Before color film, the only way to have color in photographs was to color them by hand. Hand coloring goes back to around 1840, when photographers added oils to their black and white or sepia toned photos to give them a little color and an added touch of realism. This was a very time-consuming practice, and rather expensive for the average budget.
We have come a long way from those days! If you have a digital camera, you can shoot, select, and print a photo in less time than it takes to load film into a camera.
Today, photo tinting has become an art form and varied results can be achieved, depending on the materials you use. Hand coloring gives your photos an heirloom-like vintage effect. The best part about hand coloring photos is that no great artistic ability is required, and it is very forgiving, in case you make a mistake! With some colored pencils or decorator’s chalk, you have all that you need to add more interest to your photographs. Are you ready to try your hand at coloring a photo?
Before you begin
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Selecting the photo: Choose a sharp and clear photo with simple subjects. Too much background will detract from the subject. The background should be fairly simple, and there should be some contrast in the photo (different shades from light to dark). A lighter photograph usually works better, because the colors will not show up well on darker areas – and when you change the photo to black and white, the darker colors will appear black.
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Print the photo: Hand coloring works best on photos that are printed on matte photo paper or white cardstock - it is best if the cardstock is not textured. You may want to print out an extra copy or two of the photo you are coloring, so if you make a mistake, you will have a clean photo handy that you can continue working with.
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Get coloring
You will see some texture and shading already appear in the black and white photo. Decide what elements of the photo you would like to emphasize with color, and use color pencils or chalk to color in those areas. Use a very subtle and light touch in pastel shades on background elements. Too much color and you will lose the transparency. There are many ways you can apply decorating chalk – cotton swabs and eye shadow applicators are commonly used – so you should experiment to see what works best for you. Colors can also be mixed, but it is best to try the mixes on a separate page before committing them to your photo.
Photos of flowers lend themselves nicely to the use of decorating chalks. Colored pencils can be used to color in the finer details. Color the background slightly using cotton swabs or a make-up applicator. This softens the black and decreases the contrast. Apply color to the flowers in the same manner. To achieve a deeper hue, apply another layer of chalk. If you make a mistake, chalk is easily erased using a white craft eraser. A sweeping motion when chalking flowers works well, starting at the darkest part and fading to the lightest.
Once you have mastered photo tinting with chalks and pencils, you might want to try it with photo-tinting oils or standard artist's oils, applying the oils with cotton swabs, then drawing in detail with cotton covered toothpicks. Dabbing your cotton swab in liquid extender will make your colors look translucent – the perfect look for tinted photographs. Photo coloring takes practice, but it’s fun to learn, and creates a special, one of a kind photograph!
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