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Skills Expanded

Colorizing Black and White Photographs

by James Trory

Learn how to bring history to life. This course will teach you the core concepts behind taking an old, black and white photograph and converting it into stunning color. Software required: Photoshop CS6 or above.

What you'll learn

When looking at an old black and white photograph, you may have imagined what it would be like to see that period of history in the glorious color that nature intended. With the power of digital retouching, you can now bring history to life. In this course, Colorizing Black and White Photographs, you'll learn how to take an old photo and convert it into an incredible colorized picture. First, you'll explore basic color theory, how to understand the relationship between color and greyscale, and how to find pictures to colorize. Next, you'll discover how to utilize advanced layers, such as gradient map, photographic toning, and 50% grey. Finally, you'll learn the approaches you can take towards different skin tones and environments. By the end of this course, you'll have the necessary skills and knowledge to create a realistic color conversion. Software required: Photoshop CS6 or above.

About the author

James was born and raised in England where he studied film and media at A Level, then promptly gave it all up and moved to Los Angeles as a young man to dip his toes into the world of movie making. This eventually lead to his interest in photography, and a move to the East Coast found him first at Western Connecticut State University studying photography part-time, to being accepted to the 1 year photojournalism program at the International Center of Photography in New York. His first profession... more

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