How to Colorize Black & White Photos in Photoshop (Fastest AI Methods)

Have you ever seen a black-and-white photo and wondered how that scene would’ve looked in real life?

Since most of us experience the world in color, black-and-white pictures inevitably feel more distant, and sometimes we just want to experience them in full color.

Think about giving your parents or grandparents a colorized version of their black-and-white wedding photo – it can help them relive those moments and offer them emotions that will bring a smile to their faces.

Colorizing a black-and-white photo has always been possible in Photoshop, but it required advanced editing skills and a great deal of time.

Thanks to AI, it’s now easier and faster than ever to add color to a photograph. However, not all AI colorizing tools are built in the same way. Photoshop offers a level of precision and control that makes it the best tool for achieving professional results.

In this article, I’ll show you two ways of using AI to colorize your black and white photos in Photoshop.

Method One: Colorize with Generative AI

This method uses generative AI inside Photoshop to totally re-imagine your image, and can produce jaw-dropping results.

However, it comes with a few considerations. The first is a practical issue: you’ll need to use AI partner models, which aren’t always included with a Photoshop subscription. You can check which models are available here.

If you have access to the Partner AI models, you can use the Generative Fill tool to colorize your black-and-white photograph with a simple text prompt.

There’s another consideration that’s more technical and will directly impact the resulting photograph. Generative AI won’t limit itself to colorizing the image, even if that’s all you ask for in the prompt.

Instead, it may change details such as eyes, smiles, and textures. It’s important to note that this doesn’t always happen, and as AI technology improves, it becomes more accurate.

It’s also something you might even like, because it often makes changes to enhance the photo. However, if you’re working with historical images or you want to prioritize fidelity, this can be a problem.

There is a workaround for this, but it’s a bit clunky. So, I suggest you skip over to method number 2 to ensure precision.

Colorize a Photo in Photoshop Using Generative AI: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 – RGB Mode

Once you’ve opened your image in Photoshop, make sure it supports color.

To do this, go to the menu Image > Mode. If it’s already set to RGB Color, leave it as is. If it’s set to Grayscale, select RGB Color.

Step 2 – Make a selection 

Now, you need your entire image to be selected – that is, of course, assuming you want to colorize the entire image. The easiest way to select the entire image is to use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl (or Cmd) + A.

Otherwise, you can select only part of your image if you just want to add a splash of color, like the girl in the red coat from Schindler’s List.

Remember that Photoshop has AI-powered masking tools that will help you select anything in your photo effortlessly.

Step 3 – Generative Fill 

Once a selection is made, the Generative Fill option will appear in the Contextual Task Bar. If you can’t see the bar, you can enable it by going to the menu Window > Contextual Task Bar.

Then, click on the Generative Fill button to enable the prompt space. Here, simply type Colorize – you can give more specific instructions if you already have something in mind, but the simple Colorize prompt usually gives you a great starting point.

Now, click the icon next to the prompt space to open the AI model menu.

Here, you’ll need to choose a partner model, which isn’t included in every membership plan. So, you’ll need to make sure you have the required subscription.

If you haven’t used premium features for other tasks, you’ll usually have a few free trials on your regular Photoshop membership.

So, from the AI model menu, choose Gemini 3 (with Nano Banana Pro) and click Generate.

The colorized version will appear as a separate layer, so this process is completely non-destructive.

Step 4 – Edit your color photograph (Optional)

What’s great about using Photoshop to colorize a black-and-white photo is not only that you can customize the colorization, but that you can further edit your image to achieve a high-quality photograph.

In Photoshop, you can now edit your photograph using layers, masks, and all the professional-grade features you need.

Method Two: Colorize Neural Filter

While using Generative AI to colorize a black-and-white photo in Photoshop is extremely easy and delivers amazing results, it may not be for everyone.

Don’t worry, I’m not suggesting that you do everything manually – which, by the way, is entirely possible to do in Photoshop, but requires time and advanced skills.

No, what I’m talking about is using Neural Filters. These are built into Photoshop and available to all users from the most basic membership plan.

These filters use machine learning to analyze your photo and intelligently apply color to your monochrome images.

This way, you’ll use the power of AI to save time and effort, while maintaining full control. This option gives you the best of both worlds.

Of course, you’ll also have all the editing features present in Photoshop to keep editing your image and gain a level of precision that’s impossible to beat with the average AI colorize tools you’ll find online.

Let me show you how to recolor a black-and-white photo using the Colorize Neural Filter in Photoshop.

Colorize a Black and White Photo Using Neural Filters: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 – RGB Mode

As with the first method, you need to make sure your image is in RGB Color mode so it supports color information. So, go to the menu Image > Mode and change it if needed.

If you don’t do this step, you’ll get an error message reminding you to change modes when you try to use the Colorize Neural Filter.

Step 2 – Enable the Colorize Neural Filter

Now, go to Filter > Neural Filters. This will open a new panel with all of Photoshop’s Neural Filters. In the All Filters tab, scroll until you reach the Color section and select Colorize.

If you see a cloud icon next to it, you’ll have to download it first. Don’t worry, though, you just have to click on it to start the download – you’ll see the advancement on the right side.

However, if the filter is already installed, simply click on its switch to enable it.

As soon as you do it, Photoshop will use its default settings, and you’ll see the result applied directly to the image. This is just a preview; you haven’t accepted the edit yet.

If you like it as it is, simply choose the desired Output option and click OK.

Step 3 – Adjust the colorization to your liking

However, the great thing about colorizing black and white images using the Colorize Neural Filter in Photoshop is that, while it’s possible to use it as a one-click solution, you can actually go much further. I encourage you to use the adjustments available for this tool.

The first feature, and my personal favorite, is the Focal Points. To use this feature, simply click the part of the image you want to recolor to add a pin.

In this example, notice how there’s a color cast on the right side of the photo, making parts of the suit look more magenta? Well, I can simply add a point there and use the color picker to colorize it blue.

You can add as many focal points as you want, and you can click on any of them to change their color as many times as you want.

I’m just using it to correct a color cast, but you can also use it creatively to add specific colors. You can always click the back arrow at the top to start fresh.

Moving on to the Adjustments section. Under Profile, you’ll find a series of presets such as Retro High Contrast, Retro Blue Brown, etc. Experiment with them and see if any of them gives you a better starting point than the default Auto Color.

You can use the slider below to adjust the profile’s strength.

Next, you can move the Saturation and Color sliders to fine-tune the effect to your liking. After that, you can use the sliders to remove Coloro Artifacts and Noise. Be careful not to overdo this because you may lose some sharpness.

Step 4 – Output the colorized version

Lastly, you can choose the output. Inside the Colorize tool, you’ll only have the option to Output as a new color layer – you can enable this if you like.

However, I prefer using the Output menu in Neural Filters because it offers more options. Simply go further down and open the Output drop-down menu, then choose the option that better suits your needs.

I mostly use Smart Filter because it lets me go back and adjust the filter. This, however, remains on the main layer.

If you need it to be on a separate layer to use masks and other edit options, simply duplicate the layer – the smart filter duplicates with it, so you won’t lose the option to adjust it as needed.

Step 5 – Edit your color photo (Optional)

AI colorizing tools turn your image from monochrome to color, however, the lighting stays the same – and it may not be ideal.

So, you can use layers and masks to further improve your image by precisely adjusting contrast and exposure. This way, you’ll get professional-looking results.

If you don’t yet have access to Photoshop and want to give it a try, you can get a free trial here.