Colorize a black and white photo online. Converting a black and white photo to color (5 lessons). How to turn a black and white photo into color in Photoshop

Are you curious to see what the black and white photos from your old albums would look like if you colorized them? Do you think this requires spending a lot of time in Photoshop? It turns out that you can make an image color using a special online program! But let's talk about everything in order.

Colorize a black and white photo online in one click in Algorithmia

In order to make a picture black and white online, dozens of Internet resources have been created, but for the reverse function there is only one - Algorithmia. The work of this unusual site is based on the practical application of neural networks. In addition to the fact that it can convert an image from black and white to color, it can also:

• identify the area shown in the photo;
• distinguish people's faces in photographs;
• analyze the positive/negative mood of a given text;
• and much more.

Algorithmia has an English-language interface, but since the section we need - Colorize Photos - implies only one function, working with it does not cause any difficulties.

So, we upload our black and white photo that we are going to color - this can be done by selecting the photo on the computer or entering a link to its location on the Internet.

If you just want to test how to make a color one from a black and white photograph, you can choose one of the pictures offered here as an example

The coloring process takes approximately half a minute. Then we are asked to evaluate the photo before and after.

Move the purple slider to see the effect of the changes

You can save either a fully colored drawing or the comparison itself - a photograph partially in color and partially in black and white. The watermark on the finished image was a little disappointing, but it is quite compact and discreetly located in the corner. You can get rid of it by simply cropping the image.

Through several experiments, we found that the service works best with coloring skin, water and trees. The clearer their boundaries, the better the result.

As you can see, Algorithmia distinguishes people well and automatically colors the skin in beige tones. True, the service does not feel the boundaries very well, so just in case, the cardigan was also made in flesh color.

In the background behind the girl, the editor “didn’t recognize” the Christmas tree, so he left it just as a dark spot. But he clearly defined the color of the gift and the jeans and did almost everything correctly, except for the beige trouser leg in the foreground and the very vague borders. The service decided to “revive” the bird in the corner of the picture, so it turned yellowish.

In general, there are, of course, certain flaws as a result, but Algorithmia still deserves respect, if only because it is the only site that allows you to turn a black and white photo into a color one.

How to color a picture in Photoshop: a simple guide for beginners

We want to say right away that this method will take much more time than the previous one. You will also need minimal skills in Photoshop, and the more skills you have, the more beautiful the result will be.

Load the photo into Photoshop and create a new empty layer. Next, use the Quick Selection tool and click on the objects that we are going to convert to one color.

Use the Alt key to deselect the unwanted area

Select the “Brush” tool, select a suitable color and paint the selected fragments.

If you want the shades to not be too saturated, you can reduce the opacity and brush pressure
To maintain the presence of shadows and color transitions, change the layer blending method to “Overlay”
It looks much more natural this way

We repeat the same operations with the remaining objects in the photo. Let us recall the sequence:

• create a new layer;
• select a fragment;
• apply the desired color;
• change the layer blending mode.

If you do not process the edges too carefully, this will definitely be noticeable and the drawing will begin to look unnatural. We recommend using the Gaussian Blur function with a small radius to smooth out any imperfections a little.

Let's see what happened in the end. On the left is the original photo, which we then desaturated, on the right is its color version.

To summarize, we can say that turning a black and white photo into color in Photoshop is much more difficult and time-consuming than using an online service. For comparison, let's say that the whole process took us more than an hour, although in Algorithmia everything would have been ready in a few seconds. True, the result in Photoshop is more organic and predictable, and you can control all the moments yourself.

So far, these are all the ways to colorize a black and white photo. Therefore, decide what is more important for you - efficiency or quality of the result, and quickly put into practice all the advice you receive!

Hi all! As usual, I am with you, Dmitry Kostin. And today we will photoshop again. Remember how we did? Be that as it may, this is not surprising, since it is not at all difficult to desaturate the image. But how to turn a black and white photo into color? Is that possible?

Of course available. Already, even entire films are being colored. Why make some image color? But it’s still a very interesting experience. Can you imagine? You can come up with the colors you would like to see in this photo. For example, you can set the color of your eyes, hair, skin, clothes and much more. This is how I colored old photographs. It turned out funny)

Let me not make long introductions. Let's start coloring right away. Open any b/w photo (I chose a photo I found on the Internet).

Just look at what mode the photo is in. It's just possible that it was saved in the format "Grayscale", then you simply won’t be able to work with color.

Change the color mode to RGB. To do this, go to the top menu and select “Image” - “Mode”. Well, if it’s not RSL, then install it.

Quick mask mode

Let's look at the first method, namely the one familiar to you.

Blending Options

Here is another fairly effective trick for coloring photos. The main thing here is to create a separate layer for each element. I took a new photo for these needs.

By the way, this was the very first method that I learned about. When I found out about it, I liked it so much that I colored a lot of photos).

Layer mask

Well, the last method of transformation for today is using a layer mask. Let's get straight to the point.

Well, in the end you get a beautiful color photograph and it looks completely different. Oh, but of course I messed up a little. But you can always correct this.

I will never cease to be amazed at the power of Photoshop. Indeed, in many cases, the same problem can be solved in several ways, and you yourself can choose the method that suits you best. By the way, which method do you like best? Or do you have your own way of turning a black and white photo into color in Photoshop, which I did not describe here? Please write in the comments.

If you want to as soon as possible to explore the possibilities of Photoshop and learn how to work with it, I strongly recommend that you take a look excellent video course. Everything is described in detail, everything is told in human language and laid out on the shelves. The material is easily absorbed. So I recommend it.

Well, I'm done for today. I hope that you liked my article. Be sure to subscribe to my blog updates, then you will always be aware of the latest information on the blog. I won't spam. I promise). I wish you good luck in mastering Photoshop. Bye bye!

Best regards, Dmitry Kostin.

Hello, dear readers of my site! Today I will tell you how I add color to b/w photographs.

This method is not new and not mine. I once watched it on YouTube, now I’ll try to repeat it. In the process of carrying out a campaign, sometimes I am asked to add color to old black and white photographs. This was the reason to write this article on converting b/w images to color.

How to make a color photo from a black and white photo in Photoshop

1. First we need an original photo. I took the photo from the article "". Here she is:

2. Since old photographs are often digitized using a conventional scanner, they acquire a greenish or bluish tint. Therefore, we convert the photo to black and white using Photoshop, or rather to shades of gray. This is done in several ways, but for this method it is better to do it as follows. Press the key combination Ctrl+U and drag the slider to the very beginning, as in the screenshot below:

As a result, my photo changed a little:

That's it, now we can quickly and easily turn any photo into black and white in Photoshop.

And we give it flesh color, since I usually start by painting the skin of the face, arms, legs, etc. Initially I choose a color with a code #ffcc99:

Give it a Color blending mode (“Color” in the Russian version of Photoshop). If anyone is interested in doing this mode, then enter “Color blend mode” into a Google search. The first couple of articles give a comprehensive answer. In Photoshop it is at the very bottom:

4. Now select the brush and the color white and paint over the areas to which we need to give color. At the same time, if you made a mistake and painted over the excess, then change the brush color to black and correct it. As a result, I gave the skin color as follows:

In a new layer, change the flesh color to the one we will use to color the hair and add color to the hairstyle:

6. Now, step by step, we create layers and add color to all the objects in the photo. I only colored the bride, since there are a lot of details in the photo, when I have time I’ll color everything and update the article, but now we’re making a color portrait from a black and white portrait of the bride. Painting lips:

7. To make the eyes more expressive, I simply created a new layer by pressing the keys Shift+Ctrl+N. Selected the Brush tool and gave it a color close to black (code #161616 ) and lined the eyelashes, eyebrows and tinted the fountain pen (actually it’s a ballpoint pen or a gel pen, I don’t remember). As a result, I ended up with this photo and the following layers:

8. For comparison, I’m posting the result of how I made a color photo from a black and white photo using Photoshop:

Original black and white photograph

Ultimate color photography

If you have any questions about how to add color to a b/w photo, ask them in the comments or through the feedback tab.

HOW TO MAKE A BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO COLOR IN PHOTOSHOP

Today we will learn how to turn a non-color photograph into a color one. I’ll make a reservation right away for those who are looking for the “make a photo in color” button in this article. Alas, such a button has not yet been invented. You can desaturate a photo with one click, but you won’t be able to color it with the same click, because a black and white photo does not have color information. So we’ll have to work with our hands and fill our black and white image with color information in the most literal sense. Some plugins for Photoshop do a good job of colorizing photos, but we won’t discuss any plugins that we don’t know where to get from. Let's talk about what is available for colorization in Photoshop itself. And there is a lot in it.

The method of coloring a photograph is simple and primitive. A five-year-old child can master it in 10 minutes. I will tell you about all the ways to colorize a photo, and also show how this simple operation can be taken to a new, more professional level. So let's get started.

THE EASIEST WAY TO MAKE A PHOTO Blend Color

To colorize a photo you will need to know how to use the tool. Brush Tool, as well as have an idea of ​​how other Photoshop tools work. The ability to select areas of a photo and basic knowledge about layers and masks, which you can glean from my article Masks in Photoshop, will not hurt. In this lesson, you will see in practice how you can automate work in Photoshop using masks, and have full control over color settings.

I borrowed a photo from the collection of a photographer friend of mine. Black and white photographs look mysterious and conceptual, but what happens if we color it a little? Create a new layer on top of the photo Layer > New > Layer or click on the small layer icon in the layers palette Windows > Layers

Now select a tool Brush Tool, a soft-edged brush, make it larger and drag the mouse over the new layer with some red color. The natural result is a red smear on a skillfully taken photograph. This doesn't suit us. In order for the red color to color, you need to change the settings of the layer itself. These settings are called overlay settings Color Mode. You can find them only in the layers palette Layers, above the layers themselves. Click on this drop-down menu, you will see a whole list of different blend modes. The point is that by changing the color blending mode, we establish new rules by which the layer's color interacts with the colors of the layers below. The blending mode we need is called Color, and its meaning is simple - it colors the image in the color we need, while maintaining the naturalness of the colors. Install let's decide Color, choose the color you need and color the girl’s hair.

That's all. Quite simple isn't it? Spare me the trouble of stretching out this process over 10 pages and demonstrating how I paint the skin, gloves, eyes, and so on, step by step. The coloring depends on your imagination, and the realism depends on the quality of work and the naturalness of the selected colors. Work with the brush, select the size, adjust the opacity and fill parameters, which you will find in the brush settings menu Windows > Options

This is the “mask” my wife sketched for a few minutes of work. Note that the layer blending mode is Normal. I hope you are convinced that making a color photo in Photoshop is very simple.

And this is what happens if you change the layer blending settings to Color.

COLORING A PHOTO VIA LAYER STYLES

Now let's start going deeper and complicating the process. Complication is not meant to make the work more difficult, but to make the work easier. You know, all these kali malis on one layer are of course wonderful, but they are more suitable for creative individuals, those who like to sit and spin a clay pot on a gurney for hours. Spreading one color and another on this layer is perhaps convenient for artists from the academy who were banned from Google, which is why they still have not heard about Photoshop. Alas, even cartoons are drawn on a computer; 1000 drawings on paper, which are then quickly flipped through, remain in the 20th century. Personally, as a designer, I would like to have more control over color and settings. I would like to effectively and quickly tweak colors through the menu, rather than redraw the layer.

How could we bring more control over the image? To begin with, it would be nice to divide one layer into several layers. Let's create
There really are a lot of layers. And each layer will be responsible for its own area. Create a layer "hair", layer "eyes", "gloves", "nails" and others. I started coloring the photo myself, creating thematic layers for this. Now the control process is more manageable, at least the coloring is not on one layer. Any part of the coloring can be muted, turned off, in other words, you can do with it everything that can be done with a layer. Other layers with coloring will remain untouched.

But none of this still makes much sense. The color of all layers is still arbitrary. On layer "Hair" You can still draw with both blue and red. In other words, still Kali Mali, but more manageable Kali Mali, divided into sectors. And I would like to control the color too. I want to change the entire color with one click, and not sculpt with a brush and constantly redo the result with my hands. I'll show you how to do this using layer styles. layer style.

Create a layer and name it "Hair". Dye your hair any color, even green. Go to the layers palette and set the fill Fill on 0% Thus, what you drew will become invisible.

Roughly speaking, we create a kind of raster area, turn off the fill fill and apply layer styles to the area. The area itself does not become invisible, as is the case with Opasity. The content of the area becomes invisible, but not the area itself. Therefore, the applied layer styles will be visible. But if we set the Opasity to 0%, the entire layer along with the styles would become invisible. We will give the area a certain style, but since we will still have to apply layer blending to paint, the original color must be removed by setting the Fill to 0%, otherwise when blending it will become visible and we will not get the desired result.

Now let's create a style for the layer Layer > Layer Style > Color Overlay In the mixing menu Blend mode set the mode Color. And in the color box, set the color we need.

If you forgot to set the fill to 0%, you can do this in the same window, in the blending settings tab Blending Options. If you did this in the layers palette Layers, then the fill will already be installed as needed.

Now we have full control over color. Give each layer a different style. Double-clicking on the layer will automatically bring up Layer Styles, where you can change the hair color with one click. You don’t have to smear everything 100 times, the color changes in one second, and you see the result online. Choosing a color has become much easier.

This is what I call color control. Now let's go even deeper.

COLORING PHOTOS THROUGH FILL LAYERS (fill lyers)

You know what I think. These efforts to control the image are certainly cool, but somehow difficult. What if you need to change the color? You have to constantly click on the layer, bring up the styles window, go to the tab Color Overlay and change something there. Not such a fast process if you want to quickly change the colors of the layers. Of course, if we have 2 layers it’s not difficult, but what if we had 102 layers? We need to make this process even easier. This is where the real work with layers begins. Now I'll show you how to color a photo using fill layers.

Create a new fill layer Layers > New Fill Layers > Solid Color The fill layer completely covers the photo, filling the entire working surface. We just don't need this. As you can see from the Layers palette, the fill layer is created with a ready-made empty mask. We need to turn the white mask into a black mask to hide the entire fill layer. You can click on the mask icon and select Delete.

Or select the mask icon and do the same from the menu Layer > Layer Mask > Delete. Now create a mask from scratch, but not an empty one, but a hiding one. We did this in my article "Masks in Photoshop". Select Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All

Or you can go another way. The mask is the same working surface as the layer itself. The mask can be drawn manually using any drawing tools. For example, with a brush Brush Tool. Only unlike a layer, the mask is created in a gradation from black to white, where white is the visible part, and black is the hiding part. Click on the mask icon in the layer palette. The mask must be selected so that you can draw on it. Then select the fill bucket Paint Bucket Toll and black color. Click on the work surface. An empty mask has become a hiding mask.

Now select a regular brush Brush Tool and white color. Create a hair mask by drawing on top of the mask exactly as you
would draw on a layer. You can enjoy all the benefits of brush settings. Make it transparent, change sizes, soft edges. All this will only affect how visible our mask is. And of course, don't forget to set the layer's blending mode to Color, so that you can immediately see the result of painting. We could have gone a different way. For example, leave the mask white and paint the entire area around the hair black. But you must admit, it is somewhat tedious to cover up 70% work area. And of course, don’t forget to work on a mask, the mask must be selected. This can be done by simply clicking on its icon in the layers palette.

As a result, you should have a fill layer with a hair mask. The advantage of this method is that you don’t need to delve into color settings every time, which are unclear where. One simple click on the layer fill brings up a window with a color choice.

Paint other areas of the photo in the same way. In some areas where the color doesn't lend itself to soft transitions, you'll need to create highlight areas. For example, in the case of nails, I created selections with the tool Magic Wand Tool And Polygonal Lasso Toll. Otherwise, I made do with changing brush sizes and switching between soft edges and hard edges.

Once you've created all the photo area layers, you can create other tint layers that create hair tones, shimmers, and other lighting effects. This is a professional result. Now let's look at alternative options for coloring photographs.

MAKE A PHOTO COLOR THROUGH ADJUSTMENTS LAYERS

Here's another way to make a photo in color. Let's use the color correction settings adjustments. I can already imagine how you open familiar ones to everyone Image > Adjustments, select an area and apply effects. No, we certainly won’t do that. We will get the same kala malya. Of course, selecting an area, applying color correction, selecting a new area, applying color correction again is an option. Only this option is dull, without any opportunity to tweak and change the results.

Therefore, we will use color correction layers Layer > New Adjustment Layer. A color correction layer is the same color correction, only it is not applied to the graphics layer, but is itself a layer. Imagine that the photo is our layer. And on top we put red glass, which changed the color of the photo. The red glass is the color-correcting layer. You can remove it, make it invisible, apply layers, a mask and more.

Which color corrections are suitable for coloring? In my opinion, color correction is the best option. Photo Filter. Select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Photo Filter Or create a color adjustment layer through the Layers palette menu Layers.

Now I want you to do everything that I described for coloring photographs through fill layers. Create a mask, fill it with black and use a regular brush to apply the filter to the area you need. This is what you should get:

At the same time, you can reconfigure the filter color, change the color and adjust the mask at any time. Just click on the color correction layer and in the palette Adjustments customize the color. If you don’t know where this palette is located, call it through Windows > Ajustments. You will see for yourself that using color correction to make a photo color is as easy as using fill layers, but I personally prefer the latter.

I hope there is no need to demonstrate step-by-step coloring. You already understand that you need to color all areas of the photo in a similar way. I will give you the final version of the photo colorization and wish you successful experiments in Photoshop. Now you know how to make a photo in color.

We all have old black and white photographs in our family archives. Looking at them, it is sometimes difficult to imagine how it all looked at that time in reality: what paints, colors, shades there were...

Using Photoshop and if you have a lot of free time, you can turn black and white photographs into color. However, this process is quite painstaking, requires perseverance, and the result does not always bring satisfaction.

The Algorithmia (Neural Network) service allows you to colorize black and white photographs online, thus breathing into them new life. Based on the analysis of about a million downloaded color images, it was possible to create an algorithm that most accurately selects the color for each fragment and area of ​​the photograph.

You can try it for yourself right now! To do this, just provide a link to the photo on the Internet (URL) or upload it yourself by clicking the “Upload photo” button.

Analysis and processing occur almost instantly: after just a few seconds you will receive a colored black and white photo! Online, by moving the slider, you can compare the “BEFORE” and “AFTER” options.

For the test, we took about ten old photos from different eras and made them colored using Algorithmia. Here are some of the results:

Amazing, isn't it? In some cases it probably could have been better, but this result is very impressive. Plus, do not forget that the intelligent online service Neural Network for coloring black and white photographs allows you to work with it absolutely free, without restrictions on the number of downloads and does not even require registration to download the final images.

This is a truly priceless gift for all history buffs and photography enthusiasts!