Restoring 1970s photos
Most 1970s family photos are colour prints, and many have drifted orange or red with faint blues and greens. That is dye fading, it is predictable, and it corrects well.
How photos were made in the 1970s
By the 1970s colour negative film had taken over, processed cheaply in large labs and printed on chromogenic paper. Instant photography took off at the same time, with Polaroid prints that age in their own way. Square prints from Instamatic cameras and rectangular 35mm prints sit side by side in the same albums, often with rounded corners or a textured silk finish.
How 1970s prints have aged
The colour prints of the decade are notorious for fading. The cyan dye in many papers of the period was unstable, so as it faded the magenta and yellow layers took over and the print went orange or red. Light speeds this up dramatically, which is why a framed photo is often far worse than the same picture kept in an album. Magnetic albums with adhesive pages, popular from the late 1970s, add yellow staining and grip the prints.
Recognising a photo from the 1970s
- A strong red or orange cast with pale blues and greens
- Square prints from Instamatic cameras, or rectangular prints with rounded corners
- A textured, silk-like surface that scatters light when photographed
Colour: restore it or colorize it?
Do not colorize these. The colour is still in the print, just out of balance, and restoring it brings back the real colours of the day rather than a model’s guess. Restore Old Photos rebuilds the missing cyan and the lost contrast together. On textured silk-finish prints, capture with light from two sides so the texture does not read as noise.
The tool for this decade is Restore old photos.
Questions
Why do 1970s photos turn red?
The cyan dye in many colour papers of the period faded faster than the magenta and yellow ones. As it went, the remaining dyes dominated, giving the familiar red or orange look, especially on prints kept in the light.
How do I get photos out of a 1970s magnetic album?
Often you should not. The adhesive bonds to the print over decades, and pulling it free can bend or tear it. Photograph the prints in place, lifting the plastic film carefully if it causes glare.
Going deeper
How to fix old photos walks through the method step by step.