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Before colour film, the only way to have colour in photographs was to colour them by hand. Hand colouring goes back to around 1840, when photographers added oils to their black and white or sepia toned photos to give them a little colour 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 colouring gives your photos an heirloom-like vintage effect. The best part about hand colouring photos is that no great artistic ability is required, and it is very forgiving, in case you make a mistake! With some coloured 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 colouring 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 colours will not show up well on darker areas – and when you change the photo to black and white, the darker colours will appear black.
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Make it black and white.
Print the photo: Hand colouring 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 colouring, so if you make a mistake, you will have a clean photo handy that you can continue working with.
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Get colouring: 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 colour, and use colour pencils or chalk to colour in those areas. Use a very subtle and light touch in pastel shades on background elements. Too much colour 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. Colours can also be mixed, but it is best to try the mixes on a separate page before committing them to your photo.
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Photos of flowers lend themselves nicely to the use of decorating chalks. Coloured pencils can be used to colour in the finer details. Colour the background slightly using cotton swabs or a make-up applicator. This softens the black and decreases the contrast. Apply colour 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 colours look translucent – the perfect look for tinted photographs. Photo colouring takes practice, but it’s fun to learn, and creates a special, one of a kind photograph!
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