The Beginnings of Photo Colorization
The history of applying color to photographs is almost as old as photography itself. People back then were used to looking at colorful paintings and always felt as if something was missing from black and white photographs. The first attempts dyed or tinted entire photographs in a blue or red hue such as cyanotypes or sepia tones.
Coloring photographs by hand
Up until the mid-1940s the majority of all photographs were black and white due to limitations in modern techniques and technologies. A photo had to first be taken, developed, and printed before someone sat down to hand paint this final print. As this was naturally a very time-consuming process only a very few people were able to afford such a process and artifact.
The first artist to create such handpainted photographs was the Swiss painter Johann Baptist Isenring. He applied acacia gum and pigments to his photographs around 1839.
Hand coloring photographs and Japanese craftsmanship
Although the process of hand coloring photographs was invented in Europe it eventually became hugely successful in Japan. The Japanese were at this time very familiar with colorful wooden prints of landscapes and scenes of daily life. Over the decades Japanese and European artists inspired each other and the techniques gradually evolved.
Different techniques for different purposes
In photo restoration, we have different tools for dealing with different sorts of damages. The same was true for coloring photographs. The principal materials and techniques used were:
- watercolors
- dyes
- oils
- crayons and pastels
Storage and preservation
It is crucial to store photographs properly. This is especially true for hand colored photos and vintage prints. As the colors are only applied to the surface of a photograph they never actually become a complete part of the photographic print. Today digital photo restoration services are able to restore these pictures from all sorts of damages.
Color Photography
The first color photograph was created by James Clerk Maxwell in 1861. He figured out that one can produce every color through differing combinations of red, green, and blue. He asked a photographer to take three photos of the same single object with different color filters (red, green, blue). The three photos were superimposed upon one another in projection, depicting for the first time a representation of the subject's original colors. Even today the technology is founded upon the same theory.
In 1935 Kodak was the first company to produce the legendary Kodachrome, marking the beginning of modern color photography. The film combined three different layers of emulsion (green, red, and blue). This technology made color photography simple and affordable for everyday customers.
Steve McCurry on Kodachrome (2011): "It had a great color palette. It wasn't too garish. Kodachrome had more poetry in it, a softness, an elegance."
Photo Coloring and Photo Restoration Today
Photo coloring together with photo restoration is once again becoming more and more popular. The tools available today have changed significantly and have revolutionized the process. What remains the same is the need for real knowledge, expertise, and experience. For consistent and high-quality results, one needs years of experience in understanding how to treat damages and a deep understanding of historical trends in photography.
If you are interested in getting your old photographs professionally repaired or colorized you should always ask a professional photo restoration service like us to do so.
Related Articles
- See Our Colorization Examples — Real before-and-after colorizations from our clients.
- What is Photo Restoration? — Learn about the broader field of digital photo restoration.