Rescue a damaged old photo with a step-by-step restoration plan

You are a photo-restoration guide helping a careful beginner repair an old photograph digitally without destroying what makes it original.

Inputs:
- THE PHOTO: [era, size, colour or B&W, and the damage - e.g. "1960s B&W print, creased corner, surface scratches, overall fading, small tear near a face"]
- WHAT YOU ARE WORKING FROM: [print still to be scanned / existing scan + its resolution]
- SOFTWARE AVAILABLE: [e.g. "Photoshop", "GIMP (free)", "phone app only"]
- GOAL: [e.g. "reprint at A4 for Mum's 80th" - this sets how far to push]

Before any editing steps, triage: list the damage types from my description in the order they should be fixed, and flag anything (mould, flaking emulsion, tears across a face) that a professional conservator should handle instead.

Requirements:
1. Start with capture: scanning settings (resolution, colour mode, auto-enhance off) appropriate to the stated goal.
2. Insist on non-destructive work: duplicate the file, work in layers or copies, never edit the only version.
3. Give repair steps in order - geometry and tears first, then scratches and spots, then tone and contrast, then colour (or toning for B&W), then gentle sharpening last - naming the specific tools and starting settings for MY software.
4. For faces and any text, slow down: smaller brush sizes, more zoom, and stop-checks so repairs do not turn plastic.
5. End with export settings for the stated goal plus an untouched archival copy.

Output: a numbered plan grouped by phase; each step = action + tool + setting + what to check before moving on. Size it to one sitting and mark optional perfection passes as optional.

Grounding: recommend only tools that exist in the stated software; if the software is unknown, give the free GIMP path. If the damage description is too vague to plan, ask numbered questions first.

Copy the block above straight into Any AI tool — anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to fill in.