Source: https://restorebunny.com/guides/ai-photo-restoration-prompt/ # AI Photo Restoration Prompt for Natural, Faithful Results A copy-ready prompt and verification checklist for repairing damage without modernising clothing, inventing accessories, or aggressively changing faces. AI & software8 min readUpdated 11 October 2026 ## Try it on your own photo Repair a copy of your photo, then compare faces and details with the original. [Restore my photo]()1 credit per successful photo · Account required[See credit packs]() Quick answer ## The short version Tell the model to repair only visible damage, preserve identity and geometry, keep the original crop and era, avoid beauty retouching, and leave ambiguous details conservative. Then compare the output with the source—prompt wording cannot guarantee factual reconstruction where information is missing. ## Copy-ready restoration prompt Restore this photograph conservatively. Repair only visible scratches, dust, stains, fading, creases, and mild blur. Preserve every person's identity, face shape, expression, pose, age, hairstyle, clothing, jewellery, body proportions, and position. Keep the original crop, background, lighting direction, photographic era, and natural film or paper texture. Do not apply beauty retouching, modern makeup, modern clothing, face replacement, dramatic sharpening, or new objects. Do not invent text or confident detail in unreadable areas; keep ambiguous regions restrained and consistent with the source. Return a natural restored version that still looks like the same photograph. ## Why each instruction matters - Repair only visible damage narrows the task from re-creation to correction - Naming identity and geometry reduces unwanted face, pose, and crop changes - Preserving the era discourages modern lighting, fashion, and camera aesthetics - Keeping texture avoids plastic skin and an overprocessed result - Calling out ambiguity acknowledges that missing information cannot be recovered exactly ## Use the prompt in a controlled workflow 1. Start with the highest-resolution uncropped scan available. 2. Describe unusual damage after the main prompt, such as a diagonal tear across the left sleeve. 3. Generate a restrained repair before asking for colourization or strong upscaling. 4. Compare the source and result at matching size, concentrating on faces, hands, text, and repeated patterns. 5. Save the approved result as a derivative and keep the original scan unchanged. ## What a prompt cannot guarantee Language guides a model but does not create evidence. If an eye, hand, medal, sign, or background object is fully missing, the result can only be inferred from context and training data. Choose a tool whose controls fit the repair, and verify important details. A dedicated interface or a carefully written prompt does not by itself establish predictable fidelity. ## Prompt phrases to avoid - Ultra-detailed, perfect face, flawless skin, or beauty portrait - Make it look like it was shot on a modern professional camera - 8K detail when the goal is identity fidelity rather than output size - Fix everything without specifying what must remain unchanged - Historically accurate colour without references for the people, place, and date ## Adapt the brief to one defect and one use For a crease crossing a sleeve: “Reduce the crease on the left sleeve. Keep the jacket seam, hand, expression and border unchanged by intention. Leave the rest of the image restrained.” For a family-history copy: add “Do not complete unreadable dates or signs; retain ambiguity and keep the original black-and-white appearance.” These are editable briefs for tools that actually accept text instructions. Do not assume every dedicated restoration interface exposes a custom-prompt field. A request to preserve a detail is still something to verify after generation. Approve repair first, then calculate any print enlargement separately. ## FAQs What should an old photo restoration prompt include? Describe the defects to repair, the details that must not change, the desired restraint, the original era and crop, and a requirement to avoid inventing unreadable content. Can a prompt guarantee the same face? No. A prompt can reduce unwanted changes but cannot recover information absent from the input. Use a specialist restoration workflow and verify the result. Should I ask for 8K or ultra-detailed output? Not by default. Resolution slogans can encourage invented texture. Ask for faithful restoration first, then upscale the approved result separately. ## Sources Preservation and technical guidance reviewed for this article. - arXiv: [Old Photo Restoration via Deep Latent Space Translation]() - U.S. National Archives: [Digitizing Family Papers and Photographs]() ## Related - [Review the generated repair]() - [Choose the final print size]() - [Restore Photos Without Changing Faces]() - [AI vs Professional Restoration]() - [AI Photo Restoration]() - [Editorial Policy]() ## Ready to restore your photos? Upload an image, choose your settings, and preview results with a before/after slider. [Restore my photo]()[View Pricing]() RestoreBunny Team Photo restoration editors Guides follow our [editorial policy]() for sourcing, product claims, AI limitations, updates, and corrections.