Learn Photo Editor Tutorials

How to Digitally Clean Old Photos

By Melanie Doncas | Photo Editor Tutorials

Old photographs hold a special place in our hearts. However, with time, these treasured photos can accumulate dust, stains, and other imperfections. With their limited photographic technology at the time, they also tended to be of much poorer quality than the crisp, high-resolution photos we enjoy today. 

Fortunately, BeFunky's suite of powerful tools, including the Old Photo Restorer, Object Eraser, and Clone tool, makes it easier than ever to digitally clean and restore your old photos.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of using these tools to bring your photos back to life. Whether you're tackling general cleanup with the Old Photo Restorer, making precise edits with the Object Remover, or perfecting backgrounds with the Clone tool, BeFunky has you covered!

old photo book

Erase Scratches With the Old Photo Restorer

The Old Photo Restorer is great for patching up any damage caused by time. It not only reduces scratches, but also recovers faces and recolors black and white images – in just a few clicks.

old photo restorer dirty

Our advanced technology will automatically enhance your old image while removing any scratches, splotches, or sun damage. GFX+ uses generative AI to restore your old photo like never before, while Classic allows you to isolate scratches or faces specifically.

After applying old photo restorer to dog photo
Old photo with dog in foreground and damage on film

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Banish Blemishes With the Object Remover

The Object Remover tool erases any undesirable elements from your old photo – whether it be discolored spots, hair, faded blotches, or anything else that needs cleaning up from your image.

object remover on old photo

To use this tool, all you have to do is choose a brush size and drag the brush over the areas of your photo that you need to remove. You can also select multiple areas of the image to erase at once. Adjust the brush size as needed as you move through the image.

old photo of child with object remover applied
black and white photo of child at beach

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Remove Hair & Dust With the Clone Tool

The Clone tool allows you to eliminate unwanted elements from your old photos by sampling and replicating similar areas within the same image. The Clone tool can be found in the Touch Up tab of the Photo Editor, under the Skin category.

clone tool menu

This tool works by applying your "source" area to wherever your brush is. The source is the area of your photo that you wish to duplicate – covering up the unwanted areas of your old photo. When you hover your cursor over your image, a circular target will appear, which you will use to select your source.

Once your target is positioned correctly, all you have to do is click your mouse over the area you wish to cover up and it will produce the paint brush. A second circle will appear, which you will use to clean up the unwanted parts of your photo. In this example, we’re erasing hairs from a vintage photo. You can hold down your mouse and drag it to continuously use the Clone tool, or click one spot at a time for more detailed work.

old photo of road with dust removed
old photo of road

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Clean and Restore Old Photos the Easy Way

Ready to clean up your old photos and bring them back to their original glory? With BeFunky's intuitive tools, including the Old Photo Restorer, Object Remover, and Clone tool, digitally cleaning and restoring old photos is simple and effective.

Check out the Photo Editor to try each of these tools for yourself! 

Photo Editing, Simplified.


Photo Editing. Simplified