Adding Life to Old Photos is Easy!

Last week AncestryInsider.org posted about an interview with FamilySearch's Michael Benson that was aptly called, 'Darned Wonderful Color Images'. It was all about the different colored inks that are invisible when the image being studied is black and white.

 In his blog post he explains how because of the different inks that were sometimes used, important information is lost. If you look closely at the image here you can see where not only was the first half written in light green, but most of the stamps are in light purple! Now look below the officiators name in the bottom right.

Did you notice before who the officiator was? What difference would it make if you couldn't read that small line below?

I wish I could have shown the above image in black and white, but as an example look at this one...

Can you imagine how much nicer that would look with a bit of color?

Well, that got me to thinking... If you are like me, you have dozens of old photos that were taken long before color photos were possible and sadly they look very dead and flat.

I'd come across a delicate photo, just about 2" square of a Great Great Grandmother, but the image was lifeless and the more I thought about how she might have been thinking as she sat unmoving for the 10 min. needed to take this photo. It should be more than black & white!

So I went to Google and asked if there was a free website for coloring photos, and yes there is, and it is called Colorizephoto.com and is quite simple. First you can practice on the photos given, I'm sure you recognize the actors faces. Then, when you have learned how to color within the lines (not leaving any 'make-up' on Newman's color) and how to change the amount of color opacity and hardness (just click on the center dots and arrows) which takes about 15 minutes, you'll be ready to bring your images to life.

Here is the image I had found of Matilda Henrietta Krause; a lovely bride I'm sure, but the black and white photo certainly does not do her justice. I understand that some people like the black and white statement, and for some images the subtle differences in b/w create a statement whether it is of innocence or great age. However, I tend to want emotion to be touched by viewing a photo and that seldom can be done without color.


After a few minutes of tinkering on Colorizephoto.com I had created this...

What an amazing difference a bit of color made. Now she is alive, even vibrant and all it took was a few minutes of my time to bring her to life.

Because it is a very small image it's nearly impossible to see the imperfections, even though I can assure you they are there. To my old eyes she now looks as regal as she must have been in real life, from the golden mirror backdrop to the lilac corsage at her left shoulder.

The only closing comments I would share would to remember, less is more. Don't overdo the colors or you might end up with this...