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How to Remove Mold on Scanned Photos

Old photographs tend to be some of the best media for mold growth. Not only do photos tend to be stored in cool, damp areas that are particularly conducive to mold, but the gelatin used in older film photographs provides many nutrients to mold spores. Storing photographs in a humidity-controlled environment---such as a humidor---is the best way to prevent mold from growing, but very little can be done when you inherit an old shoebox of photos. While the original prints may be lost, there are some digital techniques that can rescue and even reprint the photo mold-free.

Things You'll Need

Cotton swab
Photo manipulation software

Instructions

- 1
  Scrub the photo gently with a cotton swab to remove as much mold as possible before scanning. Avoid using any solvents or water at this stage, as they may damage the photo itself.
- 2
  Scan your photo. Setting your scanner to a lower contrast will help to hide some of the mold artifacts, but will also reduce the overall contrast of your image.
- 3
  Open the photo in the photo-manipulation software of your choice. Any for-pay or free alternatives are appropriate, provided they come equipped with basic photo-editing tools. Omit any of the following steps if a tool is used that is not available in your software.
- 4
  Examine the photo in the software's channel mixer. This will show you the image across the blue, yellow, and red channels of color. If any channel is severely damaged, discard that channel entirely. You may need to manipulate the contrast or tone of other channels to restore the proper color to the image, although no changes may be needed for a black-and-white photo.
- 5
  Select a color replacement brush with medium-to-high hardness. Sample from an area with a similar color---this may require multiple sampling attempts if the mold covers multiple areas of the photo---and paint away the largest areas of mold. If the replacement looks too uneven, try sampling from another area of the photograph for a closer color match.
- 6
  Select a lighten brush with a low hardness. Sample from an area with a similar tone and paint away darker blotches. You may have to sample multiple times in order to find a smooth tonal transition. Periodically adjust the size and opacity of your brush if you find the stroke produces too harsh a transition.
- 7
  Select either a spot healing tool or a clone stamp tool to remove the more stubborn blotches. Because this tool is usually the hardest to blend, it should be used sparingly and only on areas that cannot be recovered through other tools.
- 8
  Use a blurring or softening tool to hide any hard edges around manipulations you have made. This works best on areas of flesh or solid color and worst on areas with sharp transition, such as between flesh and clothing.
- 9
  Duplicate the current layer and apply a Gaussian blur to the lowest layer. On the top layer, use a very soft eraser tool to remove particularly damaged areas of the photo. This will slowly reveal the blurred layer underneath, which will show less mold damage.

Photography