PHOTO RESTORATION WORKFLOW
A useful photo enhancement starts with the subject, not the largest available scale. Decide whether the face, hair, clothing, background, or printed detail matters most, then compare original-size processing with 2x and 4x output in Kogashitsuka AI.
This is not a claim that the product has a dedicated portrait or old-photo model. It is guidance for using the same real image-processing workflow while judging the information that remains in your source.
CHOOSE BY SUBJECT
The goal is not to force every photograph into the same polished texture. Portraits, old prints, phone captures, and landscapes preserve different kinds of information, so each deserves a different review.
Inspect skin tone, eye and glasses edges, hair against the background, and patterns in clothing. If a facial feature cannot be distinguished in the source, processing cannot be assumed to reconstruct the person's exact expression.
A photographed or scanned print may combine fading, folds, glare, and soft focus. Reduce reflections and skew before upload, and use the most detailed scan or camera file available so that the comparison begins with better evidence.
Images saved from messaging and social apps may already have been recompressed. When possible, choose the original camera file on the device rather than a screenshot or a downloaded preview.
Trees, buildings, signs, and distant textures can reveal artifacts that a small preview hides. Review the whole frame at 100% size. Haze or fully clipped highlights do not necessarily contain recoverable scene information.
THREE CHECKS
Work in the order of input, scale, and result. Keep the source file unchanged and save an output separately, particularly for a family record that you may want to process again with another setting.
Choose the least compressed JPEG, PNG, or WebP you have. A small forwarded copy can still be processed, but missing texture, unreadable text, or an indistinct face cannot be treated as faithfully recovered detail.
Use original size when clarity is the main issue. Begin with 2x when the display dimensions also need to grow. Reserve 4x for an output requirement that actually needs those pixels, such as a larger layout or print preparation.
Do not judge only from a fitted preview. Examine eyes, hair, contours, fine patterns, and transitions into the background. If the texture looks implausible, compare another scale or processing mode before saving.
PRACTICAL NOTES
Soft focus, motion blur, compression damage, and low pixel dimensions are different problems. Naming the problem first helps you decide whether to look for cleaner edges, fewer block artifacts, or simply a larger output.
With a portrait, zooming into the face alone can hide a mismatch between the person and the background. Also check whether skin became overly smooth, strands merged together, or a fabric pattern changed into a different-looking texture.
For an old print, flatten the original carefully and photograph it under even light without reflections. If you can scan it, leave a small border so you can straighten and crop later without cutting into important detail.
For print, do not stop at how sharp the image looks on screen. Confirm the pixel dimensions needed at the final physical size. A bigger file does not mean factual detail has appeared where none was recorded.
KNOW THE LIMITS
Results depend on the input and selected settings. Keep the original, compare the output against it, and judge the result in the context where it will be used.
Severe motion blur or defocus may remove the evidence needed to identify eyes, features, expressions, and letters. Detail that appears plausible still needs checking before it is treated as an accurate record.
An area that is entirely white or black may no longer contain tonal variation. Enhancement is not a substitute for exposure recovery, and information lost during capture may remain unavailable.
The tool does not provide a brush for selecting and reconstructing individual damaged regions. When a print needs that kind of repair, consider a separate retouching step after evaluating the upscale.
PHOTO FAQ
Edges and texture still present in a scan or camera file may become easier to see. This is not a dedicated restoration service that fills tears or accurately recreates a face that is absent from the source.
Check the width and height required by the destination first. Begin at 2x when the image genuinely needs more display pixels. If the current dimensions are sufficient, compare clarity at original size instead.
The current workflow processes the uploaded image as a whole. It is not a face-only selection or a dedicated face reconstruction feature, so review the person and surrounding scene together.
Yes. Save outputs as separate files and preserve the source. That matters especially for documentary and family images because it keeps later comparisons and alternative processing possible.
NEXT ROUTE
This page is about photographs. Choose the artwork guide for lines and flat color, the enlarger for dimension-first work, or the editorial guide when you want a broader set of post-capture improvements.
Open the actual homepage uploader to choose a photograph and review its accepted input, planned output dimensions, and required points before processing.
