🎞️ How to colorize old photos with AI
Colorizing an old photo used to take an artist a full day. AI now does it in seconds, with skin tones and period accuracy that hold up in print.
Use an edit model, not a filter
Filters wash tones. Edit models like Flux Kontext or Nano Banana edit re-render the image in colour while preserving the exact composition, faces and grain of the original.
Prompt for period accuracy
'Colorize this 1940s family portrait, warm Kodachrome palette, natural skin tones, muted post-war wardrobe colours.' Naming the era pulls the model toward accurate hues.
Fix skin tones first
Faces are the hardest thing to get right. Do a first pass, then a targeted edit: 'Adjust skin tones toward warmer natural pink, remove any green cast.'
Upscale before printing
Old photos are usually low resolution. Run an upscaler after colorizing to double the pixel count without losing the period feel.
Ready to put this into practice?
Open the studio and apply what you just learned in under a minute.
Colorize a photo