Invert image colors

How it works

Tap or click the box, choose one or more images and press "Invert". With "All colors" each pixel's red, green and blue values are subtracted from 255: white becomes black, black becomes white, red turns cyan and yellow turns navy. That is the classic photo negative. Example: scan or photograph a black-and-white film negative and invert it once to get the positive picture (colour film also needs its orange mask corrected). With "Light and dark only" hue and saturation stay put and only lightness flips, so a white-background table screenshot goes dark while red warning text stays red. Transparent areas stay transparent. Everything runs in your browser and the images are not uploaded.

This tool is also known as invert image colors, invert colors of image, negative image online, photo negative converter, invert picture colors, negative to positive photo.

What is Negative image?

A negative image swaps every color for its exact opposite: in a digital image each channel value is subtracted from 255. Film cameras produce a negative first, and it is flipped back when printed on paper. Applying the negative twice returns the original exactly, so the operation loses no data.

What is HSL (hue, saturation, lightness)?

HSL describes a color with three values: hue (red or blue), saturation (vivid or dull) and lightness (dark or light). The light/dark mode converts each color to HSL, flips only the lightness (10% becomes 90%) and keeps hue and saturation. Colors at exactly medium lightness, such as pure red, do not change at all.

Inverting colors vs. converting to black and white

Black and white removes color entirely and turns every pixel into a gray matching its brightness; light stays light and dark stays dark. Inverting keeps color but flips it: light areas darken, dark areas lighten, and a color image stays colorful. Color never comes back after black and white, while an inverted image returns to the original when inverted again.

Which mode to use for a dark-mode document

To darken a white-background screenshot or scanned page for night reading, choose "Light and dark only". Inverting all colors also turns the background black, but it changes the meaning of everything colored: red error text becomes cyan, a green check mark becomes pink and faces in photos look bluish.

Because the hue is kept in light/dark mode, colored links and charts stay recognisable. On purely gray images both modes give the same result, since gray has no hue.

Turning a film negative into a positive

Scan a black-and-white film negative, or photograph it against a light, then invert it with "All colors" to get the positive. Put even white light behind the negative (an empty white screen works); uneven light leaves blotches in the inverted picture.

Color negative film has an orange base. After inverting, that mask remains as a blue-cyan cast, and natural colors need a white balance or color correction afterwards. This tool only inverts; it does not remove the mask.

Frequently asked questions

How do I invert the colors of an image?

Choose the image in the box on this page and press "Invert". Every color flips to its opposite, and you can save the result with the "Download" link next to it.

Does a transparent PNG stay transparent?

Yes. Only the red, green and blue values change; the transparency value stays as it was and the file downloads as a PNG again.

Can I undo the inversion?

Yes. In "All colors" mode, invert the image once more and the colors return exactly. With JPG, saving again may add tiny compression differences; with PNG there are none.

Can I turn a negative photo into a positive?

For black-and-white negatives, yes: photograph the negative and invert it with "All colors". Color negatives stay bluish because of the film's orange base and need color correction too.