A Look at How Colorizer Dana Keller Breathes New Life Into Historical Photos

Dana Keller has made a name for himself as a talented photo colorizer, using his Photoshop skills to offer an idea of what historical black-and-white photos might have looked like had the photographer been able to shoot in color. The video above is a 6-minute look at how Keller approaches the task of colorization.

Keller says his background in photography helped him to see things in historical photos. “I was able to see the effects of lighting and texture, and different mediums as well have different qualities of color, so I decided to see if I could emulate that within these colorizations. Taking those details into account helps to produce a more realistic image.”

He does a considerable amount of research to find out what the true colors of things should be. “You obviously can’t research every single thing, but when it comes to choosing colors and not knowing, it’s important to have a cultural context and historical context of what’s appropriate for the time.”

Here are some of the historical colorizations he has created so far (with their B&W “before” versions as well):

Louis Armstrong, 1946

Audrey Hepburn

Baseball legend “Babe” Ruth, ca. 1920

Al Capone’s soup kitchen during the Great Depression, Chicago, 1931

Civil Rights March on Washington, 1963

Dust Bowl, 1936.

Boys buying flowers in New York, 1908.

Marilyn Monroe, 1954

Opening moments of the 1954 World Cup Final

Titanic sinks on April 15, 1912

You can find many more examples of Keller’s work over on his website. Prints of his colorizations are also available for purchase through Redbubble.