How to change a black and white photograph to color??

I recently was married, and after receiving our wedding photographs, over half of them were in black and white! I asked our photographer for a select few in color, and she said she couldnt! What should I do? I can%26#039;t ask for my money back, because she is a new wedding photgrapher and offered to do our wedding for free. I%26#039;m very grateful and the pictures are wonderful, I would just prefer a few in color! Plead help! Thank you!
How to change a black and white photograph to color??
you cant unless she took an original and changed it on photoshop. but if she took it with the program on the camera then you can%26#039;t.





by the way, your family looks really nice
How to change a black and white photograph to color??
you can%26#039;t ...
Reply:This is sad.





With the advent of digital cameras, many people are calling themselves %26quot;wedding%26quot; photographers who have never been in a photo class, worked with a wedding photographer or even know that shooting using the black and white feature on there camera is irreversible. When a pro wants or needs a black and white print, the either shoot using black and white film or convert colour image files into a new RGB, desaturated and adjusted file, naming it something else so they do not overwrite the original file.





There are some old timers out there who used to hand colour black and white prints back when colour film was not used by portrait photographers. Check with one of your local pro labs and they should be able to hook you up to a colourists.
Reply:I totally agree with fhotoace. However, that being said if you got any sort of good photographer, they should have captured the picture in color first and then converted to black in white. I shoot sometimes with black and white film, but by no means will that be a majority of the photos. I just shoot with black and white because I love the process of developing.





However, most likely the photographer just doesn%26#039;t want to give you them in color. One because it causes them to use more time to give you more photos, and two there might be a reason they put it in color. Sometimes you can hide mistaken shots and disguise them in black and white (ooops just told a secret). That is just the benefits of Photoshop.





Lastly, if you are serious and you want it back into color, and the photo was shot in black and white, the only way to color it is by using a technique called tinting. This is the old form that early 1900%26#039;s and 1800%26#039;s did to color their photos by hand. However now you can use photoshop, and select a color to add over the black and white image. It isn%26#039;t going to look like the original color photos, but it will give you suttle colors that can offer great effects.





Sorry to hear you got a cheap photographer.
Reply:This is an extremely upsetting report. Bummer.





You can go color to b%26amp;w but you can%26#039;t go the other way.





Marshall Photo Oils and a professional are your best hope.





You could also send the file to a professional photoshopper. They could add the right colors. Expect to pay $50-$100/hr for the service.








My guess by looking at your sample picture is that your photographer made terrible white balance errors because of the mixture of shade and sunlight. She probably converted them to b%26amp;w to hide her embarrassing error.





If she had shot everything in RAW like a real pro does you would not be in this mess!
Reply:If she still has the original files you could ask for them. Or you could ask something like %26quot;if you ever get a chance to change these back to color let me know%26quot;. She may not know what she%26#039;s doing with the files yet and may still be able to recover them.





If on the other hand she tells you that she shot those in black and white (and they arent shot in RAW format) then your pretty much going to learn to like what you have. There isnt much you can do about it.





If anybody you know is thinking of using an amerture for there wedding you may want to mention your experience with them. If you just plain dont have the money for a seasoned pro then your going to get what you get. You didnt mention if the photographer is missing some shots you thought she had. Thats a good thing, even if its black and white.
Reply:purple fringing is because they arent good enough to shot with out getting it, tell them to use a smaller aperture next time or a better lens and or post processor and attend more classes in photography.





I guess its a case of you got what you paid for, sad but true.





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Reply:This was shot with a Canon 5D and an f/1.4 lens set at f/4. I would NOT expect fringing to be a problem, although the sample you showed us is shot straight into the sun, which would challenge any camera.





I see that the white balance was left on auto. This might not be a bad thing, but it surprises me to see that along with the use of manual exposure settings.





I could swear I%26#039;m seeing some pink in the dress. I think she just screwed up the job and is trying to salvage what she can by printing in black and white.





Beg and plead to get the original files and see if you can get a Photoshop professional to make something of it for you.
Reply:It is possible to remove purple fringing, there are several ways to do it. Ask your friend/photographer to learn how and provide you with the colour shots. It%26#039;s the least she can do for having used your wedding as her training ground....and it might encourage her to do a better job with the setting/backdrop next time.
Reply:U look nice in black and white, i would however suggest hand coloring, but it still wont look like a color photograph.





The grayscale option on digital cameras is completely useles and redundant, since any color photograph can be changed to grayscale later. Problem is, if the original is in grayscale you have 0 options.





Sorry, um, what do they say? Merry wedding?