Colorize · Colorize B&W photos

What does AI colorization do?

Colorization estimates plausible hues from luminance structure—faces, foliage, sky, clothing, and interiors. It does not recover lost historical truth, but it can make family archives and documentary frames feel alive again for sharing, slideshows, and restoration workflows.

How to colorize a photo

Simple flow:

• Log in and open Colorize.
• Upload a B&W or grayscale photo (side length of at least 512px recommended).
• Optionally type color hints (blue sky, green plants, warm indoor light).
• Start colorize—processing is asynchronous and may take from several seconds to about a minute—then download.

Best use cases

People use Colorize for:

• Family history scans and heirloom portraits.
• Documentary or street photography originally shot in monochrome.
• Creative projects that need a quick color base before manual retouching.
• Preparing old photos for modern social formats (often followed by Outpaint).

Tips for nicer color

Help the model with cleaner inputs:

• Prefer scans without heavy scratches; restore or clean first when possible.
• Avoid tiny thumbnails—images under 512px per side are upscaled automatically but start sharper when you can.
• Keep color prompts short and concrete; conflicting hints can confuse results.
• Treat output as a strong draft—fine art prints may still need human color grading.

Formats, points, and limits

Each successful colorize spends points. Color hints are optional. Very small images are enlarged before processing. Results are estimates: skin, clothing brands, and historical uniforms may not match real-world colors exactly.

Related tools

After colorizing, use Object Erase to remove damage spots or strangers, Outpaint for new aspect ratios, and Text Style if captions or signs need updates in the colored frame.