In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to restore old photos in Affinity Photo. To restore this photo, we’ll be using the inpainting brush tool and the patch tool.
Before you begin to learn how to restore old photos in Affinity, go to the following link to download the image for the tutorial.
Step 1
First, go to File > Open. Select the image of the couple. Press CTRL + J to make a duplicate of the original picture. Label the duplicated image 1.
Step 2
Next, grab the Inpainting Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. Take the tool and go over the lines you see me go over on the screen. Make sure the duplicated layer is selected.
Step 3
Once you’ve done that, go to the Tools Panel and select the Patch Tool. Take the tool and make a selection of the mark on the woman’s dress by her shoulder. When you select the area, move the cursor around to find an area you want to use to replace the selected area. Then click off the selected area. After that, click on the Move Tool in the Tools Panel.
Step 4
Now, grab the Patch Tool and use it to remove the areas you see on the screen.
Step 5
Make sure you have the edited layer selected. Next, go to Filters > Noise > Denoise. Set the Luminance to 60% and hit Apply.
Step 6
After that, go to the Layers Panel. Click the Adjustments icon. Select the Brightness/Contrast adjustment. Set the Brightness to 10%. Then, set the Contrast to -3%. Make sure the adjustment is inside the edited image layer.
Step 7
Next, go to the Layers Panel and click the Adjustments icon. Select the HSL adjustment. Set the Luminosity Shift to -13% and the Saturation Shift to -15%.
Step 8
Right-click on the edited layer. Select Rasterize to merge the adjustments and the image together.
Step 9
Once you’ve done that, press CTRL + J to duplicate the edited layer. Now, select the duplicated layer. Go to Filters > Noise > Dust & Scratches. Set the Tolerance to 15%. Then, set the Radius to about 9% and hit Apply.
Step 10
With the duplicated layer selected, go to the Filters menu. Next, go to Noise > Denoise. Set the Luminance to 90%, Luminance Detail to 35%, Luminance Contribution to 100%, Colors to 10%, and Colors Contribution to 78%. Then, hit Apply.
Step 11
After that, go to the Filters menu. Then, select Blur > Gaussian Blur. Set the Radius to 1px.
Step 12
Make sure the duplicated layer is selected. Click the Mask Layer icon in the Layers Panel. Now, go to the Brushes Panel. Select the Basic brushes. Then, select one of the Soft Brushes.
Step 13
Now, go to the Color Panel and make sure that the black fil color is selected. Select the mask layer. Then, take the brush and go over the man and the woman to remove the blurriness from them.
Step 14
In the Layers Panel, select both the edited layer and the duplicated layer. Right-click and select Merge Selected.
Bonus Steps
After you restore old photos in Affinity, you can continue the editing process by adding color to your black-and-white photos.
Step 15
Go to the Layers Panel and click the Add Pixel Layer icon.
Step 16
Now, grab the Paint Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. Then, go to the Brushes Panel. Select the Basic brushes. Choose one of the Round Soft Brushes.
Step 17
In the Context Toolbar, set the Hardness to 15% and set the Flow to 30%.
Step 18
After that, zoom in on the image. Make sure that the new pixel layer is selected.
Step 19
Go to the Color Panel and double-click on the fill color. Enter the following hex code # FFC8B5.
Step 20
Now, take the Paintbrush Tool and paint the hands and the face of the couple. When painting the face, avoid the lips, eyes, and the eyebrows.
Step 21
In the Layers Panel, set the Blend Mode of this layer to Color. Label this layer Skin. Then, lower the Opacity of the layer to about 35%.
Step 22
Once you’ve done that, click the Add Pixel Layer icon. Label this layer Hair & Eyebrows. In the Layers Panel, change the Blend Mode of this layer to Color.
Step 23
Double-click on the Fill Color in the Color Panel. Enter the following hex code # 241C11. Now, take the brush and color the woman’s hair. Then, color her eyebrows.
Step 24
After that, go to the Layers Panel and click the Add Pixel Layer. Label this layer Clothes. Change the Blend Mode of the layer to Color.
Step 25
Go to the Color Panel and double-click the fill color. Enter the following hex code # EEE3F5. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the woman’s dress and her hat.
Step 26
Now, double-click on the fill color. Enter the following hex code # 171716. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the man’s suit. Then, color his hat and tie.
Step 27
Next, take the Paintbrush Tool and use the same color we just used and color the woman’s shoes.
Step 28
Click the Add Pixel Layer in the Layers Panel. Label the layer Building. Then, change the Blend Mode to Color. Double-click on the fill color and enter the following hex code # 7F8274. Take the Paintbrush Tool and Color the building this color. Place this layer between the clothes layer and the hair & eyebrows layer.
Step 29
Once you’ve done that, click the Add Pixel Layer icon and label the layer Window. Next, change the Blend Mode of the layer to Color.
Step 30
Double-click on the fill color and enter the following hex code # 0A4C4C. Color the grilles of the window with this color. In the Layers Panel, lower the Opacity of this layer to 50%.
Step 31
Now, Double-click the fill color. Type in this hex code # 282D2D. Take the Paintbrush Tool and paint the panes of the window this color. Make sure the window layer is still selected.
Step 32
Select the Skin layer. Now, double-click the fill color and enter the following hex code # C98276. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the woman’s lips.
Step 33
With the Skin layer still selected, double-click the fill color and enter this hex code # DEB4A2. Then, take the brush and color the man’s lips.
Step 34
In the Layers Panel, click the Add Pixel Layer twice. Label the first layer Ground and the second layer Greenery.
Step 35
Select the Ground layer. Double-click the fill color and enter the following hex code # 7CFC00. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the ground in the same areas you see on the screen. Then, lower the Opacity of the layer to 70%.
Step 36
After that, select the Greenery layer. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the areas you see on the screen. Then, lower the Opacity of the layer to 65%.
Step 37
Next, select the Building layer. Go to the fill color and enter this hex code #474038. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the thing that’s beside the man to the left.
Step 38
Select the Clothes layer. Double-click the fill color and enter this hex code # E9D1BC. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the woman’s stockings.
Step 39
Add another pixel layer. Next, click the fill color and enter the following hex code # 73AFC6. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color in this ribbon part that the couple is holding. Change the Blend Mode to Color.
Step 40
Now click the fill color and enter the following hex code # B869A0. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the ribbons.
Step 41
Then, click the fill color again and enter this hex code # BE0037. Take the brush and color the area you see on the screen.
Step 42
Go to the fill color and enter this hex code # 6CDB00. Take the brush and color the area you see on the screen. Then, lower the Opacity of this layer to 60%.
Step 43
Now, select the Hair & Eyebrows layer. Double-click the fill color and enter this hex code # 241C11. Take the Paintbrush Tool and paint the eyes of the woman and the man.
Step 44
Select the Clothes layer. Double-click the fill color and enter the following hex code # FEF4E5. Take the Paintbrush Tool and color the man’s shirt and the sleeve part that’s showing through the suit.
Step 45
In the Layers Panel, select all the colored layers we created. Press CTRL + G to group them. Label the group Colors.
Step 46
In the Layers Panel, click the Adjustments icon and select the Brightness/Contrast adjustment. Set the Brightness to 10% and the Contrast to 4%. Make sure this layer is above everything.
Congratulations, this tutorial is complete. You’ve learned how to restore old photos in Affinity Photo. For more tutorials like this, check out this article on how to create surreal art in Affinity Photo.
