AI for Blurry Photos

All the negatives are blurry.

My husband and I were really excited when we found a folder of old negatives marked "1968". While scanning the negatives, all looked well and I couldn't wait to see the images large on my computer screen in all their glory. But, when I transferred the photos over and opened them up, they looked, well...really blurry. 

I'm not an expert at photo editing but, ok, challenge accepted.

It had been awhile since I had done any in-depth photo editing in Photoshop. There are so many different techniques, I didn't know where to start, so I found some tutorials on YouTube and dove in. 

After converting the image for smart filters and adjusting it with the Camera Raw Filter, this was as good as I could get. Clearer but, still blurry. It made my heart sink, I wanted these photos to look amazing and even though this was a huge improvement, it wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. And, since it's a focus blur (not motion) I wasn't left with many options.

So, my search continued.

While digging through more videos on fixing blurry photos, I came across a video about Remini App and it blew my mind. I couldn't wait to try it out. Remini App uses AI to recover blurry photos by creating in focus facial features from it's database of images. And... it's AMAZING!

Look at that difference!

There are a few drawbacks though. 

1. It only works on portraits.
2. It doesn't export in full res.
3. It can leave some strange artifacting.
4. It only works on mobile.
5. You can only un-blur 5 photos a day (not complaing!)

​Drawbacks aside, it is an incredible tool helping me bring back to life some of the stunning portraits in our collection and I highly recommend checking it out.​

I'm still worried about sharpening the other photos.

But, at least I have some help with the portraits. And, hopefully someday, I'll be able to compile them into a book.