Color image in black and white online. Make a color black and white photo: colorize online

There are many ways in Photoshop to convert a color image to black and white.

We will now show you 4 of the most popular methods.

Open your photo in Photoshop.

Let's start by introducing you to the two simplest ways to convert to black and white.

1 - function Grayscale(Grayscale)

2 - function Desaturate(Desaturation)

We do not argue, these are the most simple ways, but the quality is not the best. Here the contrast is very low and the image is slightly hazy.

Let's show with an example:

1. Grayscale

Image - Mode - Grayscale(Image - Mode - Grayscale)

Very simple, right?

2. Desaturate

Image - Correction - Desaturate(Image - Adjustments - Desaturate)

Fast and easy - but the contrast of the image is very low, the image looks dull and flat. Not at all what we are striving for. What we especially like about quality b & w photos- so it is depth and high contrast. Okay - it's time to introduce you to more serious methods!

3. Adjustment layer hue / saturation

The method we're going to tell you about is to use multiple adjustment layers. Hue / Saturation... This means that you can return to its original appearance at any time. Plus you are NOT altering the original image. Now go to the menu Layers - New Adjustment Layer - Hue / Saturation(Layers - New Adjustment layer - Hue / Saturation).

Leave all the properties of the layer unchanged. Change the blending mode of the layers from Conventional(Normal) on Chromaticity(Color).

Then add another adjustment layer. Hue / Saturation(Hue / Saturation) - but this time in the layer properties move the slider Saturation(Saturation) down to -100.

So get ready ... This is how the image looks now:

Now the fun begins! Double click on the first adjustment layer you made, or just open properties. Now the slider Color tone(Hue) Move to this position until you are satisfied with the effect. You can also do some more work with Saturation ( Saturation ) .

We used these settings to get the image you see below. Now it looks much better, although it still seems like something is missing ...

Now on this newly created layer change the blending mode from Chromaticity(Color) on Overlapping(Overlay), and slightly reduce Opacity(Opacity), in our case up to 65%.

Here's what happened now. The contrast has increased markedly. No detail is lost, which adds depth to the image.

Note that each image requires an individual approach. What fits this image may not be to your liking. So don't be afraid to experiment with settings, layers and modes yourself :)

4. Channel mixing

The last method that you will learn about in this tutorial is using an adjustment layer. Mixingchannels(Channel Mixer). With the original image active, go to the menu Layers - New Adjustment Layer - Channel Mixer(Layers - New Adjustment Layer - Channel mixer).

When such a window appears, check the box next to the function Monochrome(Monochrome).

Now adjust the shades of black and white by simply moving the sliders that correspond to the red, green, and blue colors in the image. Important: try to keep the total number of values around 100 to avoid blurry areas in your image. We set the red and green channels to 0 and the blue to 100. This gives the skin intense black and white tones.

The final step: duplicate the adjustment layer. Then change the blending mode from Conventional(Normal) on Overlapping(Overlay) and shrink Opacity(Opacity), for example, this image turned out to be 44% - but often it is necessary to lower it to 20-30%. Just look - below is the result of our labors.

A very atmospheric image turned out. We look forward to your impressions. We hope this article has given you a lot of useful information.

See you in a new lesson!

You will need

To perform the operations of this instruction, it is desirable that you are at least basic familiar with the program. Adobe photoshop: knew what layers and layer masks were, knew how to use a brush and other basic tools of this program.

Instructions

To add color to the image - the color of a black and white or faded photograph, color or recolor a pencil drawing or a solid color, etc. - special technical costs and complex operations are not required. It is enough to open the original image in Adobe Photoshop, create a new layer on top of the base image, and put it in Color mode, apply fragmentary areas of the required colors on it. This can be done with a brush or other tools in the program. The original image will acquire the desired color gamut in the right places.
Of course, the most difficult thing is actually making the color layer correctly, especially if you want to achieve the most photorealistic image.

First, let's conduct an analysis: let's study the original image and mentally try to divide it into more or less large fragments, the color inside which should be fairly uniform. These are, for example, objects made of the same material, or objects with a completely predictable combination of colors, monochromatic arrays - foliage, grass, walls, floors, etc. The main thing is that the colors inside such a fragment obey a single simple law: dark, shadow areas tend to one color, areas of medium illumination have their own approximately the same shade, and light areas have their own.
For each such homogeneous fragment, you can create your own color layer describing the required regularity.
First of all, let's create a layer mask so that the coloring action is applied only to the desired fragment of the original image. For example, let's trace the outline of an object with the Lasso tool. With the selection finished, create a new Gradient Map layer (Menu Layer> New Adjustment Layer> Gradient Map). In the layers panel, switch the blend mode switch of the created layer to the Color value.
Let's start creating a spectrum. On the left in the gradient there will be colors responsible for the dark areas of the image, on the right - for the light ones. If you have good visual memory and artistic taste, the colors can be chosen "by eye", however, a pre-prepared photograph, the nature of the image on which is similar to the one being recreated, will greatly facilitate the work. On this sample already in finished form the main color combinations will be presented, therefore, the colors of the gradient can simply be typed with an eyedropper tool from the sample. One way or another, we select the color and location of the markers on the gradient, visually controlling how believable the result is.

You can create as many such layers. Each layer that is in the list of layers above can overlap the layers below, and if the layer masks overlap, then upper layer will be decisive in the preservation of the hue. Therefore, you can go initially from painting over large spaces, to the subsequent creation of smaller color fragments, superimposing new color combinations into smaller and smaller details, creating more and more layers on top.
Of course, layer masks can be created not only by tracing objects along a path. The mask can be simply painted with a black or white brush, respectively, adding or excluding the areas of action of the color layer. In order to "paint on the mask", you must first click on the rectangle on the right - schematic illustration masks - in the line of the desired layer on the Layers panel (Layers).
It is very convenient that each created layer can be re-edited at any time, change the colors of the spectrum - for this it is enough to double-click the cursor on the layer line in the list of the Layers panel, and proceed to modifying the gradient. Also, the mask of each layer can be erased, corrected, painted over, or even created anew.

Having colored large homogeneous areas of the image in this way, we proceed to the next stage - the stage of manual refinement. This will require observation and logic. The fact is that even surfaces of the same color, which have a completely uniform color, in real optical conditions never look monotonous. Light falls on each surface: direct - from light sources, reflected - from nearby surfaces, in addition, when the observer looks at different angles, the same Color tone looks different. Therefore, in addition to color gradients, which tend to "flatten" surfaces. with this method of painting, the volume and location in space are not taken into account, - we will create additional color layers that correct them.
For example, in the proposed picture, the color of the light column in the upper part will tend to blue, because next to it is a large blue wall reflected cold color which will necessarily fall on the column and illuminate it, changing the color shade. Bottom part the columns closer to the floor will take on the reflected orange highlights from the parquet floor.
To show this in our work, just above the Gradient Map layer defining base color columns, create a new blank layer (Menu Layer> New Layer), and switch it to the Color blending mode. On it with a soft translucent brush, carefully apply the necessary spots - a cold shade at the top, a warm orange at the bottom. You can also play along with brown reflexes from standing next to walnut table. By adjusting the Opacity parameter of the created layer, you can decrease and increase the influence of the adjustment layer on the image.
Another law, where there is less illumination, the colors are faded, where there is more light, in addition to the actual brightness of the image, the color saturation itself will be an order of magnitude higher. This, for example, must be taken into account when giving color to the floor: in the proposed illustration, in the shadow areas, the reddish color of the parquet will look more faded. And in the darkest places, the colors of all surfaces can have an almost indistinguishable color tone from each other.
WITH special attention you need to treat the human skin. First of all, the skin absorbs glare very well, therefore, for example, in a standing character, the side of the face that faces the column will be a much colder shade than the one on which the light from the red curtain falls. In addition, the skin itself is rarely even in color - the cheeks are usually a warmer shade than the skin around the eyes. open areas- tanned, blood vessels will be visible through the thin skin, etc. Therefore, working on skin color is always very painstaking, but with sufficient observation, with a little practice, you can easily achieve a completely believable result.

It is recommended to save the final image in two different formats. First, in the format of the Abode Photoshop program, where information about all created layers will be saved, which will make it possible to further modify and supplement the image. And secondly, in a commonly used format, such as JPEG, for quick viewing, and other operations with the file, in which there is no need for layer-by-layer editing. This can be done through the File> Save As menu, specifying the file format, its name and storage location on disk. And in a format suitable for transportation on the Internet, it is easy to save the image through the File> Save for Web menu.

Colorize black and white photo online in one click in Algorithmia

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

determine the terrain shown in the photo;
distinguish the faces of people in the pictures;
analyze the positive / negative mood of the 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 b & w photo, which we are going to colorize - this can be done by selecting a picture on a computer or by entering a link to its location on the Internet.

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

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

Move the purple slider to see the effect of your changes

You can save both the fully colored drawing and the comparison itself - the photo is partly in color and partly in b / w. A bit disappointing is the watermark on the finished picture, but it's compact enough and modestly located in the corner. You can get rid of it by simply cropping the image.

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

Let's compare - on the left is the original photo, which we desaturate and uploaded to the site, and on the right is its colored version.

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

In the background behind the girl, the editor "did not recognize" the tree, so he left it simply dark spot... But he clearly defined the color of the gift and jeans and did almost everything right, apart from the beige leg in the foreground and very vague borders. The service decided to "revive" the bird in the corner of the picture, so it made it yellowish.

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

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. Also here you will need minimal Photoshop skills, and the more there are, the more beautiful the result will be.

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

Use Alt key to deselect unneeded area

Select the Brush tool, select the appropriate color and paint over the selected fragments.

If you want the shades to be not too saturated, you can reduce the opacity and pressure of the brush.
In order to preserve the presence of shadows and color transitions, change the layer blending method to "Overlay"
It already looks much more natural.

We repeat the same operations with the rest of the objects in the photo. Recall the sequence:

create a new layer;
select a fragment;
apply the desired color;
change the layer's blend mode.

For convenience, it is better to name each new layer in accordance with the colored fragment.

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

Under Filter, select Blur and then Gaussian Blur. Then just manipulate the radius until you achieve an organic result.

Let's see what happened in the end. On the left - the source of the photo, which we then desaturate, on the right - its color version.

In general, the new image looks quite natural, although many shades differ from those in the original version.

Summing up, we can say that making a black and white photo in color in Photoshop is much more difficult and longer 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 be 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 ways to colorize a black and white photo. Therefore, decide what is more important for you - efficiency or quality of the result, and rather use all the advice received in practice!

Many have thought about restoring old black-and-white photographs at least once. Most of the photographs from the so-called soap boxes were digitized, but never got color. The solution to the problem of converting a desaturated image to a color one is very difficult, but to some extent affordable.

Converting a black and white photo to color

If it is easy to make a color photo in black and white, then solving the problem in the opposite direction becomes much more difficult. The computer needs to figure out exactly how to color this or that fragment, consisting of a large number of pixels. Recently, the site presented in our article has been dealing with this issue. So far this is the only one quality option operating in automatic processing mode.

Colorize Black is developed by Algorithmia, a company that implements hundreds of other interesting algorithms. This is one of the new and successful projects that has managed to surprise netizens. It is based on Artificial Intelligence based on a neural network, which selects the necessary colors for the loaded image. To be honest, the processed photo does not always meet expectations, but today the service is showing amazing results. In addition to files from a computer, Coloriz Black can work with pictures from the Internet.

Save the image divided in half by the purple line (1);
Save the fully colored photo (2).

Your picture will be downloaded to your computer through your browser. It looks something like this:

The results of image processing show that artificial intelligence based on a neural network has not yet thoroughly learned how to turn black and white photos into color ones. However, it works well with photographs of people and paints their faces more or less qualitatively. Although the colors in the example article were chosen incorrectly, the Colorize Black algorithm nevertheless selected some shades successfully. So far this is the only one actual option automatic conversion of a desaturated picture to a color one.

HOW TO MAKE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS COLORED IN PHOTOSHOP

Today we will learn to turn not color photograph in color. I’ll make a reservation right away, for those who are looking for a button “make a photo in color” in this article. Alas, such a button has not yet been invented. You can desaturate a photo with one click, but you cannot colorize it with the same click, because it is black white photography has no color information. So you have to work with your hands and fill our black and white image with color information in the most literal sense. Some plug-ins for Photoshop do a good job of coloring photos, but now we will not discuss some plug-ins that you don't understand where to get them. Let's talk about what is available for coloring in Photoshop itself. And there are many in it.

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

THE EASIEST WAY TO MAKE A PHOTO COLORED (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 the work of other Photoshop tools. It doesn't hurt to be able to highlight areas of a photo and some basic knowledge of layers and masks, which you can glean from my article Masks in Photoshop. In this tutorial, you will see in practice how you can automate work in Photoshop using masks, and have full control over the color settings.

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

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

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

This is the "mask" my wife has sketched for a few minutes of work. Note that the layer blending mode is Normal. I hope you are convinced that it is very easy to make a color photo in Photoshop.

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

COLORING A PHOTO WITH A LAYER STYLE

Now let's start to deepen and complicate the process. Complication, it is not in order to make it more difficult to work, but in order to make it easier to work. You know, all these Kali mali on one layer are certainly great, but they are more suitable for creative personalities, those who like to sit and wind a clay pot on a gurney for hours. It is probably convenient to smear one color and another on this layer for artists from the academy, who were banned from Google, so they still have not heard about Photoshop. Alas, even cartoons are drawn on the computer, 1000 drawings on paper, which are then quickly leafed through, remained in the 20th century. Personally, as a designer, I would like to have more control over color and settings. I would like to efficiently and quickly tweak the colors through the menu, not redraw the layer.

How can we bring in more control over the image? For a start, it would be a good idea to split one layer into several layers. Let's create
really a lot of layers. And each layer will be responsible for its own area. Create a layer "hair", layer "eyes", "gloves", "nails" other. I started coloring the photo myself by creating thematic layers for this. Now the control process is more manageable, at least the coloring is not on the same 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 the layer. The other paint layers will remain unaffected.

But all of this still doesn't make much sense. The color of all layers is still arbitrary. On a layer "Hair" you can paint in blue and red as before. In other words, they are still Kali Mali, but more manageable Kali Mali, divided into sectors. And I would like to control the color as well. I want to change the whole color with one click, and not sculpt with a brush constantly redoing the result with my hands. I'll show you how this can be done using layer styles. layer style.

Create a layer and name it "Hair"... Color your hair in any color, even green. Go to the layers palette and set the fill Fill on the 0% Thus, what you have drawn 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 Opasity to 0%, the entire layer, along with the styles, would become invisible. We will give the areas a certain style, but since for coloring we still have to apply layer blending, the original color must be removed by setting the Fill to 0%, otherwise it will shine through when blending 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 put the mode Color... And in the window with the color, set the color we need.

If you forgot to set the fill to 0%, then this can be done in the same window, in the blending settings tab Blending options... If you did it in the layers palette Layers, then the fill will already be set as it should.

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

This is what I call color control. And now let's go deeper.

COLORING PHOTOS THROUGH FILL LAYERS

You know what I think. These attempts 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, call the styles window, climb into the tab Color overlay and change something there. Not a quick process if you want to quickly change the colors of the layers. Of course, if we have 2 layers it is not difficult, but if we had 102 layers? We should make this process even easier. This is where the real work with layers begins. Now I will show you how to colorize a photo using fill layers.

Create a new fill layer Layers> New Fill Layers> Solid Color A fill layer completely covers the photo, filling the entire work 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 stop the white mask with 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 empty, but hiding. We did this in my article "Masks in Photoshop". Please select Layer> Layer Mask> Hide All

And you can go the other way. The mask is the same work surface as the layer itself. The mask can be drawn by hand with any painting tool. 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 thumbnail in the layer palette. The mask must be selected so that you can paint on it. Then select the fill bucket Paint bucket toll and black. Click on work surface... The empty mask has become a hiding mask.

Now choose a regular brush. Brush Tool and White color... Create a hair mask by painting over the mask just like you
would paint on a layer. You can enjoy all the benefits of brush settings. Make it transparent, resize, soft edges. All this will only affect how visible our mask is. And of course, don't forget to set the layer blending mode. Color to immediately see the result of painting. We could have gone the other way. For example, leave the mask white, and paint over the entire area around the hair with black. But you must admit, this is somewhat tedious, to gloss over 70% work area. And of course don't forget to work on the mask, the mask must be selected. This can be done by a simple click 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 have to delve into color settings every time you don't know where. One simple click on the layer's fill brings up a window with a choice of colors.

Paint over other areas of the photo in the same way. In some areas where the color does not tolerate soft transitions, you will need to create selection areas. For example, in the case of nails, I created selections with the tool Magic wand tool and Polygonal lasso toll... In other cases, I got by with changing the brush sizes and switching between soft edges and hard edges.

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

MAKE PHOTO COLORED THROUGH ADJUSTMENTS LAYERS

Here's another way to make a photo in color. Let's use the color correction settings adjustiments... I can already imagine how you open the familiar to everyone Image> Adjustiments, highlight the area and add effects. No, we certainly won't do that. We will get the same kalya 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 Adjustiment Layer... A color correction layer is the same color correction, only it is applied not to the graphics layer, but is itself a layer. Imagine 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 correction layer. You can remove it, make it invisible, apply layers, mask and more.

Which color corrections are suitable for coloring? In my opinion, color correction works best. Photo Filter... Please select Layer> New Adjustiment Layer> Photo Filter Or create a color adjustment layer via the layers palette menu Layers.

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

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

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