Old passport or ID photo: enlarge it and bring the face back

Sometimes the only picture left of a great-grandparent is a small passport or ID photo from an old document. The face is large and front-on, which suits the tool well: it doubles the resolution and rebuilds the face, giving you a portrait to frame or share with the family.

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

free preview, HD from €1.99

Scanning a tiny ID photo well

• 600 dpi or more

  For a photo only a few centimetres wide, scan at 600 dpi or higher: common practice for small formats, and it gives the tool a large enough starting image.

• Leave it on the document

  If it is stapled or glued to an old card or passport page, do not pull it off: scan the whole document and crop to the photo.

• On a phone, fill the screen

  Move closer rather than zooming, and check the shot is sharp before uploading: the tool fixes old blur, not fresh camera shake.

How it works

1. 1. Digitise Scan the photo at high resolution, or the document it is on, then crop to the face.
2. 2. Upload "Keep B&W" is selected to stay true to the original. Pick "Auto colour" if you would like a colourised version.
3. 3. Compare The before/after slider shows what was rebuilt on the face: check the likeness before you pay.
4. 4. Share HD without watermark for €1.99, or 10×15 cm prints at €1.90 each for every branch of the family.

What the tool does well, and what it misses

• Good: a front-on, well-framed face The easiest case for face detection: the face is rebuilt and blended back with a soft edge.
• Good: the small size The image is enlarged twice while grain and light blur are cleaned.
• Worth knowing: stamps and staples An official stamp, a staple mark or a creased corner stay visible, and are not removed if they cross the face.
• Worth knowing: it is a reconstruction On a very blurry photo, some features are reinvented: compare with the original.