Restore a photo from a phone or screen

Only have a photo of a photo?
I can still work with it.

Phone snapshots of old photographs, screenshots, images taken from a screen or television — all of these can be restored, upscaled and repaired. The original doesn't need to be in your hands.

The situation

When you don't have
the original.

It's increasingly common for people to only have a digital copy of a photograph — a phone photo taken of a print at a relative's house, a screenshot shared on social media, or an image photographed from a television screen during a documentary or home video. The original may be lost, inaccessible, or on the other side of the world.

These secondary images introduce challenges — reduced resolution, perspective distortion, screen dot patterns (moiré), reflections and colour shifts. But with careful processing, much of the original image quality can be recovered, and restoration work can be applied on top.

The better the source image, the better the result — so here are some tips for getting the best possible phone photo of an old photograph.

Tips for photographing an old photo with your phone
Use natural daylight — avoid flash, which causes glare
Hold the phone parallel to the photo — not at an angle
Fill the frame with the photograph — get as close as possible
Use the highest resolution your phone allows
Take multiple shots and send me the sharpest one
What I can do with a phone photo

Correct perspective distortion — straighten images photographed at an angle

Remove reflections and glare — recover detail lost under glass or in bright spots

Upscale and sharpen — recover resolution and fine detail from low-quality images

Restore and repair — remove damage visible in the source image

Colourise — add historically researched colour to black and white images

For the best results from a phone photo, a resolution upscaling step is typically applied before restoration work begins.

You only pay if you're completely delighted — guaranteed.  |  Unlimited proofing  |  Free quote within one business day

Pricing

Restoring from a phone photo is priced on the same tier structure as all restoration work — with a small additional charge where significant upscaling or perspective correction is required. Send me what you have for a free assessment and quote.