We model the optical visibility of monolayer and bilayer graphene deposited on a silicon/silicon oxide substrate or thermally annealed on the surface of silicon carbide. We consider reflection and transmission setups, and find that visibility is strongest in reflection reaching the optimum conditions when the bare substrate transmits light resonantly. In the optical range of frequencies a bilayer is approximately twice as visible as a monolayer thereby making the two types of graphene distinguishable from each other.