Colorize B&W adds colour to a black-and-white or sepia photo using Google's Gemini image model. You upload the picture; the model is asked to choose natural, realistic colours and to leave faces, details and the composition as they are.
The colours are an educated guess. A grey-scale photo does not record whether a dress was blue or green, so the model picks what is plausible: skin, sky and foliage usually look right, while clothing, cars and painted walls may not match reality. The picture is redrawn by a generative model and comes back at about 1K resolution (roughly one megapixel), so very small details can shift. Your original stays untouched on your device.
How to use
Sign in and add a black-and-white or faded photo; a straight, evenly lit scan works better than a phone photo of a print taken at an angle.
Start the job (3 credits); it runs in the cloud.
Compare the result with the original, look closely at faces, and download the coloured version.
If you need a bigger file, run the result through Upscale & Enhance.
FAQ
Are the colours historically accurate?
Not necessarily. Black-and-white film only stores brightness, so every colour is the model's estimate. Treat the result as a lively interpretation, not as a record of what something really looked like.
Will faces change?
The model is instructed to keep faces and details unchanged, and it usually does. It is generative, though — it redraws the image — so small features can shift. Compare closely before you share or print a family photo.
Can it also repair scratches?
Colorizing is not built to fix damage. For scratched, torn or faded prints, run Restore Old Photo first and colorize the repaired version.
What does it cost, and where does my photo go?
3 credits per photo, refunded automatically if the job fails. The image is sent encrypted to Google's Gemini API on a paid account — the free tier, where Google may use data for training, is never used. If Gemini is unavailable, a backup provider such as OpenAI may handle it.