What can I use to remove blemishes from photos?

QIn my 75 years, I’ve taken many photos and now find that many need scratches and other blemishes removing. I’ve downloaded several ‘free’ image editors, but most are just a hook to buy the full version. Others, like Photoshop, are costly and too involved for me. Can you recommend what I could use? Ian E Mitchell

AThere’s certainly no need to spend money on expensive software to repair your photos. Instead, download Paint.net ( www.getpaint.net) - it’s free, easy to use and won’t prompt you to upgrade.

Open the photo you want to edit, then select Clone Stamp from the Tool menu (top left). This tool lets you select another similar section of the image that you replicate to cover up blemishes. Adjust the ‘Brush width’ setting at the top to match the area you want to fix, hover your mouse over the part of the photo you want to clone, then hold down the Ctrl key and click the left mouse button. Now click the area you want to hide and it will be replaced with the section you cloned. If you don’t get satisfactory results, try selecting a different area of the photo to clone or reducing the size of the brush width. Reducing the Hardness setting (next to ‘Brush width’) can also improve results (see screenshot).

Once you get the hang of this, try doing the same using the free GIMP image editor ( www.gimp.org - click the orange Download button). Its Clone tool (click Tools, Paint Tools, then Clone) works in much the same way as in Paint.net, but it also offers a range of advanced controls that let you tweak the cloning process - you’ll find these down the left side of the window when you select the Clone tool. For example, reducing the Force setting produces better results when fixing smaller blemishes.

If you still can’t restore your photo to the standard you’d like, you may need to call in a professional. Jessops, for example, will restore a photo and provide a digital copy and 6x4in print for £30 ( www.snipca.com/30377).