Black and white to colour
Colorize Photos with AI
Upload a black and white photo and get natural colour back — skin tones, clothes, cars, sky — while repairing scratches and fading. Faces and details stay the same.
- Natural skin tones
- Repairs scratches
- Free credits
- No watermark
Updated by the Kenerate AI team
Made with Kenerate
On this page
Quick answer
How do you colorize a photo with AI?
To colorize a photo with AI, upload the black and white photo and ask for natural colours, keeping every face the same; the model can also repair scratches and fading in the same step. On Kenerate AI, Seedream 5.0 Pro gave the most natural results on four old photos. It suits family historians and anyone reviving old prints.
Key facts
- Photos tested
- 4
- Best model
- Seedream 5.0 Pro · 2K
- Also repairs
- Scratches, creases, fading
- Free-plan option
- Flux 2 Dev
- Max references
- Up to 10
- Free start
- Starter credits
- Watermark
- None
Gallery
Old photos, colorized
Real Seedream 5.0 Pro colorizations of old-style photos we generated (the people are fictional).
Same prompt
Before and after
Two originals and their colorized, repaired versions.
PromptColorize this old photo naturally and repair the scratches and fading: realistic skin tones, keep every face and detail the same.
1940s originalBlack and white
ColorizedSeedream 5.0 Pro · 2K
1930s originalSepia
Restored + colourSeedream 5.0 Pro · 2K
How to
How to use the colorize photo with AI
- Time needed
- Steps
- 4 steps
Step 1
Scan the photo
Flat, even light, no glare.
Step 2
Upload to Seedream 5.0 Pro
In /app/image. Sign in free for starter credits.
Step 3
Ask for natural colour and repairs
Name any colours you remember.
Step 4
Download and upscale
No watermark; upscale for printing.
See it in the app
Open Image Studio and type what you want to see — subject, style, lighting and mood.
Watch the tour · 1:23
Prompts, styles, references, edit, Arena & chat
Chapters
Tips
Get natural colours
What worked in our tests.
Scan or photograph the print flat, in even light, without glare.
Say “natural colours” and “keep every face the same”.
If you know real colours (a blue dress, a red car), name them.
Ask for repairs in the same step: scratches, creases, fading.
For very small prints, upscale first.
Colours are an educated guess — label colorized family photos as such.
Models
Models for colorizing
What each model is good at. Open any one straight in the generator.
ByteDance
Seedream 5.0 Pro
- Reference images
- Up to 10
- Output
- 2K
Open Seedream 5.0 ProBest for
Keeps faces best in our tests
OpenAI
GPT Image 2
- Reference images
- Up to 16
- Output
- 1K–4K
Open GPT Image 2Best for
Good for printed text in photos
- Free plan
Black Forest Labs
Flux 2 Dev
- Reference images
- Up to 3
- Output
- 2048 px
Open Flux 2 DevBest for
On the free plan
Example uses
How creators use colorize photo with AI
Illustrative examples of typical workflows, not customer reviews.
Genealogist
A genealogist could colorize black and white family portraits and label them as colorized in a family tree.
Local history group
A local history group could bring color to old street photos for an exhibition.
Anniversary gift maker
Someone could colorize and repair a couple's wedding photo as an anniversary gift.
FAQ
Colorize Photo with AI questions
7 questions
How do I colorize a black and white photo?
Upload a flat, glare-free scan to Seedream 5.0 Pro in /app/image and ask for natural colours while keeping every face the same. Name any colours you know — a blue dress, a red car — for more accurate results, and ask for repairs to scratches, creases and fading in the same prompt. Upscale the result if you plan to print it.
Link to this answerIs it free?
Yes, to start. A new Kenerate account gets free starter credits on sign-up, and Flux 2 Dev is on the free plan. Seedream 5.0 Pro, which gave the most natural results on our four test photos, needs a one-time credit pack rather than a subscription, and credits never expire. It works online in your browser, and downloads have no watermark.
Link to this answerAre the colours accurate?
Not exactly. They are a realistic guess: the model has learned the colours objects usually have, such as skin, sky, grass and fabrics, and repaints the grayscale image with plausible tones. If you know the real colours, put them in the prompt. For family history, keep the original scan and label the colour version as an interpretation.
Link to this answerCan it fix scratches too?
Yes. Ask for colour and repairs in one prompt, as in the examples on this page — for example “restore and colorize this snapshot: fix the crease and fading, natural summer colours”. Seedream 5.0 Pro fixed scratches, creases and paper ageing on our test photos while keeping faces and poses the same. For very small prints, upscale first.
Link to this answerCan I colorize a sepia photo?
Yes. Sepia prints colorize the same way as black and white ones: ask for natural colours and to remove the paper ageing, and keep the face the same. The 1930s portrait on this page started as a sepia print and came back with natural skin tones, a dark green hat and cream pearls from one Seedream 5.0 Pro prompt. Name any colours you know.
Link to this answerCan I colorize a photo on my iPhone?
Yes, in your iPhone's browser — there's no app to install. Photograph the print flat in even light without glare, open the Kenerate web app, upload the photo and ask Seedream 5.0 Pro for natural colours while keeping every face the same. Download the result to your photos and keep the original scan as well.
Link to this answerHow do I restore an old photo fully?
Scan it, repair it, colorize it if you like, then upscale it for printing. Our guide to restoring old photos covers scanning, repair and printing tips in detail. Photograph or scan the print flat in even light, ask for repairs and colour in one Seedream 5.0 Pro prompt, upscale small prints, and always keep the original scan.
Link to this answerIn depth
Colorize Photo with AI, explained
What works, what to avoid, and how to pick a model.
On this page
How AI colorization works
Image models have learned what colours objects usually have — skin, sky, grass, fabrics. When you ask for colour, the model repaints the grayscale image with plausible tones while keeping the shapes, which is why it's important to ask it to keep faces the same.
Restore and colorize a photo in one prompt
You don't need two passes. Ask for natural colour and for repairs — scratches, creases, paper ageing — in the same sentence, as in the 1930s portrait and the 1960s picnic on this page, then upscale the result if you plan to print it.
Preserving the original
Always keep the original scan. Treat the colour version as an interpretation, especially for family history.
By the Kenerate AI teamLast updated and reviewed
We build and run the Kenerate generator. Every example is a real output of the model named under it; models and presets were checked against the app's code.
