ImageColorizer
Upscale.media
Pixlr
Airbrush
Bigjpg
Luminar
SnapEdit
Playbook
Upscayl
Evoto
Its culling feature sorts through a shoot to surface the strongest frames, so less time goes into manual selection.
AI photo editing software for photographers covering culling, portrait retouching, colour and batch edits.
By goal
From culling a shoot to repairing old prints: AI tools for photo work
- 7 stages, 23 tools
- updated
Photo editing is mostly small decisions repeated hundreds of times: keep or reject, a little warmer, remove that cable, crop tighter. AI has taken over a good share of the repetition. A wedding shoot can be culled and color-matched in one pass, a background disappears without a hand-drawn mask, and a small or soft image can be enlarged with detail rebuilt by a model. Old prints are a separate case: scratches, creases and fading that once needed hours of cloning can now be reduced in a few seconds, and a black-and-white portrait can be given plausible color.
Plausible is the word to hold on to. When a tool sharpens a blurred face or colorizes a 1940s photograph, it is not recovering information that was lost. It is generating a likely version. That is fine for a product shot and something to think about for your grandmother's face. The stages below follow the order most photographers work in, from choosing frames to exporting finished files. Two habits apply throughout: keep the untouched original, and look at every result at full size before you trust it.
Who this is for Hobbyists and working photographers with large shoots to process, online sellers preparing product images, and families who want to scan and repair old prints.
Start here
A starting point for the four jobs people most often arrive with: a general edit, an unwanted object, an image that is too small and a damaged old print. Chosen for how directly each record matches the job, with no ranking implied.
-
PhotopeaRetouching and colorOpen one photo and practice the basic corrections on a duplicate layer so the original stays untouched.
-
Cleanup.picturesRemoving backgrounds and objectsBrush over one distracting object and inspect the filled area at full size.
-
UpscaylUpscaling and sharpeningUpscale a small image with two different models and compare faces and fine textures.
-
ImageColorizerRestoring old photosScan one old print at high resolution, repair the scratches first, then try color as a separate copy.
-
Stage 1: Sorting and culling
Going through everything from a shoot or an archive, rejecting the blurred, blinking and duplicate frames, and organizing the keepers so they can be found again.
- What AI does here
- Surface the strongest frames from a large shoot, tag images by subject and find them later from a plain description.
- What AI can’t do here
- Know which frame carries the moment. A technically weaker picture is sometimes the one the client or the family will treasure.
Playbook
Stores images in a visual library, tags them by subject and mood with AI and finds them from a plain description.
Visual media library for creative teams with AI tagging, conversational search and an MCP server.
-
Stage 2: Retouching and color
Correcting exposure and color, developing RAW files, retouching skin and distractions on portraits, and keeping a consistent look across every image in a set.
- What AI does here
- Smooth skin face by face, relight a subject, replace a flat sky and sync one color grade across a whole session.
- What AI can’t do here
- Decide how much is too much. Over-smoothed skin and reshaped features are easy to produce, and the person in the photo may not thank you.
Evoto
Retouches skin on each face separately while keeping natural texture and keeps color consistent across a full session.
AI photo editing software for photographers covering culling, portrait retouching, colour and batch edits.
Luminar
Offers sky replacement, relighting and masking tools that act on a detected subject, standalone or as a Photoshop and Lightroom plug-in.
Skylum's AI photo editor for desktop and mobile, sold as perpetual licenses with an optional yearly add-on.
Airbrush
Focuses on portraits: evens out skin, adjusts features and applies virtual makeup in a browser, desktop or mobile editor.
AI photo editor for portrait retouching, object erasing and background changes on web, desktop and mobile.
Photopea
Develops RAW camera files and edits with layers, masks and adjustment layers in the browser, processing files on your own device.
Free browser-based photo and graphics editor that opens PSD, RAW and dozens of other file formats.
Affinity
Desktop app with a pixel workspace for correcting and compositing photographs using non-destructive editing.
Free desktop app that combines vector design, photo editing and page layout in a single document format.
-
Stage 3: Removing backgrounds and objects
Cutting a subject out of its background, or erasing what should not be in the frame: passers-by, cables, date stamps, clutter on a table.
- What AI does here
- Detect the subject and remove the background automatically, and fill a brushed-over area with matching content.
- What AI can’t do here
- Handle every edge. Hair, glass, fine mesh and shadows still trip up automatic cut-outs, so zoom in and touch up by hand where needed.
Cleanup.pictures
Deletes whatever you brush over, including people, text and date stamps, and fills the area with matching content.
Web inpainting tool that removes objects, people, text and defects from photos by brushing over them.
SnapEdit
Detects unwanted items or people and erases them, with separate tools for text, overhead wires and backgrounds.
Online AI photo editor for removing objects and backgrounds, enhancing images and batch processing.
PicWish
Separates the subject from its surroundings automatically and can work through up to 30 uploads in a single batch.
AI photo editor for cutting out backgrounds, sharpening blurry shots and retouching product images.
Photoroom
Isolates a product so it can sit on a plain white backdrop or be exported with transparency.
AI photo editor for e-commerce product images, with background removal, batch editing and an API.
Cutout.Pro
Cuts the subject out of a photo, with separate tools for face cutout and background blur.
Online toolbox for background removal, photo enhancement, AI image and video generation, with an API.
-
Stage 4: Upscaling and sharpening
Enlarging an image that is too small for its purpose, reducing noise and compression artifacts, and correcting soft focus or motion blur before printing or publishing.
- What AI does here
- Raise resolution several times over while rebuilding edges and textures, clean JPEG blocks and reduce blur in faces.
- What AI can’t do here
- Recover detail the camera never recorded. The added texture is generated, which matters for faces, small text and anything used as evidence.
Upscayl
Open-source desktop upscaler that enlarges images locally with a choice of models, without uploading files.
Free, open-source AI image upscaler for Windows, macOS and Linux desktops, plus a credit-based cloud version.
Bigjpg
Enlarges artwork and photos with separate modes for each and five noise reduction settings.
AI image enlarger that upscales artwork and photos up to 16x while reducing noise and jagged edges.
Image Upscaler
Enlarges images up to four times, corrects motion blur and focus problems and removes JPEG artifacts in the browser.
Browser-based AI tools that enlarge images up to 4x, fix blur and clean up JPEG artefacts.
Upscale.media
Enlarges an image by 2x, 4x or up to 8x and adds tools to sharpen, deblur and dehaze photos.
Browser-based AI upscaler that enlarges and enhances images and short videos, with bulk and API options.
ImgUpscaler
Offers presets tuned for portraits, objects, scenery, pets and text, with a before-and-after preview ahead of download.
Browser-based AI image upscaler from LinoCut AI with output up to 16K, batch mode and related enhancement tools.
Artguru AI
Reduces noise, restores lost detail, improves several faces in one group picture and upscales for large prints.
Online AI enhancer for photos, video and documents: upscaling, old photo restoration, denoising and sharper scans.
-
Stage 5: Restoring old photos
Scanning a faded, scratched or torn print at high resolution, then repairing the damage, recovering contrast and, if wanted, adding color to a black-and-white original.
- What AI does here
- Reduce scratches, creases and stains, rebuild facial detail in worn pictures and colorize monochrome photos in several interpretations.
- What AI can’t do here
- Scan the print for you, or know the true colors. Colorization is a guess, and a rebuilt face can drift away from the real person.
ImageColorizer
Adds color to black-and-white pictures and reduces scratches, tears, creases, stains and water spots on scanned prints.
AI tools for colorizing black-and-white photos and restoring, repairing, enhancing and retouching old pictures.
Palette.fm
Colorises a black-and-white photo with a choice of more than 21 filters, so you can compare several color treatments.
Online AI colorizer that turns black-and-white photos into colour images using selectable filters.
Artguru AI
Its old photo restoration removes scratches, creases and spots and recovers faces, color and texture.
Online AI enhancer for photos, video and documents: upscaling, old photo restoration, denoising and sharper scans.
PicWish
Repairs old photographs and adds color to black-and-white originals, on the web or in desktop and mobile apps.
AI photo editor for cutting out backgrounds, sharpening blurry shots and retouching product images.
Luminar
Includes a Restoration tool for repairing damaged or faded family pictures inside a full photo editor.
Skylum's AI photo editor for desktop and mobile, sold as perpetual licenses with an optional yearly add-on.
AVCLabs AI
Its Photo Enhancer removes noise, adds color to black-and-white images and repairs faces in old pictures.
AI software and online tools for upscaling, restoring, blurring and editing videos and photos.
-
Stage 6: Generative edits and expansion
Changing what the picture contains: extending the canvas beyond the original frame, replacing an area with something described in words, or swapping an element for another.
- What AI does here
- Fill a selected area from a text description and extend an image past its edges with content that matches the scene.
- What AI can’t do here
- Keep the photo a record of what happened. Once content is invented, the image is an illustration, and some uses require you to say so.
Pixlr
Replaces a selected area from a description or extends the picture past its original edges with generative fill and expand.
Browser-based photo editor with AI tools for generating images, video and audio and removing backgrounds.
Pixelcut AI
Extends the canvas past the original edges and erases or changes areas with generative fill.
AI photo editor for product visuals: background removal, upscaling, generative edits, batch work and video.
Photopea
Fills a chosen area with new content generated from a written description, inside a layered editor.
Free browser-based photo and graphics editor that opens PSD, RAW and dozens of other file formats.
Airbrush
Its eraser and AI Replace take distracting items out of a shot or swap them for something generated.
AI photo editor for portrait retouching, object erasing and background changes on web, desktop and mobile.
BeFunky
Smart Edit takes a written description of the change you want and applies it, after which the result can be refined.
Online photo editor, collage maker and graphic design tool with AI editing and batch processing.
-
Stage 7: Batch processing and export
Applying the same edit to a whole set, resizing and reformatting for each destination such as print, a shop listing or social media, and delivering the files.
- What AI does here
- Run one edit across hundreds of images, resize a picture for different sales channels and expose the same steps through an API.
- What AI can’t do here
- Check each output. A batch applies the same settings to good and difficult images alike, so sample the results before you deliver or publish.
Photoroom
Applies one set of edits to hundreds or thousands of images in a single job and reformats an image for different sales channels.
AI photo editor for e-commerce product images, with background removal, batch editing and an API.
Pixelcut AI
Runs the same edit over hundreds of files in one go, such as removing backgrounds across a large set of listings.
AI photo editor for product visuals: background removal, upscaling, generative edits, batch work and video.
BeFunky
Batch editing runs the same adjustment or background removal across hundreds of images in one pass.
Online photo editor, collage maker and graphic design tool with AI editing and batch processing.
Upscale.media
Transforms many images in one run with presets that can combine several edits, and offers an API for automated workflows.
Browser-based AI upscaler that enlarges and enhances images and short videos, with bulk and API options.
Realistic expectations
- Restored detail is invented
- Upscalers, face restoration and colorizers generate a likely result. A rebuilt face may not quite resemble the person and the colors are guesses. Keep the original scan beside any restored version, especially for family history.
- Editing someone else's image
- Removing a watermark or logo does not give you rights to a picture. Only edit and publish photos you took or have a license for, and remember that the people shown may have a say in how they are altered.
- When edits must be disclosed
- News outlets, photo competitions, property listings and some marketplaces restrict or require labeling of images whose content was added or removed. Check the rules of the place where the photo will appear.
- Where your photos are processed
- Many of these tools upload images to a server, while a few process files on your own device. For client work, pictures of children or anything private, read the retention and training terms first.
- Compare at full size
- AI edits can look clean as a thumbnail and show smeared textures, odd hands or repeated patterns at full size. Inspect results closely before printing large or delivering to a client.
FAQs
Can AI restore a badly damaged old photograph?
It can usually reduce scratches, creases, stains and fading, and several tools here also rebuild facial detail. The more of the image that is missing, the more the tool has to invent. A torn-off corner or a face that is mostly gone will be filled with a plausible guess, not the real thing. Start from a high-resolution scan, repair before colorizing, and keep the untouched scan as the true record.
Will upscaling make a small photo good enough to print large?
Often it helps a lot, particularly for clean images that are simply small. Results are weaker on heavily compressed or very blurred files, because the model fills in texture that was never recorded. Faces and small text are where problems show first. Upscale, view the result at the final print size, and order a small test print before paying for a large one.
Is it allowed to remove a watermark from a photo with AI?
The tools can do it technically, but a watermark usually signals that someone else holds the rights, and one tool in this guide says so on its own site. Removing the mark does not give you a license. If the picture is yours or you have paid for it, obtain the clean file from the source. If it is not, ask the owner or choose a different image.
Do AI photo editors keep the pictures I upload?
It varies. Some tools in this guide state that uploads are deleted after an hour or a day, some delete once processing completes, and some run entirely on your own computer. Others say little. Read the privacy and retention terms of the specific tool, and check whether images may be used to improve its models, before uploading client work or family photos.
Related guides
- Running a social media campaign: which AI tools fit which stage?9 stages
- Opening an online store: where AI tools fit, stage by stage9 stages
- A children's picture book, start to finish: where AI tools help and where they don't8 stages
- Building a brand identity with AI, from the name to the first video8 stages
Categories used in this guide
- Image Editing68 tools
- Image Upscaler17 tools
- Background Remover19 tools
- AI Image Generator117 tools
- Graphic Design62 tools
Tools are placed in a stage by an editor, from each tool’s own profile. The list grows as more profiles are published. All guides