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How to Restore an Old Wedding Photo: Gemini AI Prompt

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Does your grandparents’ old wedding photo have scratches and fading? First, try a gentle cleanup in Gemini. The prompt below, which is the instruction you give to the AI, is meant to reduce the damage while keeping the original look.

An illustration of the restoration idea. This is not an actual Gemini before-and-after test.

Protect the original first: work on a copy of the scan. Scan the photo straight; if you are capturing it with your phone, avoid glare and the shadow of your hand. Do not overwrite the original file.

Copy this: black-and-white restoration first

✦ AI PROMPTCopy → paste in ChatGPT / Gemini

Do not redraw or replace the faces in my uploaded old wedding photograph. Restore the existing photograph conservatively, preserving both people's original facial features, apparent age, expressions, skin texture, body proportions, clothing, jewellery, pose, background and composition. Reduce dust, small scratches, cracks and fading where possible without removing real details. Keep the original black-and-white appearance for this first restoration. Do not add beauty filters, make either person younger, replace outfits, invent facial detail in badly damaged areas or create a new wedding scene. Retain a natural photographic texture. Return only the restored photograph, not a phone mockup or a before-and-after collage.

🎨 Customize prompt size, colour, glasses

Size

Outfit colour

Keep the same

🎨 Customize prompt size, colour, glasses

Size

Outfit colour

Keep the same

How to use a prompt →

The face may not match exactly. Compare the result with your photo and ask the AI to fix anything that looks different.

This is a suggested restoration prompt. A face match is not guaranteed; the AI may fill in missing details the wrong way. Keep the original and the result side by side and compare the eyes, nose, smile, age and jewellery.

Want colour? Send this reply after the cleanup

Colorize the restored photograph gently, keeping the faces, apparent age, original outfits and composition unchanged. Use restrained, plausible colors. Do not replace clothing or invent decorative details.

A black-and-white photo cannot confirm the real colours of clothes and skin. Colorization is the AI’s guess. If your family remembers the real colour of the saree or suit, write that clearly. Do not force a white dress and a dark suit in every photo.

Short steps in Gemini

Open Gemini on Android, sign in and upload a copy of the original scan.
Paste the cleanup prompt above and send it. Google documents support for photo upload and editing.
Zoom in on the result and compare it with the original. If the face has changed, do not accept that result; attach the original again and ask for a gentler cleanup.
Touch and hold the result you like, then tap Save. When you send it to family, tell them it is an AI-restored or colorized copy.

About 4K and access

Writing 4K in the prompt does not make the file 4K. Check the actual pixel dimensions of the download. Google’s current guide says Nano Banana 2 gives a 1K download without an AI plan and a 2K download with an AI plan. Editing is for users aged 18 and above; availability and daily limits depend on your account.

Sources: Google: old-photo restoration and colorization examples · Gemini image editing, access and saving. We do not claim a hands-on test of this exact family-photo prompt here.

Want a different look?Build your own prompt — pick the outfit, background and lighting, then copy it in one tap.

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