How to turn black and white photos into color:
color correction history
Automatic translateColoring black and white photographs is no longer magic. Previously, specialists “revitalized” history in complex Photoshop or programs for restoring black and white photographs. Now everything is simpler: in the online service you can refresh worn-out photos in a few clicks.
We decorated the works of famous photographers. Look what came of it.
Do-it-yourself restoration
We decided to work with the site online-photo-colorizer.ru , it is designed for image restoration. Coloring and light editing can be done for free.
Algorithm of actions:
- Convert old paper photographs to digital format. For example, film can be scanned using a slide scanner or a regular scanner using a frame. Regular photos can be taken with a camera or smartphone camera.
- Upload pictures to the online service website.
- Move the sliders to colorize the frame and remove defects (scratches, etc.).
- Enter your email and the processed photo will be sent to it.
- Download the color photo to your computer.
Each photo has its own story. As an example, we took famous photographs that are still talked about today. They expanded our understanding of filming and helped us touch upon events that we will never witness again.
At the same time, you will see how to restore old photos and how their perception changes.
Sebastian Salgado, "Desert on Fire"
Sebastian Salgado is a Brazilian photographer who has visited 120 countries. Through creativity, the author tried to talk about problems in the world, provoke discussions and debates.
“I want the world to remember the issues and the people I photograph.”
The photographer captured moments from the lives of residents of Latin America, Europe and Africa. Over time, Saldago began to put even more meaning into his photographs: he either photographed the consequences of drought in Africa, or showed that against the backdrop of the industrial revolution, most people on the planet continue to use manual labor.
The famous series of photographs “Desert on Fire” was published in Saldago’s book of the same name. In 1991, Iraqi soldiers, retreating from Kuwait, set fire to oil wells on the orders of Saddam Hussein. This caused enormous damage to the environment. Dozens of wells flowed: oil spilled into the sea and desert, flora and fauna perished, and black snow fell even in India. The fires were extinguished only after 258 days by 10 thousand people from 28 countries.
“Desert on Fire”, Kuwait, 1991 Source: floornature.com
Evgeny Khaldey, “Victory Banner over the Reichstag”
Evgeny Khaldey is a Soviet photographer whose works became real photographic symbols of the Second World War. He himself went through the war, so he chronicled the battles and episodes of peaceful life. He managed to capture the Battle of Moscow, prisoners, soldiers and civilians.
The first banner of Victory of the USSR was hoisted on April 30, 1945, and Khaldei was then in Moscow. The photographer’s idea was to complete his photo chronicle with a shot from the roof of the Nazi parliament. Subsequently, the photograph really became the very symbol of the Victory of the USSR over fascism.
The photographer brought several flags to Berlin, and sewed a sickle, a hammer and a star on them himself. Red Army soldiers Leonid Gorichev, Alexey Kovalev and Abdulkhakim Ismailov helped hoist the flag for the photo. In the shot, Kovalev holds the banner in his hands, and Ismailov holds his legs. On the same day, May 2, Khaldei returned to Moscow to retouch the photo, in particular, he added the clouds of smoke.
“Victory Banner over the Reichstag,” May 2, 1945. Source: russiainphoto.ru
Vladimir Lagrange, “Doves of Peace”
Vladimir Lagrange is a Soviet photojournalist whose lens captured ordinary people. It was as if he was spying on the course of their lives. For him, there was a hero in every person, so the photographs accurately convey the atmosphere of Soviet times - he showed the life of students, residents of communal apartments, passers-by, graduates.
Soviet photographs that were taken in 1960-1990 were included in the album “This is how we lived.” The result was simple, but soulful work. For example, one of the photographs shows graduates who have just graduated from school and walking along Red Square.
The shot was staged: the birds were fed, and people were asked to run on command. But photography became a symbol of the times - the mood of happiness, freedom and joy of life was in the air. Young people are like birds, as if on flight. By the way, until this moment Red Square was associated with military parades, but now it has become a place for walks and celebrations.
"Doves of Peace", 1962 Source: cameralabs.org
Helmut Newton, "Salvador Dali’s Last Shoot for Vanity Fair"
Helmut Newton is a German-Australian photographer whose work has been called provocative due to its erotic overtones.
He began to get involved in photography since childhood: he photographed friends on the street wearing his mother’s hats. Newton rarely worked in studios and believed that a woman was beautiful in everyday life: when she dresses, when she drives a car. Celebrities and members of the upper class were caught in the frame. He did not photograph “ordinary” people.
“I hate good taste. This is a boring phrase that suffocates everything around.”
Newton actively collaborated with the glossy magazines Vogue, Elle and Playboy. In 1986, on assignment from Vanity Fair, he went to Spain to take a photo of Salvador Dali, then already ill. The painter tormented the photographer: he wanted the shooting to be carried out during a flash of lightning in a thunderstorm. But the sky got too dark, and Newton used a flash.
Weegee (Arthur Fellig), "Girl Shining Shoes, New York, 1960"
Arthur Fellig was called a restless photographer. His specialty is criminal photography. Even his nickname Viji sounds like a police siren. Therefore, whether it was a fire, a crime or a robbery, Fellig was right there, ready to capture what was happening. The photographs were developed directly in the trunk of the car.
He didn’t study anywhere, he just practiced. Perseverance paid off: in 1938, he became the first reporter allowed to use a radio on a police frequency. Subsequently, the photographer worked with famous publications and published books.
In 1941, he held his first exhibition entitled “Weegee: Murder is My Business.” But Fellig also photographed the ordinary days of Americans, and today his photographs give us an idea of the everyday details of life in New York from the 1930s to the 1960s. For example, the shot “Girl Shining Shoes, New York, 1960” is an illustration of the shoe shine profession that was common at that time. Street children and children from poor families earned money this way.
"Girl Shining Shoes, New York, 1960." Source: cameralabs.org
Marc Riboud, "Final Confrontation: Flower and Bayonet"
Marc Riboud is a French photojournalist who refused to call himself an artist. He didn’t like to interfere in people’s private lives, but he couldn’t resist the temptation to capture moments. Through Riboud’s photographs, the public learned about significant events of that time.
In 1967, a photograph of a girl with a flower, standing opposite armed soldiers, spread around the world. In the frame, 17-year-old American Jan Rosa Kashmir is one of the participants in the rally against the Vietnam War. Riboud immediately drew attention to the girl who came out to the bayonets and held out a flower. According to rumors, she also uttered a phrase that has already become an anti-war slogan: “Make love, not war.” There was no tragedy behind the scenes: the soldiers did not shoot, and the protesters gave speeches and sang songs. But the photo became a symbol of anti-militarism.
Henri Cartier-Bresson, “Child liberated from a concentration camp. Dessau, Germany, 1945"
Henri Cartier-Bresson is a French photographer who is called the father of photojournalism. He knew how to accurately build a composition in street photographs, focused on details and believed that the human factor in the frame was more important than the camera itself. It is significant that Cartier-Bresson was the first to be invited to the USSR after the start of the “thaw”.
The photographer photographed the events of the Second World War as a direct participant: captivity, escape, participation in the Resistance. One of these shots was “A Child Liberated from a Concentration Camp.” Nothing is known about the history of the photograph, but Cartier-Bresson managed to capture life as it is. A second later, the hero of the photo moves on, but the frame remains alive, albeit static.
“A child liberated from a concentration camp. Dessau, Germany, 1945." Source: juicyworld.org
Peter Lindbergh, 1990 Vogue cover
Peter Lindbergh is a fashion photographer known all over the world. He is credited with creating the "top model" phenomenon. While photographers of that time were carried away by excessive retouching, Lindbergh went against them: he saw individuality and spirituality in women.
“Modern photographers must free women and, finally, everyone from the terror of youth and perfection.”
He photographed supermodels and famous people with natural makeup or no makeup at all and believed that photographs could be beautiful without any processing.
The photograph on the cover of British Vogue in 1990 became legendary. It features Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford. The photo became the starting point of a new era in the fashion industry. 
1990 Vogue cover. Source: eurasia-photo.com
Conclusion
Examples of photographs from different times immersed us in history - when they are in color, they seem even more alive.
There are many ways to restore an old photo. We have sorted out the fastest one - through the website. Although this is not a full-fledged photo editor, here you can process photos, for example, remove scratches or abrasions. This will make the frame even clearer.