This One AI Tool Makes Family Photo Restorations EVEN BETTER [Gigapixel 7]

Brian Matiash
19 Sept 202415:13

TLDRIn this video, the creator shares a personal journey of digitizing family photos after his father's passing. He focuses on enhancing a blurry, old photo of himself using Topaz Labs' Gigapixel 7, an AI-powered image upscaling tool with a second-generation face recovery model. The video demonstrates the process of photo restoration, from initial edits in Lightroom to upscaling and final touches, showcasing the significant improvement in detail and sharpness provided by Gigapixel 7's advanced features.

Takeaways

  • 😢 The video creator's father passed away, prompting the need to digitize and restore family photos.
  • 🖼️ The creator scanned family photos to preserve them digitally, including an old photo of himself as a toddler.
  • 🔍 The photo lacked sharpness, leading to the exploration of Gigapixel 7 for enhancement.
  • 💡 Gigapixel 7 by Topaz Labs is an AI-powered upscaling app with a second-generation face recovery model.
  • 🆕 The new model offers twice the detail and resolution of the previous one while preserving original facial features.
  • 📸 The creator demonstrates the process of editing and upscaling the old photo step by step.
  • 🖌️ Initial edits in Lightroom included cropping, removing artifacts, and adjusting exposure and color.
  • 🖥️ The photo was then exported to the desktop and opened in Gigapixel 7 for upscaling.
  • 🔍 In Gigapixel 7, the creator compared the effects of different models and settings on the photo's resolution and detail.
  • 🎭 The Gen 2 face recovery model was found to produce more natural results compared to Gen 1.
  • 🖼️ After upscaling, the creator returned to Lightroom for final touches, such as color grading and sharpening.

Q & A

  • What is the main purpose of the video?

    -The main purpose of the video is to demonstrate how the Gigapixel 7 AI-powered upscaling app can be used to restore and enhance old family photos, specifically by using its second-generation face recovery model.

  • What is the significance of Gigapixel 7's second-generation face recovery model?

    -Gigapixel 7's second-generation face recovery model offers two times the detail and resolution of the first model while preserving original facial features, making it ideal for restoring old photos with low resolution.

  • How does the video creator plan to use Gigapixel 7 for his family photo?

    -The video creator plans to use Gigapixel 7 to upscale and enhance a scanned family photo of himself as a toddler, specifically to improve the sharpness and detail of his face in the photo.

  • What is the resolution of the original scanned photo?

    -The resolution of the original scanned photo is about six megapixels.

  • What tools does the video creator use to prepare the photo for upscaling with Gigapixel 7?

    -The video creator uses the crop tool, Content-Aware Remove Brush, and basic editing tools like white balance, exposure, and contrast adjustments to prepare the photo for upscaling.

  • What is the recommended approach when using Gigapixel 7's face recovery feature?

    -The recommended approach is to first upscale the photo using Gigapixel 7 and then apply the face recovery feature, adjusting the slider until a good balance between the original and AI upscaled version is achieved.

  • What are the two modes available in Gigapixel 7 for upscaling photos?

    -Gigapixel 7 offers two modes for upscaling photos: realistic and creative, allowing users to choose the aesthetic that best suits their needs.

  • How does the video creator export the edited photo from Lightroom for use in Gigapixel 7?

    -The video creator exports the edited photo from Lightroom as a JPEG file to the desktop, ensuring full size and 100% quality.

  • What is the file size difference after upscaling the photo with Gigapixel 7?

    -After upscaling the photo with Gigapixel 7, the file size increases significantly, from 2.3 megabytes to 218.6 megabytes.

  • What finishing touches does the video creator apply to the photo after upscaling with Gigapixel 7?

    -The video creator applies a mild color grade, adjusts luminance, uses color calibration, adds clarity, texture, dehaze, and a vignette, and applies sharpening as finishing touches.

  • How does the video creator feel about the continuous improvement of features like Gigapixel 7's face recovery model?

    -The video creator appreciates the continuous improvement of features like Gigapixel 7's face recovery model, as it makes his life easier when working with low-resolution old family photos.

Outlines

00:00

🖼️ Preserving Family Photos with Gigapixel AI

The video begins with the creator discussing the personal motivation behind the tutorial: preserving family photos after the passing of his father. He shares the process of scanning old family photos and the challenge of enhancing a blurry toddler photo of himself for his mother. The creator introduces Topaz Labs' Gigapixel 7, an AI-powered upscaling app with a second-generation face recovery model that can double the detail and resolution while maintaining original facial features. The tutorial aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of this tool on the nearly 45-year-old photo. The video also includes a brief guide on preparing the photo for upscaling, including cropping, removing artifacts, and basic edits in Lightroom.

05:01

📸 Editing and Upscaling the Photo with Gigapixel 7

In this segment, the creator details the process of exporting the edited photo from Lightroom to the desktop and importing it into Gigapixel 7. He emphasizes the importance of using the latest version of the software and guides viewers on how to use the face recovery feature. The creator compares the results of the first and second generation face recovery models, noting the improved clarity and reduced artifacts with the Gen 2 model. He also discusses the slider settings for adjusting the balance between the original and AI-upscaled image and explores the different modes available in Gigapixel 7, such as realistic and creative. The creator concludes this section by demonstrating how to compare various models and apply the chosen model to the image.

10:03

🖥️ Finalizing the Image with Lightroom and Gigapixel

After upscaling the image using Gigapixel 7, the creator returns to Lightroom to compare the original, the Lightroom-edited version, and the Gigapixel-processed image. He highlights the significant increase in resolution and the improvements in facial detail. The creator then proceeds to make additional minor edits to the Gigapixel-processed image, such as removing artifacts that became more noticeable after upscaling. He also applies finishing touches like color grading, clarity, and a vignette to enhance the overall look of the photo. The video ends with the creator expressing his satisfaction with the results and the continuous improvements in software like Gigapixel, which aids in his work of digitizing old family photos.

15:03

📢 Conclusion and Call to Action

In the final paragraph, the creator wraps up the tutorial by encouraging viewers to explore Gigapixel 7 further and to check out another video on a related topic, generative remove in Lightroom. He appreciates the viewers' engagement, asking for thumbs up and subscription notifications to stay updated with future videos. The creator's call to action serves as a friendly reminder to the audience to engage with the content and follow the channel for more helpful tutorials.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Gigapixel 7

Gigapixel 7 is an AI-powered photo upscaling tool developed by Topaz Labs. The video highlights its latest update, which includes a second-generation face recovery model that significantly improves the detail and resolution of facial features in low-quality or old photos, making it an essential tool for photo restorations.

💡Second-generation face recovery model

This feature in Gigapixel 7 enhances facial details by doubling the resolution compared to the previous model. It improves facial clarity and preserves original features while avoiding an overly artificial look. The narrator demonstrates its effectiveness by restoring a 45-year-old photo.

💡Photo restoration

The process of enhancing or repairing old, damaged, or low-quality photos to restore their original appearance. In the video, the narrator uses various tools, including Gigapixel 7 and Lightroom, to clean up and upscale a family photo for printing, improving the quality for his mother.

💡AI upscaling

AI upscaling is a technique used to increase the resolution of images using artificial intelligence. In the video, Gigapixel 7 employs AI upscaling to quadruple the resolution of a low-quality family photo, enhancing details while maintaining a natural appearance.

💡Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is a photo editing software that the narrator uses to prepare the image before sending it to Gigapixel 7. Lightroom allows for cropping, adjusting contrast and color balance, and removing artifacts from the image before further enhancement.

💡Content-Aware Remove Brush

A tool in Lightroom used to remove unwanted elements from photos by blending the surrounding areas. The narrator uses it to clean up minor imperfections, like spots or scratches, on the old photo before proceeding with more advanced edits.

💡Generative Remove

An advanced photo editing tool mentioned briefly as an option in Lightroom. It is used for removing larger or more complex elements in a photo. The narrator decides not to use it for this specific task, opting for simpler tools to clean up small artifacts.

💡Resolution

Resolution refers to the number of pixels in an image, which affects its clarity and detail. The narrator discusses how the original photo, scanned at six megapixels, lacks sufficient resolution for large prints, which is why he uses Gigapixel 7 to upscale the image to improve print quality.

💡Face recovery

Face recovery in Gigapixel 7 refers to the process of restoring and enhancing facial details that may have been lost due to low resolution. The narrator tests both the first and second-generation face recovery models, demonstrating how the latter significantly improves the realism and sharpness of his face in the restored photo.

💡Color grading

The process of adjusting the colors in a photo to achieve a certain aesthetic. In the video, the narrator applies a mild color grade to the restored photo by adding blue to the shadows and orange to the highlights, creating a more balanced and visually appealing image.

Highlights

The video discusses the use of Gigapixel 7 by Topaz Labs for enhancing old family photos.

Gigapixel 7 includes a second-generation face recovery model that doubles the detail and resolution of the first model.

The presenter aims to restore a 45-year-old photo of himself as a toddler using Gigapixel 7.

The photo was scanned using an Epson picture scanner, resulting in a six-megapixel image.

The presenter plans to print the photo at a 5x7 size, ensuring enough resolution for quality.

Gigapixel 7's face recovery model helps improve the sharpness of the presenter's face in the old photo.

The video demonstrates the process of cropping the photo to the desired aspect ratio for printing.

Artifacts on the photo are removed using the Content-Aware Remove Brush tool.

Basic edits such as adjusting white balance, exposure, and contrast are made before upscaling.

The presenter exports the edited photo to the desktop to be opened in Gigapixel 7.

Gigapixel 7's interface allows for before-and-after comparison and selection of the upscaling factor.

The new Gen 2 face recovery model is compared to Gen 1, showing a cleaner and more detailed result.

The face recovery slider allows for adjusting the balance between the original and AI-upscaled version.

Gigapixel 7 offers two modes: realistic and creative, catering to different aesthetic preferences.

The video highlights the option to compare multiple upscaling models within Gigapixel 7.

The presenter chooses the low resolution V2 model for its superior results among the compared models.

After upscaling, the presenter returns to Lightroom for final touches and additional edits.

The video concludes with the presenter's satisfaction with the results and the ease of use provided by Gigapixel 7.

The presenter appreciates the continuous improvement of software features like Gigapixel 7's face recovery model.