Film to PhotosHow to fix faded or discolored scans of old negatives
Old color photos turned red, magenta or washed out? Why film and prints fade, why scanning the negative usually beats scanning the print, and step-by-step fixes for color casts and faded scans.
Old color photos fade because their dyes break down at different speeds, which leaves a red, magenta or washed-out look. The best fix is to scan the negative instead of the print: negatives stored in the dark usually fade much less, and per-channel color correction during conversion removes most of what's left. For scans of prints, neutralize a gray area with white balance, then restore contrast with curves.
Why photos fade
Color photos are made of three dyes: cyan, magenta and yellow. Over the years, light, heat and humidity break them down, and not at the same speed. In many old prints the cyan and yellow dyes go first, so what's left looks red or magenta. Prints from the 1960s and 1970s that were on display are often the worst.
Scan the negative if you can
The negative of the same photo has usually been sitting in an envelope in the dark, so it has faded far less. It also holds more detail than a small print. Converting a negative already involves balancing each color channel separately, which cancels most moderate fading. See what to do with old negatives.
Step 1: Scan with plenty of data
Scan at 3600 dpi and keep a 16-bit TIFF or the original scan. Faded film has less contrast, so you'll stretch it later; 16-bit avoids banding. See TIFF or JPEG?
Step 2: Neutralize something gray
Find something that should be neutral — a white wall, a gray sidewalk, a white shirt — and use white balance (Temp and Tint) or a gray-point picker on it. This removes the overall cast.
Step 3: Fix shadows and highlights separately
Faded film often has one cast in the shadows and another in the highlights (for example blue-green shadows, pink highlights). Use the shadows and highlights wheels of a color-grading tool, or per-channel curves, to fix each.
Step 4: Restore contrast and brightness
Gently pull in the black and white points in curves or levels until the darkest part is nearly black and the brightest nearly white. Go easy: faded film has grain and noise in the shadows.
Step 5: Check skin tones
Faces are what people notice. If skin looks green or gray, add a little warmth and magenta; if it looks orange, reduce Temp.
In Film to Photos
Film to Photos sets color and brightness automatically for each color negative frame, which takes care of most casts. For very faded film, open More adjustments: white balance, curves and color grading let you fine-tune, and your original scan is never changed. See also why do my scanned negatives look purple?
Prevent more fading
Store negatives and prints in the dark, cool and dry; see how to store negatives.
Quick answers
Why do old color photos turn red or magenta?
The dyes in color prints fade at different speeds; usually the cyan and yellow fade first, leaving a red or magenta cast. Prints that hung on a wall or sat in sunlight fade fastest.
Is it better to scan the negative or the faded print?
The negative, if you have it. Negatives kept in envelopes in the dark usually fade much less than prints, and they hold more detail, so colors and sharpness come back better.
Can faded negatives be restored?
Usually, to a large degree. Because each color channel is corrected separately during conversion, moderate fading mostly disappears. Badly faded film can lose shadow detail that no software can bring back.
How do I fix a color cast in an old scan?
Use white balance on something that should be gray or white (a wall, a shirt, a sidewalk), then use curves or color grading to fix shadows and highlights separately if they're tinted differently.
Does Film to Photos fix faded colors automatically?
Its automatic conversion sets color and brightness for each frame, which corrects most casts in color negatives. For very faded film, the editor has white balance, curves and color grading for fine-tuning.