can I get a 25 cent explanation of how photographs are "colorized ?"

[robert hayden]

I'm talking about the process of making a black and white photograph into a color
photograph. Through a digital process ? painted with a brush ? We're talking in today's
world, not pre 1900. Just curious as to how that works.

[hanktrent]

Today? Photoshop. Put the photo in Photoshop or another similar program and use the tools to overlay various colors and/or to change the blacks and grays to colors. Of course, today one could also use any of the methods that were used in the past, from 20th century airbrushing of a print to 19th century paints.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com

[mladair]

Besides Photoshop, there have also been a number of advancements in using edge detection in software allowing the user to simply pick a color and point at the software does the rest. One in particular I can think of is ReColored.

[Ephraim_Zook]

If you are talking about colorizing hardcopy black & white prints, there are a couple of options. One is to scan the photo into a computer, then using a photo editing software as Mr Trent or Mr mladair suggested, go to it. You will have to scan the photo as a color image even though it's monochrome, or try to change the format once you have it in Photoshop or other programs. Option 2 is to do it the old fashioned way. Not pre-1900 but pre-digital days. Sit down with an assortment of dyes, some very fine paintbrushes and some Q-tips and start coloring. Dilute the dyes a whole lot or your photo will look like something Andy Warhol did.