Colorize Black and White Images in Affinity Photo

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to colorize black and white images in Affinity Photo. Black and white photography began in 1826 by Joseph Niépce of France. Black and white (or monochrome) photography was the main way people captured images “until the mid-twentieth century”. People attempted to create color photography back in the 1840s but were unsuccessful. But, in 1907, the French Lumiere brothers created the “first commercially successful color photography process”. They invented the Lumiere Autochrome.

Before you learn how to colorize black and white images, go to the following links, and download the images used in the tutorial.

• Rose Flower
• Woman in Grass

Step 1

First, go to File > Open and select the picture of the rose.

Step 2

Go to the Layers Panel and click the Add Pixel Layer icon. Label this layer Background. Set the Blend Mode of the layer to Color.

Step 3

Now, go to the Swatches Panel. Double click on the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the following hex code #FBCEB1. Grab the Flood Fill Tool from the Tools Panel and click on the image. Make sure the pixel layer is selected first.

Step 4

Next, click the Add Pixel Layer icon in the Layers Panel. Label this layer Rose.

Step 5

After that, grab the Selection Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. Make sure the Rose layer is selected. In the Context Toolbar, set the Mode to Add and check the Snap to Edges box. Take the tool and make a selection of the rose.

Step 6

Once you’ve selected the rose, go to the Swatches Panel. Double click the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the following hex code # FF66CC. Then, grab the Flood Fill Tool from the Tools Panel. Take the tool and click on the roe. In the Layers Panel, set the Blend Mode to Color. Press CTRL + D to deselect.

Step 7

Grab the Paintbrush Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Swatches Panel, make sure the rose color is selected. Also, make sure the Rose layer is selected in the Layers Panel. Take the brush and go over any areas of the rose that didn’t get colored.

Step 8

Now, click the Add Pixel Layer icon in the Layers Panel. Label this layer Stem. Set the Blend Mode to Color.

Step 9

Grab the Selection Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Context Toolbar, set the Mode to Add and check the Snap to Edges box. Make sure you have the Stem layer selected. Then, take the brush and select the stem along with the leaf and this little area beneath the rose.

Step 10

After that, double click on the fill color in the Swatches Panel to bring up the Color Chooser. Enter the following hex # 006C00. Then, grab the Flood Fill Tool from the Tools Panel. Take the tool and click in the stem area. Press CTRL + D to deselect.

Now we’ll use a second method to colorize black and white images.

Step 1

Go to File > Open and select the image of the woman in the grass. Press CTRL + J to duplicate the image.

Step 2

Next, go to the Tools Panel and grab the Inpainting Tool. Take the tool and go over the black object in the sky to remove it.

Step 3

Now, grab the Selection Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. Make sure the duplicated layer is selected. In the Context Toolbar, set the Mode to Add and check the Snap to Edges box. Take the brush and select the grass.

Step 4

After you’ve selected the grass, click the Adjustment icon in the Layers Panel. Select the Color Balance adjustment. In the Midtones, take the Cyan/Red slider and slide it to the left to add cyan. I set this to -27%. Go to the Yellow/Blue slider and slide this to the left to add yellow. I set this to -27%. Now, go to the Magenta/Green slider and slide it to the right to add green to the midtones. I set this to 44%.

Step 5

After that, go to the Shadows. Slide the Cyan/Red and the Yellow/Blue sliders slightly to the left. I set the Cyan/Red to -22% and the Yellow/Blue to -14%. Then, slide the Magenta/Green slider to the right. I set it to 18%.

Step 6

Now, go to the Highlights. Add cyan and yellow to the highlights by sliding the Cyan/Red and Yellow/Blue to left. I set the Cyan/Red to -22% and the Yellow/Blue to -19%. Then, go to the Magenta/Green slider and slide it to the right to add green. I set this to 13%. Label this layer Grass. Press CTRL + D to deselect.

Step 7

Grab the Flood Select Tool from the Tools Panel. Click the duplicated image in the Layers Panel. In the Context Toolbar, set the Mode to New, Source to Current Layer, and Tolerance to 20%. Also, check the Contiguous box. Take the tool and click the sky area.

Step 8

Next, grab the Selection Brush Tool from the Tools Panel. Set the Mode to Subtract. Then, take the brush and go over the woman’s hands to exclude it from the selection.

Step 9

In the Layers Panel, click the Adjustments icon. Select the Curves adjustment. Go to the Red Channel. Place a point in the middle of the curve and drag it slightly down and to the right. Add a point further up the curve and drag it down some. Then select the point on the right and slide it down

Step 10

Go to the Blue Channel. Select the point on the left and slide it up some. Next, add a point in the middle and drag it up and slightly to the left. Label this layer Sky. Press CTRL + D to deselect.

Step 11

Now, go to the Stock Panel. To access the Stock Panel, go to the View menu. Then, select Studio and select Stock. I’m in the Unsplash option. In the search type Woman. When you find an image, you want to use, drag it onto the document. Resize the image with the Move Tool if necessary. Click off of the image.

Step 12

In the Tools Panel, grab the Color Picker Tool. In the Context Toolbar, make sure the Apply to Selection box is unchecked and the Source is Global. Then, set the Radius to Average (5 X 5). Take the tool and select an area of skin from your reference photo. Then, in the Swatches Panel, click the circle next to the Color Picker Tool. Click the hamburger menu icon and select Add Document Palette. After that, click the icon that says Add current fill to palette.

Step 13

Take the Color Picker Tool and click on an area of the woman’s hair to sample it. Then, click the circle next to the Color Picker in the Swatches panel, and click the Add current fill to palette icon. Delete the reference image when you’re finished.

Step 14

Go to the Stock Panel. Search for Dress. Select an image you want to use for the dress color. I chose the picture of a woman in an orange dress. Take the picture and drag it onto the document and resize it with the Move Tool. Make sure the reference picture isn’t selected.

Step 15

Then, grab the Color Picker Tool. In the Context Toolbar, make sure the Apply to Selection box is still unchecked. Next, take the tool and sample the color you want to use for the dress. Then, click the circle near the color picker. After that, click Add current fill to palette. Delete the reference image.

Step 16

Go to the Stock Panel and search for Shirts. Find the reference image you want to use for the shirt color and drag it onto the document. I chose this image of the collar shirts. Take the Move Tool and resize the image. Then, click off the image.

Step 17

Now, grab the Color Picker Tool. Take the tool and sample the color from the reference pic you want to use for the shirt color. Then, click the circle next to the Color Picker Tool in the Swatches Panel. After that, click the Add current fill to palette icon. Delete the reference image.

Step 18

In the Layers Panel, click the Add Pixel Layer to add a new layer. Label the layer Skin and change the Blend Mode to Overlay. Make sure this layer is at the top.

Step 19

Grab the Paintbrush Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Swatches Panel, select the first color we added to the palette. Next, go to the Brushes Panel and go to the Basic Brushes. Select one of the Round Soft Brushes. Make sure the pixel layer is selected. Then, take the brush and start painting the skin of the woman.

Step 20

In the Layers Panel, click the Add Pixel Layer icon. Label the layer Hair and change the Blend Mode to Color.

Step 21

With the Paintbrush Tool active, select the second color we added. Take the brush and paint the hair.

Step 22

Now, click the Add Pixel Layer icon again and label it Dress. Change the Blend Mode to Color.

Step 23

In the Swatches Panel, select the third color we added. Take the Paintbrush Tool and paint the dress.

Step 24

After that, click the Add Pixel Layer icon. Label this layer Shirt. Set the Blend Mode of this layer to Color.

Step 25

Select the fourth color we added to our palette in the Swatches Panel. Take the brush and paint the shirt.

Congratulations, this tutorial is complete! You now know how to colorize black and white images in Affinity Photo. For more Affinity Photo tutorials, check out this article on cinematic color grading.