1940s photos: restore wartime portraits and family snapshots

Photos from the 1940s are often small black and white prints: a grandparent in uniform, a wartime wedding, children outside the house. The tool enlarges them twice, recovers contrast and rebuilds faces. Colourisation is available, with care for uniforms.

The Minibon team · Updated on 27 October 2026 · Translation to review

free preview, HD from €1.99

Digitising a 1940s photo

• Tiny prints

  Many prints from this period are only a few centimetres wide. On a scanner, common practice is 600 dpi or more; with a phone, fill the screen with the photo rather than zooming.

• Stuck in the album

  Don't force a photo off the page: scan the whole page, then crop each photo in the Studio when you order a print.

• Write down what you know

  A name, a place, a year on the back or in a relative's memory: note it now. See identifying people in old photos.

How it works

1. 1. Digitise Scan the photo, or photograph it flat by a window, without flash or glare.
2. 2. Upload "Auto colour" colourises black and white photos. For a portrait in uniform, "Keep B&W" is often the better choice.
3. 3. Compare Drag the before/after slider on the free preview. Changing your mind about colour is free.
4. 4. Keep HD without watermark for €1.99, or 10×15 cm prints at €1.90 for the whole family.

What the tool does well, and what it misses

• Good: small prints The ×2 enlargement cleans grain and light blur, and each detected face is rebuilt.
• Good: contrast A flat, grey print gets its depth back, on brightness only.
• Worth knowing: uniforms, flags, vehicles The AI doesn't know their colours: when colourised, they are imagined and may be wrong.
• Worth knowing: folds and missing corners A photo carried for years in a wallet keeps its creases and gaps: the tool doesn't fill them.