How to Convert a Photo to Black and White (Free) and Bring Color Back
imgmend Team
AI Image Tools
Turn a color photo into black and white on iPhone, Photoshop, GIMP or any editor, and use an AI colorizer if you later want color back.
To convert a photo to black and white, use your editor's desaturate or black-and-white command: Edit → Filters → Mono on iPhone Photos, Image → Adjustments → Black & White in Photoshop, or Colors → Desaturate in GIMP. If you later want color back, an AI colorizer can add plausible colors, though not the true originals.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| iPhone Photos | Edit → Filters → Mono, Silvertone or Noir |
| Photoshop | Image → Adjustments → Black & White (or Desaturate) |
| GIMP (free) | Colors → Desaturate |
| Bring color back | imgmend colorizer (AI guesses the colors) |
How to Make a Photo Black and White
iPhone: open the photo in Photos, tap Edit, tap the filters icon and choose Mono, Silvertone or Noir. You can undo it later with Revert.
Photoshop: choose Image → Adjustments → Black & White to control how each color turns into gray, or Image → Adjustments → Desaturate for a quick conversion.
GIMP (free): choose Colors → Desaturate and pick a method such as Luminance, then export.
Converting to black and white throws away the color information, so keep the original file if you may want the color later.
Getting Better Black-and-White Results
- Add contrast. Photos can look flat after conversion; a small boost in contrast brings back depth.
- Choose how colors turn gray. Black & White adjustment controls let you lighten reds or darken blues so faces and skies keep separation.
- Watch noise. Black and white shows grain more clearly. The imgmend denoiser can clean it up.
How to Remove Color from an Image
"Remove color" can mean two things. To remove all color, convert the image to black and white with the steps above. To remove one color, such as a white or green backdrop, make that color transparent: GIMP's Colors → Color to Alpha does this for a chosen color, and for a whole background the imgmend background remover is quicker. See how to remove a white background.
Is "Invert" the Same as Black and White?
No. Inverting flips every color to its opposite, which is how a film negative works. See how to convert a film negative to a positive photo.
Bringing Color Back
- Open imgmend.com/colorize-photo and upload the black-and-white photo.
- Wait for the AI to add color, then compare before and after.
- Download the result.
The colors are the AI's best guess, so skin tones and clothing may not match reality. Free use is 3 images per day with no account, and free downloads carry a small watermark that Pro removes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert a picture to black and white?
Use the desaturate or black-and-white command in any editor, or a Mono filter in your phone's photo app.
Can I turn a black-and-white photo back into color?
You can add color with an AI colorizer, but the colors are guesses, not the originals. The original color cannot be recovered from a black-and-white file.
What is the best free black-and-white converter?
GIMP's Desaturate and your phone's built-in Mono filter are both free and work well for most photos.
Ready to remove noise from your photos?
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