Old black-and-white photos contain history. AI colorization brings them into the present.
How AI colorization works
A neural network trained on millions of color images learns typical color distributions for objects, skin tones, skies, foliage, clothing, and buildings. When it sees a grayscale photo, it predicts plausible colors for each region.
What it does well
- **Portraits** — natural skin tones
- **Landscapes** — skies, grass, trees
- **Architecture** — brick, wood, stone
- **Clothing** — reasonable fabric colors
What it struggles with
- Historically specific uniforms
- Rare objects
- Artistic intent (an intentionally gray scene)
- Ambiguous regions
Quality tips
- Higher resolution = better results
- Restore scratches and noise first (we have repair tools)
- Photos with clear subjects beat complex scenes
Ethics
AI colorization is a *plausible* reconstruction, not the truth. When sharing, mention "AI-colorized" for accuracy.
Batch
Process 20 photos at once for a family history project.