Colorize Old Photos with AI For FREE - Google Nano Banana Tutorial

In this beginner-friendly AI tutorial, I show how to colorize old photos quickly, easily, and for FREE using AI.

In this Google Nano Banana tutorial, I walk through the photo restoration process on two different vintage back and white photos using Google Gemini Flash 2.5 to:

Do an initial photo restoration and repair

Perform photo colorization using a vintage tint effect reminiscent of historical photos from the early 20th Century

Perform a colorization technique to make the photos look realistic and have modern vibrant color

With these easy techniques you can bring family photos and historical photos to life in a way that makes you really “see” them in a way that black and white photos just can’t.

I create easy, practical AI tutorials that are jargon free and easy to follow along with. If you find this content helpful, please consider subscribing to @SkypowerAI.

In this video:

0:00 Click-by-click how to restore and colorize old photos for free with AI
0:10 Google AI studio Nano Banana
0:20 Two ways to colorize photos – vintage tinted photos and modern colorization
0:40 Initial photo restoration and repair of black and white photo
0:50 Nano Banana prompt
1:26 Prevent AI from changing face / human subjects
1:45 Preserving historical photos
2:04 Fine-tuning Google AI studio
2:18 AI photo restoration
2:30 Colorization – vintage hand tinting effect
2:40 Nano Banana vintage colorization prompt
3:21 Applying the vintage tinting effect with AI
3:42 Black and white photo with vintage tinting effect
4:01 Downloading restored photo
4:19 Starting a new Nano Banana prompt to ensure image integrity
4:30 Returning to Nano Banana in Google AI Studio
4:40 Upload picture to Google Nano Banana
4:51 Nano Banana modern colorization prompt
5:35 Black and white photo with modern colorization
5:45 Specifying colors for color restoration
6:10 New photo restoration in Google AI Studio
6:20 Uploading a new file to Google Nano Banana
6:35 Restoring a WW2 photo
6:45 Nano Banana prompt to restore WW2 black and white photo
6:58 Prompt for colorization of WW2 historical photos with tint effect
7:25 WW2 photo restored and colorized with AI
7:43 Saving restored black and white photo from Google Gemini
7:55 Starting a new conversation with Google Nano Banana
8:10 Uploading restored WW2 photo
8:20 Full colorization of WW2 picture
8:42 Fully restored colorized WW2 photo