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Workflow Guide

Choosing the Right Workflow

Nostalgia offers several AI tools. Using them in the right order — and knowing when to skip a step — makes a real difference in your results.

Start with Diagnosis

Every photo uploaded to Nostalgia gets a free diagnosis. This tells you the photo's condition, what types of damage were detected, and which tools are recommended. Read this before applying anything — it often saves unnecessary steps.

Diagnosis is free — it does not use any credits. Use it on every photo to understand what you are working with before choosing tools.

Recommended Tool Order

For most photos, follow this sequence. Each step builds on the previous one.

  1. 1
    Restore

    Fixes structural damage — scratches, tears, fading, and age wear. This is the safe first step for almost every photo.

  2. 2
    Face Enhance

    Recovers facial detail in portraits and group shots. Apply after Restore so the model works on a clean image.

  3. 3
    Colorize

    Adds natural color to black-and-white photos. Works best after damage is repaired — otherwise the AI tries to color scratches too.

  4. 4
    Enhance

    Sharpens and upscales the image. Apply last so you are enhancing the best possible version.

When to Skip Steps

Not every photo needs every tool. The diagnosis report suggests which tools apply — trust it as a starting point, then adjust based on what you see.

B&W print in good conditionSkip Restore, go straight to Colorize
Sharp color photo with one scratchRestore only — no need for Enhance or Colorize
Soft scan of a sharp printEnhance only — the softness is from scanning, not damage
Portrait with good detailSkip Face Enhance — it helps most when faces are blurry or small

When NOT to Use AI

AI restoration is a best-effort approximation. For most family photo collections, it produces excellent results. But for archival-grade preservation of very important originals, a professional conservator may be more appropriate.

If a photo is very high-value or sentimental, consider rescanning at higher DPI before restoring. AI works better with more data, and you only get one original.

Always review results before considering them final — especially faces. The goal is faithful preservation, not a perfect AI rendering.

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