Bring Dead Photos Back to Life (No Ouija Board Needed)
What’s This?
GFPGAN is a free tool made by Tencent (yes, the PUBG folks) that magically fixes old, blurry, busted photos—especially faces.
It works online, offline, and probably in your dreams. No signup, no watermark, no “upgrade to Pro” trap.
You upload an ancient photo ➜ it restores the face ➜ you cry ➜ grandma calls it witchcraft.
Try It Instantly Online (No Downloads, No Excuses)
- Hugging Face Demo – Drop photo, click button, feel emotions
RestoreFormer-CodeFormer-GPEN
- Replicate Demo – Same magic, slightly fancier
https://replicate.com/tencentarc/gfpgan
How to Use It on Your Own PC (Because You’re Fancy)
1. Get Python
Go here → https://www.python.org/downloads
Click download, run it, tick the scary “Add to PATH” box or it won’t work and you’ll cry.
2. Copy the Tool
Open terminal or command prompt. Type this:
git clone https://github.com/TencentARC/GFPGAN.git && cd GFPGAN
3. Install the Junk It Needs
Type:
pip install -r requirements.txt
This downloads all the brain parts.
4. Download Its Memory
Type:
python setup.py download
It pulls in the big model file (basically, the AI’s “face memory”).
5. Fix Your Photo
Put your sad photo in the folder. Then type:
python inference_gfpgan.py --input yourphoto.jpg --output fixedphoto.jpg
Boom. Youth restored. You’re welcome.
Too Lazy to Install? Use Google Colab
Open this free Colab notebook:
- Click “Runtime > Run all”
- Upload photo
- Wait
- Download your miracle
Tip: It’s free until it randomly crashes because Google hates fun.
Make It Colorful (Because Life Isn’t in Grayscale)
Option 1: DeOldify
- Web Tool (Zero effort): https://deepai.org/machine-learning-model/colorizer
- Google Colab (For brave souls): https://colab.research.google.com/github/jantic/DeOldify/blob/master/ImageColorizerColab.ipynb
Option 2: Palette.fm
- Website: https://palette.fm
- No login. Upload > Choose vibe > Download > Cry happy tears
Heads Up Before You Cry
- Don’t use this on perfect selfies. It’ll make your face look like an AI wax statue.
- If your internet sucks or you’re using Internet Explorer (why though?), online demos may lag or crash.
- Colab might randomly stop working if Google’s having a mood swing.
Pro Mode Add-Ons (If You’re Feeling Nerdy)
-
Upscale with Real-ESRGAN – Turns 720p to 4K like a Marvel VFX team:
https://github.com/xinntao/Real-ESRGAN -
Batch Fix Whole Folders
Make a folder calledinputs, dump all your cursed photos in it, then type:
python inference_gfpgan.py --input ./inputs --output ./outputs --suffix _restored -
Speed Boost Trick
Want it faster? Use ONNX version. Link:
https://github.com/TencentARC/GFPGAN/tree/master/onnx
Final Thought
You just revived your dead photos using free tools from the internet.
Meanwhile, Adobe wants $30/month to crop your cat.
Stay broke, stay powerful.
!