Overview
In this tutorial, we are going to discuss how to colorize black and white photos. This is an intermediate to advanced skill level topic for which beginners can take advantage of when working with photos. We discuss automatic ways to accomplish this in this tutorial while we discuss manually accomplishing this task in our Intermediate skill level tutorials. We will discuss the different methods involved when colorizing a black and white picture and the methods to use for which make this an easy process or a learning process, whichever method is preferred.
There are a few methods available for which to colorize a black and white picture. To colorize an image, the skill level is required anywhere from beginner to advanced depending on the preferred method. These methods can be manual, automatic software or artificial intelligence driven.
What does it mean to colorize an image?
It means exactly what it sounds like. To colorize black and white photos, colorize an image or a black and white picture means exactly the same thing; to add the proper color to a picture.
When attempting to colorize an image manually, this process requires an extreme amount of knowledge about photo editing and is not for a beginner skill level. However, the manual process allows us full control over the colors available to us and what goes into that image when adding those colors to a black and white picture.
At a beginner skill level, using the automated methods available to us to colorize an image becomes an obvious choice. When we use those automated methods to colorize black and white photos, we give up the control over the exact colors for which we desire to be inside the image. The automated solutions do not always pick the best or most accurate colors. As a beginner, we can start with those and then adjust the colors within our photo editor to provide a more realistic result.
When would I colorize an image?
While the obvious answer is whenever there is a desire to change a black and white photo to a colored digital image, there are other artistic or marketing reasons to colorize an image.
Colorizing an image does not need to mean the entire image. Color is a very important topic when deciding to colorize an image. Color is a very effective tool for which to draw the viewer's eye towards the focus point of an image.
Perhaps we want to focus the viewers attention to something specific in that image. If our desire is to sell something, only colorizing the portion of the image that shows our product would be ideal. From an artistic standpoint, perhaps we want to showcase a specific flower or person in the image to delve meaning from that image. Color immediately draws the viewer's eyes to exactly where we want them.
What tools do we use to colorize an image?
This question has a lot of answers based on skill level. This is a beginner tutorial, so we are going to stay away from the manual processes of digital painting, color grading, gradient mapping, and selective colorization. We will discuss the artificial intelligence option for beginners.
Artificial intelligence has become big business. As companies strive to become the top of the artificial intelligence supply chain, smaller companies are creating their entire business around offering artificial intelligence image editing tools.
The bad thing is most of these tools are not free, even though some of them claim to be free. The good thing is that some, not all, of the tools offered, do allow for easier editing and removal of backgrounds, colorizing of an image, and other image enhancements.
Paid Versions
Some of the tools we can use to help colorize an image can be found on:
- https://hotpot.ai/colorize-picture - This one claims to try free.
- www.cutout.pro/photo-colorizer-black-and-white - Paid
Free Version
Ones that claim to be free at the time of writing this tutorial
- https://yce.perfectcorp.com/colorize
- www.capcut.com/tools/photo-colorizer
- www.fotor.com/features/colorize-photo (Note: Fotor is known for claiming to have free products and then if we want to use the result of that product or download it or anything, then we need to pay for it.)
- https://colourise.com
What is the technical difference between black and white and colored images?
This is a somewhat advanced question for a beginner skill level. The short answer for this is color spectrum and to fully answer this, we are going to need to train a bit on hexadecimal codes for colors.
Each digital representation of a color corresponds to a hexadecimal code with black equalling #000000 and white equalling #FFFFFF. We read hexadecimal codes with the following numbers and letters, 0 - 9 and A - F. A valid hexadecimal number is # to designate that we are working with a hexadecimal number and 6 alphanumerics following such as #0F4B21 which equates to a dark green.
As we are aware, a black and white picture is not really black #000000 and white #FFFFFF because that would look like black and white Rorschach test, also known as an inkblot test. Black and white images use black, white and shadows so the color spectrum is very limited. Black and white images will use the black white and gray from the color spectrum in order to create the image.
Most colored images use a full color spectrum range. This color spectrum available to the image will change based on the file type. For example, a portable network graphic image has millions of colors available to it whereas a graphic interchange format only has 255 colors from which to choose to create the image. An example of the difference can be demonstrated in this color spectrum.
Online Tools vs. Manual Colorization
What tools are utilized to colorize an image highly depends upon the preferred method. For beginner skill level, the online tools are the way to start but for more advanced users, they choose to utilize manual methods knowing they had full control over those tools to colorize that image.
There is no denying, the online tools available to us definitely make our lives, as photo editors, much easier. Even if we begin with the online artificial intelligences and the colors are off, we can adjust those colors with the curves tool, levels, sponge and other tools available to us within our photo editing software.
Ultimately the decision is with the user and their skill level. I have no issue with taking a black and white image for a client, using the artificial intelligence as a tool to create the initial color and then using my skill level to modify those colors to become more realistic. Keeping in mind, the artificial intelligence tools out there do not always get the colors right and in a lot of cases, they do not because there isn't enough detail on the image to create color. We have tested the artificial intelligence websites to colorize an image with their own provided black and white photo and have seen 0 results. It never colorized anything. Use artificial intelligence and automatic colorizing websites as a tool but do not expect great results. I am sure they will get better, but for now, learning what to do and how to colorize an image manually is the best method to gain the best results.
