Many of you may have seen the huge crop of colorized old black and white photos popping up around the web (there are some wonderful subreddits devoted to it). The results can be truly stunning, and bring history to life in a new way.
For all you fans out there, here are 30 beautiful photo colorization examples:
1. Marilyn Monroe, 1957
Photo by Richard Avedon, colorization by Mads Madsen
2. The Hindenburg Disaster, 1937
US Navy photo, colorization by klassixx
3. Award-winning magazine writer Lois Mattox Miller
Photo from the Smithisonian, colorization by crumblebeater
4. Elizabeth Taylor 1956
Photo by Frank Worth colorization by malakon
5. Big Jay McNeely, 1953
Photo by Bob Willoughby/Redferns, colorization by traquea
6. Migrant Mother, 1936
Photo by Dorthea Lange, Colorization by Vikki Hansen
7. Albert Einstien, 1951
Photo by Arthur Sass, colorization by Mads Madsen
8. William Creger
codeflex, a talented 99er, was able to do this simple colorization in just under an hour on Swiftly!
9. The self-immolation of Thich Quang Duc
Photography by Malcolm Brown, colorization by Sanna Dullaway
10. Family Photograph
Colorization by salsifufu
11. Old photograph 1933
Colorization by photosfromfrance
12. Old wedding photograph
Colorization by Sanna Dullaway
13. Grete Reinwald, 1910
Colorization by salsifufu
14. V-J Day in Times Square
Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt, colorization by Sanna Dullaway
15. High School Senior Portrait 1960
16. Civil Rights March 1963
Photo by Warren K. Leffler, colorization by Oliver Witisen
17. Audrey Hepburn
Colorization by klassixx
18. Memorial for a Vietnamese girl
Colorization by Sanna Dullaway
19. Nurse Hamaguchi, 1943
Photo by Ansel Adams, colorization by Zarziglu
20. Louis & Lucille Armstrong, Cairo, 1961
New York Times photo, colorization by photojacker
21. Bride
Family photo from lcedlightning, colorization by Azozel
22. US General Ambrose Burnside, 1865
Photo by Matthew Brady, colorization by Mads Madsden
23. Bikini Atoll Hydrogen Bomb Test, 1954
U.S. military photo, colorization by Sanna Dullaway
24. Miss America 1924
Photo from Underwood & Underwood/Corbis, colorization by malakon
25. Testing of a bullet-proof vest, 1923
Photo from National Photo Company Collection, colorization by Mads Madsden
26. Unemployed lumber worker, 1939
Photo by Dorothea Lange, colorization by Mads Madsen
27. Joseph Goebbels, 1933
Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt, colorization by Mads Madsen
28. Saratoga Springs New York, 1915
Colorization by Sanna Dullaway
29. Wedding photo
Family photo from corona2016, colorization by cafea
30. Car Wreck in Washington D.C, 1921
Colorization by Sanna Dullaway
The ability to colorize a photo is a pretty nifty skill to have in your design arsenal and a fun hobby, not to mention a great present for your grandparents!
For those who’d would like to learn, here’s a link to a quick and easy Photoshop tutorial for simple colorizations. For those who’d like to make more advanced colorizations, here’s a link to a more detailed Photoshop step-by-step and video tutorial.
For better colorization results, it helps to start with higher quality black and white photos. The process itself can be time-consuming but is basically painting on colors with a brush in Photoshop. Though the original black and white photos have their charm, it’s really cool to see them in color, breathing new life into history.
Do you know of any more cool black and white photo colorizations? Have any tips for colorizing your own? Share in the comments!
Feature image: Sanna Dullaway
