of AI tools — and selects the best model for each step automatically.
Restoration
Fix scratches, tears, fading, and age wear.
| Model | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Scene Restore (default) | Most photos | Balanced scene-level repair tuned for restraint. Handles scratches, tears, fading, and contrast recovery across the full image. Default for most restoration jobs. |
| Face Restore (CodeFormer) | Damaged portraits | More aggressive face reconstruction. Best on portraits with moderate damage. May over-reconstruct very small or severely damaged faces — always compare before/after on faces. |
| Face Restore (GFPGAN) | Well-preserved portraits | Gentler face restoration. Produces subtle improvements most visible when zooming in at full resolution. Better choice when faces are not heavily damaged. |
Balanced scene-level repair tuned for restraint. Handles scratches, tears, fading, and contrast recovery across the full image. Default for most restoration jobs.
More aggressive face reconstruction. Best on portraits with moderate damage. May over-reconstruct very small or severely damaged faces — always compare before/after on faces.
Gentler face restoration. Produces subtle improvements most visible when zooming in at full resolution. Better choice when faces are not heavily damaged.
Colorization
Add natural color to black-and-white photos.
| Model | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DDColor (default) | Most B&W photos | Balanced colorizer with natural-looking results. Works best on outdoor scenes, portraits, and group photos. May occasionally produce muted colors — re-run if the result looks off. |
| DeOldify | Comparison fallback | Economical alternative colorizer. More saturated but less accurate than DDColor. Useful for comparing different color interpretations of the same photo. |
Balanced colorizer with natural-looking results. Works best on outdoor scenes, portraits, and group photos. May occasionally produce muted colors — re-run if the result looks off.
Economical alternative colorizer. More saturated but less accurate than DDColor. Useful for comparing different color interpretations of the same photo.
Enhancement
Sharpen and upscale to 2x resolution.
| Model | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Real-ESRGAN | Low-resolution scans | 2x super-resolution that recovers fine detail from small prints and low-quality scans. Apply as the final step. Does not work on grayscale — colorize B&W photos first. |
2x super-resolution that recovers fine detail from small prints and low-quality scans. Apply as the final step. Does not work on grayscale — colorize B&W photos first.
Deblur
Remove motion blur and camera shake.
| Model | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NAFNet | Phone captures, photos-of-photos | Removes motion blur and softness from handheld captures. Run as the first step before other tools. If you can rescan on a flatbed, that will always produce better results. |
Removes motion blur and softness from handheld captures. Run as the first step before other tools. If you can rescan on a flatbed, that will always produce better results.
Deglare
Reduce glare from glossy prints and glass frames.
| Model | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Composite Deglare | Mild to moderate glare | Single-frame glare reduction. Works when underlying detail is partially visible through glare. For heavy glare, rescanning with indirect light or Google PhotoScan is more effective. |
Single-frame glare reduction. Works when underlying detail is partially visible through glare. For heavy glare, rescanning with indirect light or Google PhotoScan is more effective.
Animation
Generate subtle motion from still portraits.
| Model | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MiniMax Live | Clear, well-restored portraits | Creates subtle animation from still images. Highest-cost operation — uses separate animation credits. Best applied to portraits that already look trustworthy as stills. |
Creates subtle animation from still images. Highest-cost operation — uses separate animation credits. Best applied to portraits that already look trustworthy as stills.
AI Captions & Stories
Generate descriptions, narratives, and date estimates.
| Model | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Claude (Anthropic) | All restored photos | Writes warm, personal captions and narrative stories. Can estimate photo dates from visual cues. Review generated text before publishing — AI may misidentify details. |
Writes warm, personal captions and narrative stories. Can estimate photo dates from visual cues. Review generated text before publishing — AI may misidentify details.
Known Failure Modes
AI restoration is powerful but not infallible. Here are the scenarios where models struggle or do not work, and what to do instead.
| Scenario | Tool | Severity | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daguerreotypes & plates | Restore | Does not work | Seek professional conservation |
| Heavy emulsion lifting | Restore | Poor results | Missing emulsion = missing data |
| Grayscale input | Enhance | Does not work | Colorize first, then enhance |
| Very small faces | Face Enhance | May hallucinate | Compare before/after carefully |
| Heavy glare (washed out) | Deglare | Limited results | Rescan with indirect light |
| Original camera blur | Deblur | Limited results | Rescan on flatbed if possible |
| Muted colors | Colorize | Inconsistent | Re-run colorization, or try a different photo crop |
Seek professional conservation
Missing emulsion = missing data
Colorize first, then enhance
Compare before/after carefully
Rescan with indirect light
Rescan on flatbed if possible
Re-run colorization, or try a different photo crop
See the AI in action
All this technology works behind the scenes. You just upload a photo and get a result.