Best Programs to Transfer Black and White Photo to Color

Today, when we take a black and white photo it is because we have wanted it to be like that. However, if we take any old photo, the first thing that will catch our attention is the absence of color. Whether in black and white, or in sepia tones, old photos are nowhere near as colorful as the photos we can take today with any mobile phone.

Giving color to black and white photos can help us remember loved ones who are gone, or a certain trip we took. This, a few years ago, had to be done manually, either by applying color to the negative or to the photo as such, or from a computer program such as Photoshop. However, the results were not good at all.

Best Programs to Transfer Black and White Photo to Color

Technology is constantly evolving to carry and facilitate all kinds of tasks for users. And today, thanks to AI , any user, even without computer or design skills, can easily colorize any old photo.

How the transition from black and white to color works

We can know that a sky can be more or less blue, the color of our first car or what color was our favorite dress in a black and white photo. However, a machine cannot know that. Heaven could figure it out via AI, but the car and the dress would be impossible. However, how do these programs get the color right?

The programs that allow us to convert black and white photos in color are based on a continuous learning algorithm ( Deep Learning ) that has been trained with millions of photos. This algorithm learns to differentiate the different shades of gray of a photo and changes them by its color, offering a practically real coloring precision.

Of course, this technology is not perfect, it still has a lot of room for improvement. Therefore, depending on the state and complexity of the photo, the colors may not be as accurate as they should be.

Best programs to color old photos

Photoshop Elements

Photoshop Elements - Comparativa antes y después

One of the simplest and most powerful programs that we will find for this purpose is Photoshop Elements . This program has one of the most advanced AI that we can find within the design software thanks to which we will be able to make all kinds of improvements to the photos. And one of these improvements is coloring old photos. Depending on the complexity of the photo, it may not be possible to color it all. However, before leaving it wrong, this software allows us to make a fine selection of elements and choose the most suitable color for all of them.

This program has a cost of 100 euros (single payment, without subscriptions) and we can buy it from the following link .

AKVIS Coloriage

AKVIS Coloriage

This is another of the most professional programs to give a touch of color to those photos that do not have it. This software allows us both to color black and white photos and to replace the colors of an old photo, which have been damaged, with other more real colors, or other colors that we want.

This program works the same with all kinds of photos, from portraits to landscapes, clothing or nature. It has a large number of skin, sky, vegetation and tree color patterns that, thanks to its advanced AI, will allow us to color any photo as if it had been taken with a color camera.

We can buy and download this program from its website .

Websites to convert color and black and white photos

If we do not want to install programs on our computer, we will also be able to find different websites that will allow us to do this. However, we must be careful with the photos we send to these platforms, since we are literally sending and saving them on a server controlled by a private company, and we do not really know what use they will make of them. If they are confidential or private photos, better opt for one of the above programs.

Algorithmia

Algorithmia

This is one of the simplest pages we can find to turn any photo we have into color. This website has a fairly powerful AI, in addition to a series of different algorithms, thanks to which we will be able to obtain exceptional results. In addition to being able to convert our own photos, we are also going to be able to use some of the images that come from the example to get an idea of the result.

We can access Alogirthmia from here .

Image Colorizer

Image Colorizer

This website is, if possible, even simpler than the previous one. It has a very complete backend capable of recognizing the image, analyzing its style and quality and coloring it using advanced AI in just a few seconds. We don’t need to do anything to download the converted image. In addition, it has a privacy policy that guarantees that every 24 hours, all uploaded photos will be deleted.

We can start converting our photos to color with Image Colorizer from this link .

Colorize Photo

Colorize Photo

While the previous alternatives are automatic, web is designed for users who want to have more control over the coloring process. From this website we will be able to control a series of parameters to color our photos, in addition to being able to color them manually. Thus, the most demanding users can achieve more professional results.

We can access the Colorize Photo website from the following link .

Colorize

Colourise

This website was created specifically to color all kinds of old photos taken in Singapore. However, it has one of the most advanced Deep Learning engines thanks to which we will be able to color any photo with the highest quality and download it at maximum resolution.

We can access Colorise from this link .

MyHeritage In Color

MyHeritage En Color

Another alternative that will allow us to easily colorize our photos in black and white. This website uses one of the best Deep Learning algorithms to color the photos and, in addition, it has a large number of functions that allow us to share the photos with our family and friends very easily.

We can access the MyHeritage In Color website from the following link .

PhotoGlory

photoglory

PhotoGlory is a program for restoring old photos. Apart from removing scratches and torn edges, it also allows you to colorize black and white images. There are two ways: automatic and manual with a brush. 

If you don’t have time, the software can colorize the photo for you. It will detect the contents of the image: people, skies, buildings, trees – and add colors to them automatically. Alternatively, you can paint the image yourself using a special brush and convenient palettes. Just pick a color from the palette or image and paint over the grayscale areas.

PhotoGlory offers 100+ one-click effects and 3D LUT presets that you can use for adjusting the colors as well. If you want to try the software out, you can download PhotoGlory from here (tutaj).