Adobe Photoshop’s Neural Filter to Colorize Black & White Photos - A Comparison

Recently while watching a Youtube video, I was shown an ad which featured a black and white photo of Lance Mountain doing a handplant on a mini ramp from sometime in the mid 80s. In that ad, a new neural filter for photoshop was introduced to me that colorized old black and white photos. Naturally, I was curious. In the ad, the photo colorization came out perfectly. You got a sense of the 80s skateboarding with Lance’s bright neon clothes, board, and rails & copers which stand out. So it got me wondering what my black and white Miami Beach photos from 2020 would come out.

In my opinion, the filter was very hit or miss. Sometimes my photos would look PERFECT! Like in the photo shown above, everything came out with a sharp, beautiful color. However, other photos came out looking like a complete acid trip or a painting, which I also enjoyed. It wasn’t perfect, but it passes. I enjoy B&W photography and shoot it intentionally. I don’t ever see myself using this filter again, but it was cool to mess around with. Below are all photos I used with the filter. Enjoy!