How to Colorize and Bring Life Back to Old Family Photos in Photoshop
Watching old family photographs fading away in treasured photo albums is a sad reality. However, bringing the digital age to these old film photographs can deliver them back to life. Colorizing old black and white photos can immediately transform an aged, washed-out capture into an image full of realism.
Once your photo is scanned in and imported into Photoshop, start by removing the typical sepia tone of an old photo. Having been converted into black and white, you’re ready to add color layers and make the photo pop. With some practice and persistence, the results are rather impressive.
The soft light blending mode, combined with adjustments to the opacity slider, allow for more realistic and subtle colorization. Note that in the tutorial he uses some extra unexpected color choices, such as blue for the skin, to add variation to the overall color palette. Try it out and you could be making family members smile with such a meaningful gesture.