Colour, as it might have been

Choose Repaired + colour and we mend the damage first, then add natural, muted colour of the photo's own period. Every face is compared with your original, so colour is the only thing that changes.

See it mended

A head-and-shoulders portrait of a woman with curled hair, faded to a pale vignette (before) — Unidentified woman, cabinet card from Walton's studio, Aurora, Indiana, about 1890. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

A head-and-shoulders portrait of a woman with curled hair, faded to a pale vignette (mended) — Unidentified woman, cabinet card from Walton's studio, Aurora, Indiana, about 1890. Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

A seated young woman holding a baby in a bonnet, the plate scratched across the backdrop (before) — Portrait of a young woman with a child, Yautepec, Mexico, about 1910 to 1919. Photograph by Cruz Sanchez. DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, no known copyright restrictions.

A seated young woman holding a baby in a bonnet, the plate scratched across the backdrop (mended) — Portrait of a young woman with a child, Yautepec, Mexico, about 1910 to 1919. Photograph by Cruz Sanchez. DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, no known copyright restrictions.

Children digging in the sand at the water's edge beside a long pier, in faded black and white (before) — Long Beach Pier and Pavilion, children digging in the sand, about 1905. California Historical Society, public domain.

Children digging in the sand at the water's edge beside a long pier, in faded black and white (mended) — Long Beach Pier and Pavilion, children digging in the sand, about 1905. California Historical Society, public domain.

A large group of young people on the steps of a wooden building, faded to warm sepia (before) — Cabinet card group portrait of young men and women in front of a building, Minnesota, 1890 to 1910. Minnesota State University Moorhead, public domain.

A large group of young people on the steps of a wooden building, faded to warm sepia (mended) — Cabinet card group portrait of young men and women in front of a building, Minnesota, 1890 to 1910. Minnesota State University Moorhead, public domain.

why a best guess.

A black and white photo keeps no colour

A black and white print only records how light or dark each thing was. A red coat and a green one can look exactly the same grey. So when we add colour, the image model makes a careful guess from what things usually looked like at the time: skin, hair, wool, brick, grass and sky.

It's often lovely, and sometimes a coat that was green comes out brown. That's why we call it our best guess at how it looked on the day, never a record of the real colours.

Colours are muted and of the period, never bright or modern.
The light, the contrast and the grain of the original are kept.
Faces are compared one by one; a face that changes is kept from your original, with only colour added.

Warmer or cooler?

Once your colour version is ready, Try again gives you two more goes: Warmer colour, Cooler colour, Same again or Stricter with faces. Fixed choices, so the faces stay put.

Prefer it as it was?

Every black and white photo also gets a Repaired version that keeps its own tones, black and white or sepia. You choose which to keep.

Colour questions

Can you colourise a sepia photo?

Yes. Sepia and black and white photos both get Repaired, which keeps their tones, and Repaired + colour.

Will the colours be right?

They're a careful guess. If you know Grandad's coat was navy, the guess may be wrong, and Warmer or Cooler won't change a single coat. We don't take requests to recolour one thing, and we compare every face with your original.

Does colour change the faces?

Colour is added to faces too. We compare every face with your original after colouring, and if one has changed shape, we keep your original face, cleaned, and only add colour to it.

How much does a colourised photo cost?

The preview is free. Keeping it costs £5.99, the same as a repaired one, or one credit from a pack.

where the photo used to be.

Is there a photo you'd love to see in colour?

See it mended

Free preview. £5.99 to keep it.