Repair a Torn Photo

What this edit solves

A torn print scanned in two pieces cannot be used as it is. The tear cuts through the scene, and the family sits split by a gap. Rejoining the pieces means lining up the torn edges so the picture reads as one photograph again.

Who needs it

• People preparing a family memory book for an older relative
• Anyone who has kept a torn snapshot in a drawer for years
• Families who scanned both halves but cannot place them correctly

How the edit works and where it stops

A human editor matches the two torn edges and checks that lines running across the break, such as a wall edge or a chair back, continue on both sides. The pieces are moved into position without stretching, rotating or recoloring them, and the existing pixels of each piece are kept. Faces, hands and clothing are not redrawn, and the aged black-and-white look stays. Fine paper fibers along the tear may remain, which keeps the repair honest.

Everything depends on what survived. When a sliver of paper is missing or an edge has crumbled, the pieces cannot simply be pushed together. A gap may stay, or be filled as a clearly marked estimate. Details that no longer exist are never presented as fact. How complete a real torn photo can look depends on how much of it survived, so the pieces are assessed first.

What to send

A separate flat scan of each piece on a plain background, at the best quality you can scan. Keep every fragment, even tiny ones.

This example uses 1 photo: the torn print, scanned as two halves. The two halves are pieces of the same photo, so it is 1 photo, 1 credit. A photo you send only to show the editor something is free.

Private: recreated on our own images, not customer photos

The before/after shown here is recreated on images created or licensed for this site — never a real customer's photo. Your upload is seen only by the editor working on it, and the edit comes with free revisions within 14 days of delivery if anything needs adjusting.