Colourising old black and white photos, faithfully

What colourisation actually does

A black and white print records brightness, not hue. The software looks at the shapes and textures it recognises, skin, hair, foliage, sky, fabric, brick, and assigns colours that are statistically likely for those surfaces. It is an educated guess, not a recovery, and it is honest to say so.

Some things are guessed well because they vary little: skin tones, grass, sky, wood. Others are pure guesswork: the colour of a dress, a car, a wall. If your family remembers the dress was blue, ask for that in a redo; a note from someone who was there beats any statistic.

What "faithful" means here

Faithful colour is period-plausible and understated. Films and dyes of the 1930s to 1970s were muted; clothes were often dark; interiors were warm and dim. A restoration that turns a 1948 kitchen into a saturated advertisement is not more alive, it is less true.

The restoration model is instructed to keep colour calm, to leave the face's structure untouched, and never to add makeup, brighten teeth or smooth skin. If a result looks too pretty, that is a reason to press redo, not a feature.

When to keep a photo black and white

Some photographs are stronger without colour, and some families simply prefer them as they knew them. A formal portrait, a wedding picture that always hung in mono, a photograph of someone who has died: colour can feel like a change to a memory rather than a restoration of it.

You do not have to decide before uploading. The preview shows you the colour version; if you would rather keep it mono, press redo and say so. Cleaning, sharpening and print files all work the same way in black and white.

Scan or photograph the print first

Colour guesses depend on texture, so the software needs a clean, sharp source. A flatbed scan at 300–600 dpi gives the best result. With a phone: flat print, even daylight, no flash, no glare, straight on, fill the frame.

• Wipe the print gently with a dry, soft cloth before scanning.
• Scan in colour even if the print is black and white; the paper tone helps.
• Do not use your scanner's own "restore" or "sharpen" filters; they remove detail.

Colour, then print

A colourised file at web size looks fine on a phone and poor on a wall. The Family archive pack delivers 300 dpi print files at 30×40 cm (3543×4724 pixels); Heirloom adds 50×70 cm (5906×8268 pixels). Those sizes are what a print shop asks for.

Redos and refund

Every pack includes unlimited free redos for 14 days and a full refund even after download. If the colour never feels right, keep the black and white version, or ask for your money back. Photos are deleted after 30 days and never used for training.