You are holding an old black-and-white photo from way back - perhaps one of your grandparents from the 1950s, one of your parents as children in the 60s, or maybe a wedding picture from the 70s. You are wondering: can I actually have a hand-painted painting made from this?
The short answer is yes. We do it every single week. In fact, a large share of our memorial paintings are ordered from old black-and-white or faded photos. It is exactly the kind of job our artist Michael specialises in.
In this guide we go through how it works, what choices you have (should it be in black and white or in colour?), what the advantages and challenges are, and we show examples of what typically comes out of it.
Yes - we paint from black-and-white photos every single week
Our artist Michael lives and paints between Hong Kong and Aarhus. He has been painting for over two decades, and his speciality is precisely working with difficult photos - old, worn, black-and-white, low-resolution or partly damaged pictures. Many of our customers choose us precisely because we dare to take on the job, even when the photo is old or worn.
For Michael, an old photo is not a problem. It is a challenge he has solved hundreds of times before.
Black and white or colour - which is the right choice?
When you order a painting from a black-and-white photo, you have two choices: we can paint it in black and white (in fact shades of grey in oil), or we can add colours based on your descriptions. Both have their strengths.
Black-and-white painting - preserve the authentic mood
If you ask us to keep the black-and-white look, we paint the picture in shades of grey with a warm undertone. This gives an expression reminiscent of old country-house portraits or documentary paintings.
When is it the right choice?
- When the original mood of the photo matters - for example a 1940s family portrait
- When you want something that looks as though it has always existed as a painting
- When the subject is strong in itself and does not need colour to work
- For memorial paintings, where the quiet, nostalgic character fits
Added colours - bring the past to life
The second - and often more popular - choice is to add colours. Here Michael uses his experience and your descriptions to judge realistic colours: what colour was your mother's hair? Were her eyes brown or blue? What was the fabric of the dress she is wearing? What colour was the living room in the background?
We ask you about the colour details you remember. If you do not know, we draw on our experience and use natural skin tones, likely hair colours and typical furniture and textiles from the period.
The result is often more moving than people expect. Suddenly you no longer see your grandmother as "an old black-and-white photo" - you see her as a living person with warm eyes and a blue dress.
Examples of jobs we have solved
We have made hundreds of paintings from old photos. Here are a few example cases (anonymised out of respect for our customers):
Case 1: Grandmother in 1955
A customer sent us a photo of her grandmother as a young woman in 1955. The photo was black and white, slightly damaged at the edges, and the grandmother was wearing a dress with a fur collar. The customer chose to have the painting in colour. We talked about her hair colour (dark brown) and eye colour (blue), and about how the dress had been dark green according to family tradition.
The result was a 60x80 cm portrait painting, which was given as an 80th birthday present to the customer's mother. It now hangs above her dining table.
Case 2: Wedding picture from 1972
Another customer had a black-and-white wedding picture of his parents from 1972. The photo was in good condition, but worn. The customer wanted a coloured painting to celebrate his parents' golden wedding anniversary. We added realistic colours: white dress, black suit, red roses in the bouquet, warm sun in the background.
The painting became a 70x100 cm wedding painting in a white floating frame. The parents received it as a surprise for their golden wedding anniversary and were deeply moved.
Case 3: Late father as a young man
A third customer had lost his father and wanted a memorial painting made from an old portrait from the 1960s. The photo was black and white and slightly blurred. He chose the black-and-white painting style to preserve the authentic, documentary character. The painting came out at 50x70 cm in a dark walnut frame and now hangs in the family's living room.
Advantages of painting from black-and-white photos
Painting from a black-and-white photo actually has some advantages over a colour photo:
- A stronger focus on form and light: Black-and-white photos force the eye to see contrasts and shadows instead of colours. This often makes for stronger portraits.
- Less risk of "wrong" colours: We do not need to match an exact skin tone from a badly lit photo. We can choose natural, flattering colours.
- Timelessness: Black-and-white subjects feel timeless - they are not tied to a particular fashion period in the same way as colourful photos.
- Emotional depth: There is something especially moving about seeing an old relative become a hand-painted work.
Challenges and how we solve them
Black-and-white photos also come with challenges. Here are the most common ones - and how we handle them:
Challenge 1: Low resolution
Many old photos are physically small or have been scanned at low resolution. This means that details such as eye colour, facial features or fabric patterns are not clear.
Solution: We ask you. We often send an email back with questions: "Were her eyes brown or green? Did he have a beard at this point? What colour was the living room?" You supply the details, we solve the painting.
Challenge 2: Damage, scratches, stains
Old photos are often physically worn. Perhaps there are scratches, stains, faded areas or a torn corner.
Solution: We do not paint the damage. We reconstruct what the photo should have shown. If grandmother has a stain on her nose in the photo, there is no stain on her nose in the painting.
Challenge 3: Missing background
Some old portraits have an empty or single-colour background - for example a studio portrait with a grey backdrop.
Solution: We can keep the simple background, or we can add a suitable background according to your wishes (a home, a landscape, a coloured wall). We agree this before we begin.
Challenge 4: Group photos where several people need to be brought together
If you have several old photos of different relatives and would like them combined in one painting, we can do that. It is extra work, but it costs nothing extra. Read more in our article on bringing a family together from different photos.
What happens after you have ordered?
The process is simple:
- You upload your photo on our website
- You choose the size and, if you like, a frame
- You pay - free shipping throughout Switzerland is included
- If we have questions about colours, background or details, we write to you before Michael gets started
- Michael paints your work by hand - typically 1-2 weeks
- We send a photo of the finished painting before dispatch, so you can approve it
- The painting is delivered to your door
The whole process typically takes 2-3 weeks from order to delivery.
How good does my old photo actually need to be?
We often get the question: "My photo is really bad - can you use it at all?" In our experience most photos can be used, as long as you can:
- Clearly see the face and the person's main features
- See the composition and where the person is in the picture
- Understand the context (seated, standing, surroundings)
If the photo is very blurred, we can often make it work anyway - but we recommend that you send us the photo before ordering if you are in doubt. Write to us, and we will assess free of charge whether it is possible.
Many memorial paintings come from black-and-white photos
A large share of our memorial paintings are ordered from black-and-white photos. It makes sense - when we lose someone, photos are often all we have left. And when the person lived in the 1940s, 50s or 60s, the photos are typically black and white.
For many customers it is a very special way of honouring someone who has died. A hand-painted painting has a presence that a physical photo does not. It is not just a paper picture in a frame - it is a work of art that lives on the wall.
The guarantee - we repaint free of charge
If you receive your painting and feel it does not quite hit the mark - for example if the skin tone is too dark, or you would like a detail adjusted - we would like to hear from you. We have our satisfaction guarantee, and we make adjustments or repaint until you are satisfied.
Ready to have your old photo painted?
Take out the old album. Find the photo that has always moved you. Scan it or take a picture of it with your phone in good light. Upload it on our website.
You will find more information on our FAQ page, or you can start directly in one of our collections - portrait paintings, family paintings or memorial paintings.