In this article we will see how you can improve your photos using color, I will tell you some basics to position you and understand how this can influence your photography and to what extent, but I promise to explain it to you.you in the simplest way possible and get right to the point.
Now I assure you that if you use this information when composing your images, you will get a change, color is a powerful tool that you have (and for free) to conquer the viewer’s gaze, stop lamenting because you do not have the camera of your dreams or the most desired lens and learn what really matters ?.
The color has its own settings or properties, the most used in photography are hue, saturation and brightness.
There are three primary colors that, as you know, are yellow, blue and red, are the colors that can not be obtained by mixing another color.
The secondary colors (green, orange, and purple) arise from the 1:1 blend of the primary colors.
When mixing a primary color with a secondary color, a tertiary color (reddish orange, bluish green, etc.) emerges.
In addition to the typical things you learned at school about what cold or warm colors were and what they represented, when composing your images you should know that:
The way colors are combined can cause very different sensations, photography seeks harmony in images and this can be done in different ways, either by contrast (complementary colors) or by similarity to similar colors.
These are those in opposite positions in the chromatic circle, for example: red and green.
The harmony of complementary colors is based on the contrast and effect that also causes, in fact, the mixing of two opposites in the circle results in a neutral, but keep in mind that using a complementary contrast in an image works very well.
Now let’s look at an image using two complementary colors
These are the ones that are in the same area of the chromatic circle, the harmony between similar colors is more evident and very pleasing to the eye.
In the following image you can see an example of what we are talking about.
Another way to get a harmonic combination is to choose the colors arranged on top of an equilateral triangle on the color wheel, ideally choose a dominant color, another that supports and another that acts as contrast.
This combination of three colors is similar to the one shown in this photograph, the dominant would be purple, green as food and golden yellow to contrast.
Another option that we should not forget is monochrome, which although we associate it with black and white, is actually a single color, that is, to include a single color or shade in the frame with different shades or shades.
The following image is a good example of monochrome photography
Colors align better when there is a weight balance, that is, when their areas are inversely proportional to their relative brightness, that is, for example, that because green and red are also bright, they harmonize better when their ratio is 1:1, or what is the same, they have the same presence in the image.
On the other hand, since orange is twice as bright as blue, the ideal ratio is 1: 2 (orange: blue).
Since yellow and violet are at both ends of brightness, it is best to correspond to 1:3.Let’s look at an example.
Each color evokes different emotions and is a resource that you can use to awaken the feeling you want in the audience, this is widely used in cinema, if you’re a filmmaker you’ve already noticed how color can direct a scene or even a whole movie If you’re curious to see which palettes have been used in some movies, you can watch @CINEMAPALETTES posts on Twitter.
Let’s see, very briefly, what each color conveys so that you can use it in your favor when you include it in your photo, because a good composition accompanied by an emotion is a round result.
Note that colors are perceived differently depending on other nearby colors, a yellow color will never convey the same or be perceived in the same way if accompanied by an orange as if it were next to a black.
Veamos un ejemplo con dos plantas rojas, pero con fondos diferentes, ¿qué te transmite una y qué te transmite la otra?
Now that you know how to create harmony with contrast or similar colors, etc., in addition to knowing the emotional implications of the different colors, I leave you some extra notes to master the color in your compositions.
Before I say goodbye, I leave you a series of photographs that you can observe and try to figure out how they used color when they were composed, what they transmit and how color relates to these sensations.
And so far today’s article. I hope this has helped you and that next time, before composing a photo, you will take into account the color.If you liked it don’t forget to share it on your favorite social network after giving it a “Like” so we know what content you’re interested in to keep creating new ones.