When creating a photograph, few people pay attention to the color component of the frame.
The harmony of colors also plays an important role in the perception of the photo.
Which relationships are the most significant, and which, on the contrary, conflict with the author’s idea.
And the viewer’s perception at the initial stage begins with the awareness of “pleasant-unpleasant” to the eye.
Let's start with the question of primary and secondary colors in photography.
The primary colors are definitely blue, green, and red. In this regard, the existing canons of color composition are guided by these colors.
When you mix them you will definitely get any other color. White light is produced by mixing all three primary colors, indicating harmony.
Secondary colors are placed opposite each other on the light circle - cyan and red, purple and green, yellow and blue. If you start mixing a primary color with a secondary color that is in direct contrast to it, you will end up with gray.
Additional colors are obtained by the ratio of the other two - this is purple, orange, violet.
If we assume that we take any of the primary colors and compare it with an additional one, we will get color contrast.
And he, in turn, enlivens the image, gives dynamism to the composition of the frame, and if, on the contrary, we use harmonious combinations, then the perception becomes calmer.
Important detail:“strong” color in photography must be used in such a way as to ensure balance in the frame.
Should you use color contrast in photography?
Again, it all depends on your idea. This technique is certainly a powerful tool for perceiving the composition of a frame. The most powerful contrast is obtained if you match the primary color with the secondary color, the frame turns out to be “screaming.”
One such example is mixing blue with yellow. As a result, you get color resonance that enhances the emotional impact.
Don’t forget also that if one color dominates another in the frame, this reduces the impact.
Also, do not forget about the actual impact of the color itself. Warm colors - such as red and yellow - “protruding”, focus attention on the object or subject, but “cold” - blue, green - “receding”, visually increase the spatial resolution of the frame. If you want to mix warm color with cold, then the warm will certainly dominate, and the cold will be “background”.
Of course, each color carries its own additional semantic load; when perceiving a photograph, the viewer is primarily guided by his own associations.
There are also generally accepted ideas about colors.
Red is a color of challenge, love, blood, and a warning color.
Yellow and orange - sun, joy.
Cool colors, for example, blue are associated with the sky, the sea, and loneliness.
Finally, green evokes peace and tranquility.
Therefore, you should not forget about the subconscious effect of color on a person in building a composition.
How to achieve color saturation in photography?
One of the most important factors is quality natural light. The most striking colors are obtained in the morning or in the afternoon in the frontal direction of light for shooting.
If you work in studio conditions, then the color saturation in the frame will affect the use of special filters.
What colors go harmoniously with each other?
The colors located next to each other on the “color circle” give harmonious combinations (yellow with red, yellow with green, green with blue and). However, even less contrasting colors can create harmony.
Such harmony in the frame has a calming effect on the viewer. Moreover, you can take excellent photos using the same color or its shades. This effect can be achieved with soft light that brings out the colors. This effect is created artificially and is called “monochrome color”.
Warm colors have a stimulating effect, cold effects on the contrary. Warm colors are close to the yellow spectrum, cold colors are close to the blue spectrum (the color of coolness, night cold, morning fog is before sunrise). They evoke certain emotions. Photographers know very well that warm tones in photographs seem to visually protrude outwards, making objects convex, while cold tones, on the contrary, recede, making objects concave.
The photographer’s task is to make the photograph harmonious. Using color theory is one way to achieve this. Color performs a number of useful functions:
- influences the perception of photography as a whole;
- gives the photo a special charm;
- creates the mood of the photo;
- allows you to create balance, harmony or contrast in the image;
- selects the required object.
Types and combinations of colors
The color wheel is the main tool of any professional photographer, artist, designer.
The diagram contains 12 primary and mixed colors - this is the basis. By adding black or white to the presented color models, you can get many different shades.
Also color wheel traditionally divided into two halves: warm and cold.
Contrasting colors
Contrasting, or complementary, colors are located opposite each other on the spectral wheel. Each color can be contrasted not only with one contrasting color, but also with a couple. This is the so-called broken contrast.
Opposite shades complement each other: when combined, each of them becomes brighter and more saturated.
Contrast makes the image more dynamic and allows you to evoke interesting emotional reactions: for example, red will evoke passion, while blue will instantly calm you down.
There are several ways to use contrast in photography:
- look for opposite colors around, try to capture good angles with them;
- use contrasts when creating compositions for staged photography;
- Use contrast in portrait photography: choose a contrasting color of clothing and background.
A contrast of warm and cold tones is also possible. Thus, “warm” objects look advantageous against a “cold” background. But with the reverse combination you should be very careful.
Similar combinations
Similar combinations are created using 2-3 tones located nearby on the spectral wheel. Neighboring tones bring harmony and calm to a photograph.
With this method, you should not choose rich, bright colors. It is worth giving preference to pastel, light shades.
The advantage of the method is the ability to combine a huge number of different tones.
Monochrome combination
This type of photography is created by combining it with all its possible shades. The method allows you to convey play and subtle color relationships. Such pictures always look noble.
Other combinations
One of the most popular combinations is the classic triad - colors that form an equilateral triangle in the spectral wheel. This combination always looks vibrant, even when using pale tones.
The choice of equidistant colors, or analogue triad, is also popular. The first color becomes the basis of the composition and conveys the mood, the second emphasizes and plays up the selected tones, and the third subtly places accents. The method is used in comfortable compositions, as it gives the image softness.
One of the favorite options for combining colors is a contrasting triad. In this case, it is not the opposite color that is selected, but its two “neighbors”. These shades form an isosceles triangle in a circle. The advantage of the method is the creation of soft tension and the ability to use different proportions.
There are also more complicated options - combinations of tones in the form of a rectangle, square, pentagon. Such diversity can only be used by experienced and professional photographers. An incorrect combination of tones will lead to the opposite effect: it will place accents incorrectly, making the photo discreet or annoying.
Basic rules for working with color
When working with color, it is important to adhere to the following rules:
- Choose your background wisely: white background Makes the color thicker and blacks more vibrant.
- Place accents: one bright touch can change a photo beyond recognition. A weak tone can be enhanced with a contrasting shade.
- Choose the right direction of light: the color changes depending on the nature of the lighting;
- Vary your shooting angle: Color may vary depending on the position of the camera when shooting.
- Decide on a dominant color: Most often, the dominant shade is associated with the main subject of photography.
All professional photographers prefer to use the color wheel. However, mindlessly following the rules will not necessarily bring the expected result. In photography techniques it is important not only right choice colors, but also developed artistic taste, color sense and experience. Feel free to take pictures, gain experience! Knowing the psychology of color, you can easily create masterpieces that attract the viewer's eye.
A photographer who professionally takes portraits must be familiar with the science of color. It is very important to know at least the basics of color science - which shades get along well with each other and which ones neverwill create harmony.
Below we will give some pretty simple tips, knowledge of which will help in harmonious design portrait. Red, yellow, blue... Or what you need to know about color
So, what do you need to know about the nature of color? First of all, to systematize shades, people created a simple color model or, in other words, a color wheel. It is divided into three main parts, corresponding to the basic colors - blue, red and yellow (the well-known CMYK color principle). Here it is worth remembering the first rule - for each primary color, the other two are opposing. It turns out simple circuit: blue is opposed to red and yellow; yellow - blue and red, and red “does not like” yellow and blue.
It is quite logical that the base colors create contrasting pair with secondary, mixed colors. So, red and green (which is a mixture of blue and yellow), being side by side, mutually reinforce each other. Blue and orange, yellow and purple behave in exactly the same way in relation to each other. Tertiary colors arise after mixing primary and secondary colors. For example: red-violet “plum”, blue-green “kerosene”, etc. But the rules for combining tertiary colors with quaternary ones are quite complex.
When working with white balance, it is extremely important to remember the conditional division of shades into “cold” and “warm”. In addition, it is worth considering that opposing colors can block each other. For example, in a “cold” blue color yellowish shades are distorted, acquiring an “earthy” color, and in reddish lighting it loses its qualities green– it simply fades. All these nuances are very important for a photographer working with color portraits. Many masters do not attach importance to the order of making changes: they can make them in the process of preparing for shooting, during the photo shoot itself, or during post-processing. However, there are a number of principles that must be followed:
Subtleties of professional makeup
Traditionally, cold colors are used more in makeup, which is due to the peculiarity of warm ones: reddish “warm” shades often give the model an unhealthy look (a very striking example is the “inflamed” eyes from red shadows). However, it is also worth considering that the shadows of certain cool shades (especially green tones) can also spoil the pictures, emphasizing the redness of the model’s eyes. In this case, if you don’t have the popular Visine at hand, then it’s better not to use them - optimal solution there will be a selection of neutral, gray-silver shades of eyeshadow.
It may seem that the dominance of cold colors is the rule without exception. However, this is not true. For example, plum, lilac, purple shades It is highly undesirable to use lipstick if the model’s teeth do not shine with Hollywood whiteness. It should be remembered here that the bluish tint in the contrast effect only emphasizes the yellowness. In such situations, you can no longer do without retouching. For imperfectly white teeth, it is better to choose shades closer to terracotta, bronze or chocolate.
Any colors that have a yellowish tint are also suitable: peach, pink bronze, golden, etc. Red is considered a classic color because it never fails in matters of professional makeup for photography. If red predominates in the model’s skin tone, specialized correctors are used, including greenish pigment particles. This technique makes it possible to “block” skin imperfections.
All these rules of “portrait” coloring are extremely important for a photographer working in a studio, even if he has a professional makeup artist on his staff. The participation of a stylist is very desirable, since one of his work tasks is to create an ensemble that is harmonious in color. A good makeup artist will not only select the “right” shades of cosmetics, but will also be able to advise which color elements to use to complement the look. If there is no professional makeup artist on the set, and the make-up is performed by the model herself or someone else, it is necessary special attention devote color scheme picture. We wish you good luck in your work and creating harmonious portraits!
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Light and color play a huge role in the art of photography. In photographs, the photographer relies on objectively given forms of objects and gives them a certain semantic coloring through the use of a number of expressive means. Among the main such means is playing with light and color. They carry the idea of the photographer’s creative intent. With the help of light, you can model volumes, emphasize their plasticity, density or weight, if this is required by the idea of the photograph. Color makes the photographic image appear more reliable and closer to the real shapes of objects.
Before turning to color in photography, it is worth turning to its history and remembering when and how color became part of the photographic creative process.
A significant milestone in the creation of color photography was the theory of visual perception and color reproduction, created by Thomas Young in 1807. He proved that any color can be reproduced by mixing 7 spectral colors, but for simplified reproduction, three basic ones are enough: blue, green and red. It is noteworthy that this fact was known to artists for a long time, but writing scientific works They somehow didn’t bother about this topic. The invention of color photography was first announced back in 1850. Here is a photo taken by Levi Hill. He called this process heliochrolmia.
In 1851, the English photographer Williams, the father of stereo photography, presented the public with colored daguerreotypes, but it was not at all the same. Generally very for a long time color photography followed the path of colorization. Many photographers were artists or hired artists to create color images. This method existed until the beginning of the 20th century.
Color photography appeared in the mid-19th century. The first permanent color photograph was taken in 1861 by James Maxwell using three-color photography (color separation method). To obtain a color photograph using this method, three cameras with color filters installed on them (red, green and blue) were used. The resulting photographs made it possible to recreate a color image during projection (and later in printing). In the strict sense of the word, Maxwell's demonstration, based on the additive method of color synthesis and representing three carefully combined slide projections, was not a separate photograph.
The first reliable color photographic images captured on a tangible medium were obtained by French inventors Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron and Charles Cros in the late 1860s.
Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron - on November 23, 1868, patented "trichromy" - a color photographic process full cycle, which included shooting negatives through green, orange and violet filters, positive printing on thin plates of gelatin sensitized with a solution of potassium chromium with the addition of carbon dyes of additive colors (red, blue, yellow), and the overlay of three plates to obtain a full-color image. In 1869 he published the treatise “Colors in Photography: A Solution to the Problem” (French: Les Couleurs en Photographie, solution du problème). In 1877, he took one of the most famous photographs in the history of photography - a color panorama of Agen, made using the subtractive method of color synthesis.
The next most important step in the development of the three-color photography method was the discovery in 1873 by the German photochemist Hermann Wilhelm Vogel of sensitizers, that is, substances that can increase the sensitivity of silver compounds to rays of different wavelengths - to rays of different colors. Vogel managed to obtain a composition that was sensitive to the green part of the spectrum. Practical Application Three-color photography became possible after Vogel's student, the German scientist Adolf Mithe, developed sensitizers that made the photographic plate sensitive to other parts of the spectrum. He also designed a camera for three-color photography and a three-beam projector for displaying the resulting color photographs. This equipment was first demonstrated in action by Adolf Mithe in Berlin in 1902.
A great contribution to the further improvement of the three-color photography method was made by Adolf Miethe’s student Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, who developed technologies that made it possible to reduce shutter speed and increase the possibility of reproducing an image. Prokudin-Gorsky also discovered in 1905 his own recipe for a sensitizer that created maximum sensitivity to the red-orange part of the spectrum, surpassing A. Mite in this regard.
At the beginning of the 20th century, multilayer color photographic materials did not yet exist, so Prokudin-Gorsky used black and white photographic plates (which he sensitized according to his own recipes) and a camera of his own design (its exact device is unknown; it was probably similar to the camera system of the German chemist A. Mitya). Through color filters of blue, green and red, three quick photographs of the same scene were taken in succession, after which three black and white negatives were obtained, located one above the other on one photographic plate. From this triple negative a triple positive was produced (probably using the contact printing method). To view such photographs, a projector with three lenses was used, located in front of three frames on a photographic plate. Each frame was projected through a filter of the same color as the one through which it was shot. When three images (red, green and blue) were added, a full-color image was obtained on the screen.
The composition of the new sensitizer, patented by Prokudin-Gorsky, made the silver bromine plate equally sensitive to the entire color spectrum. “Petersburgskaya Gazeta” reported in December 1906 that, by improving the sensitivity of his plates, the researcher intended to demonstrate “snapshots in natural colors, which represents a great success, since no one has yet obtained them.” Perhaps the display of projections of Prokudin-Gorsky's photographs became the world's first slide demonstrations.
Prokudin-Gorsky contributed to two existing directions for improving color photography at that time: reducing shutter speed (using his method, Prokudin-Gorsky managed to make exposure possible in a second) and, secondly, increasing the possibility of reproducing an image. He presented his ideas at international congresses on applied chemistry.
The photographs were taken not on three different plates, but on one, in a vertical position, which made it possible to speed up the shooting process by simply shifting the plate.
Together with Sergei Maksimovich Prokudin-Gorsky, he worked on the design of a movie camera for color filming using his method and filmed in Turkestan in 1911. For the development of color cinematography and color printing, with his participation, in 1914, several major industrialists established joint stock company"Biochrome", to which property rights to the Prokudin-Gorsky collection were transferred. On the eve of the First World War, Prokudin continued his research and achieved new successes. He patented in Germany, England, France and Italy a method for producing cheap color film transparencies for cinematography. In 1922, he received an English patent for an optical system for producing three negatives through filters in one exposure.
There was also a way by which images from photographic plates could be obtained on paper. Until 1917, more than a hundred color photographs of Prokudin-Gorsky were printed in Russia, 94 of which were in the form of photo postcards, and a significant number in books and brochures.
Along with the color separation method, other processes (methods) of color photography began to actively develop from the beginning of the 20th century. In particular, in 1907, the Lumière Brothers' Autochrome photographic plates were patented and went on free sale, making it relatively easy to obtain color photographs. Despite numerous disadvantages (rapid fading of paints, fragility of plates, grainy images), the method quickly gained popularity and until 1935, 50 million autochrome plates were produced worldwide.
Alternatives to this technology appeared only in the 1930s: Agfacolor in 1932, Kodachrome in 1935, Polaroid in 1963. In 1932, the German company Agfa released Agfacolor-Neu color reversible film. The film was offered to the attention of photo and film lovers, made according to completely new technology, quite progressive - with a three-layer emulsion, and the dyes were dissolved directly in the emulsion layers. One exposure, one frame, double development - and the slide is ready! I don’t know how much this film cost, but I suspect it was quite expensive. However, wealthy citizens of the Third Reich had the opportunity to spend their Reichsmarks wisely: shoot the film, send it to the laboratory and after a few days or even hours look at the color slides - through a diascope or using a slide projector, which in those days was no longer called a “magic lantern” ", and in a military manner: Bildwerfer. Moreover, you could make your own color film - after all, the film was sold not only in 35 mm format, but also in 8 and 16 mm rolls!
In the United States, ANSCO, an American branch of the Agfa concern, launched the production of Ansco Color film, which differed from Agfacolor only in name. The main customer of the film was the MGM studio, which supplied filming materials under the Metrocolor brand. The last American feature film, shot on this film, was "Lust for Life" (1956) by Vincent Minnelli.
A few years later, the Kodacolor method was introduced in the United States, which made it possible to obtain rich and colorful prints. Based on a negative process, the Kodacolor method ushered in the era of instant color photography. Color printing became extremely popular, but instant printing also developed no less intensively. color photo. Back in the late 40s, the Polaroid Corporation sold the first kit for producing black-and-white photographs in 60 seconds, and by 1963 the modernization necessary to produce color photographs within a minute was completed. The owner of a Polaroid camera with Polycolor film only needs to click the shutter, pull the tab and watch in amazement as the people or objects he photographed appear in full color on a piece of white paper in one minute.
Light and color play a huge role in the art of photography. With the help of light, you can model volumes, emphasize their plasticity, density or weight, if this is required by the idea of the photograph. Color makes the photographic image appear more reliable and closer to the real shapes of objects. Color has a number of physical characteristics that ultimately affect its perception in a photograph.
The primary colors in photography are red, green, blue (RGB) - an additive color model that typically describes how color is synthesized for color reproduction. The choice of primary colors is determined by the physiology of color perception by the retina of the human eye. It is called additive because colors are obtained by adding (English addition) to black. When you add all three, you get white light. Complementary colors are placed opposite each other on the light circle - cyan and red, magenta and green, yellow and blue. If you mix the primary color with an additional one, which lies diametrically opposite it, you can get gray.
Achromatic colors - shades of gray (in the range white - black) are paradoxically called achromatic (from the Greek α - negative particle + χρώμα - color, that is, colorless) colors. The brightest achromatic color is white, the darkest is black. You can notice that with a maximum decrease in saturation, the hue (relation to a certain color of the spectrum) of the hue becomes indistinguishable.
Color characteristics
Each color has quantitatively measurable physical characteristics (spectral composition, brightness):
Brightness - equally saturated shades related to the same color of the spectrum may differ from each other in the degree of brightness. For example, as the brightness decreases, the blue color gradually approaches black. It should be noted that brightness, like other color characteristics of a real colored object, significantly depend on subjective reasons determined by the psychology of perception. So, for example, blue color when adjacent to yellow seems brighter
Saturation - two shades of the same tone can differ in the degree of fade. For example, as the saturation decreases, the blue color moves closer to gray.
Lightness - the degree of closeness of a color to white is called lightness. Any shade at maximum magnification lightness becomes white.
Color tone - totality color shades, similar to the same spectrum color. Any chromatic color can be assigned to a specific spectral color. Shades that are similar to the same color of the spectrum (but differ, for example, in saturation and brightness) belong to the same tone. When the tone changes, for example, blue to the green side of the spectrum, it is replaced by blue, and in the opposite direction - violet.
Color temperature is a characteristic of the course of the radiation intensity of a light source as a function of wavelength in the optical range. A person sees an object in any lighting (knowingly) white as white, because the necessary color correction is automatically carried out by the human eye and brain.
If the illumination source has a continuous spectrum of thermal nature, then this spectrum can be associated with a certain temperature to which an absolutely black body must be heated so that its radiation has the same spectral composition. This temperature is called color temperature. Color temperature is measured in Kelvin.
Color temperature of a light source: characterizes the spectral composition of the light source’s radiation and is the basis for the objectivity of the impression of the color of reflecting objects and light sources.
White balance (also called white balance for short) is one of the parameters of the color image transmission method, which determines the correspondence of the color gamut of the image of the object color scheme subject of shooting. The most difficult situation for “white balance” is the presence of two or more different sources with different color temperatures. In this case, the human eye and brain will still “see” correct colors objects, however, film, and a television camera, and digital camera will reproduce some objects as “colored”. For example, if we set the white balance in a digital camera to “daylight”, then the part of the frame illuminated by incandescent lamps will look yellow, and by fluorescent lamps - green, pink or purple (for different types lamps), on a stage illuminated by a cloudless sky, the shadows will be blue. Although often this very property of digital cameras can be used to give the picture additional attractiveness, as in the following examples.
Sometimes a change in color tone is correlated with the “warmth” of a color. Thus, red, orange and yellow shades, as they correspond to fire and cause corresponding psychophysiological reactions, are called warm tones, blue, indigo and violet, like the color of water and ice, are called cold. It should be taken into account that the perception of the “warmth” of color depends on both subjective mental and physiological factors (individual preferences, the state of the observer, adaptation, etc.) and on objective ones (the presence of a color background, etc.).
The process of photography requires the photographer to have certain knowledge of the nature of light. Sunlight, continuously changing depending on the height of the sun above the horizon and the weather, is divided into directed (direct) and scattered by the atmosphere. A secondary source of natural light is the sky. Both light is reflected by the surfaces of the objects being photographed.
In the early morning and early evening hours, natural light contains significantly more red and orange rays than in the middle of the day.
As the sun rises, not only does the light intensity gradually increase, but its color temperature also changes. The spectrum changes and blue, blue and white rays begin to predominate.
Depending on the height of the sun, natural light is divided into periods of spectacular (low) morning and evening, normal, zenith and twilight lighting. With effective lighting, the horizontal rays of the sun form long elongated shadows from objects, well revealing the terrain, volumes of objects and plans.
Color content carries a great semantic, emotional and aesthetic load in the art of photography. Correct placement color accents help create a compositional solution. Colors, while in harmonious unity with each other, must also be consistent with other components of the composition - light, movement and space. Color composition can be built in two ways: according to the principle of subordination or according to the principle of coordination. In the first case, any color spot is considered the main or dominant one, and all other colors correlate with it, harmonizing or contrasting.
In contrast, coordination occurs in images containing multiple gradations of the same color that are interrelated and coordinated with each other.
Use of color when building a composition.
Contrast - using contrasting colors in photography is powerful. creative tool, thanks to which images are created that attract attention. The strongest color contrasts are obtained when the primary color is combined with an opposing complementary color of the same strength. Good example- yellow with blue. They provide a sharp contrast when combined in one photo. The effect is weakened when one color takes up more space in the photo than another, or when one of those colors is stronger than the other. Another factor to consider is how certain colors perform on their own. Warm colors - such as red and yellow - “protruding”, while cool colors - blue, green - “receding”, remind us of open spaces: sea, sky, countryside. So, if you combine a warm color with a cool color, then the warm color will certainly dominate the photo, even in small quantities cool color forms an attractive background. Contrast forces comparison of objects in the frame
There is a distinction between one-dimensional contrast - when there is a difference in one category (for example, in color) and multidimensional contrast - when there is a contrast in several categories (in color, shape, contrast ...)
Nuance. Nuance is the interaction in a composition of several objects that are similar in some way. These are minor differences between elements in the composition in the same categories. One-dimensional and multidimensional nuances are also distinguished. In nuanced forms there is more similarity, and the difference is just a little bit.
Identity is similar in meaning to rhythm in a composition and often complements it. This is a repetition of identical elements, similar in their qualities (size, shape, tone...). Requirements for an identical composition: 1) the element must be simple, expressive, and beautiful. 2) the relation of an identical element to space must be observed.
Symmetry is the identical arrangement of elements relative to a point, axis or plane of symmetry, perceived by the eye as a special type of orderliness of balance and harmony. Types of symmetry: mirror, axial, mirror-axial, helical. Mirror. This is symmetry in which the elements of the composition are located at the same distance from the plane of symmetry and when superimposed on each other, their figures coincide at all points, i.e. one figure mirrors another. Axial symmetry. This is symmetry about an axis, the line of intersection of two or more planes of symmetry. (In axial symmetry, the element itself must have an asymmetrical structure!) Mirror-axial or mixed. There are two types of such symmetry: 1) when both mirror and axial symmetry are combined in one work. 2) when axial symmetry is taken with a symmetrical structure of elements. Helical symmetry. The element simultaneously performs rotational and translational motion around an axis.
Asymmetry is a composition option in which the combination and arrangement of elements, axes, and planes of symmetry are not observed. This is the absence or violation of symmetry (dissymmetry).
Colors also have the power to evoke various reactions, because with different colors we connect our moods and emotions. The color red is associated with blood, revolution, love, hate and is sometimes used as a means of warning. But orange and yellow are calm colors that remind us of warmth and sun. As for cold colors, blue is associated with the free expanse of heaven and sea, as well as coldness and loneliness. Finally, green - the natural color of nature - is reminiscent of dense forests, the birth of something new, and beauty. Of course, to evoke these feelings, it is not enough to simply include this or that color in the frame, but one should remember their power on the subconscious when filming this or that scene. So, for example, a fiery sunset shot with an orange filter will radiate warmth, while a photo of a cold, foggy day with a blue tint may send shivers down your spine.
Colors are sometimes called heavy or light. Severe ones include dark colors: black, blue, purple and all tones darkened with black paint. To the lungs - white, red, yellow and all colors, whitened with white paint.
Color has many objective and subjective properties, and the photographer’s task is to competently use knowledge about these properties to obtain truly interesting photographic images.
It means colors that harmoniously combine with each other. This concept is used by both artists and photographers. To visually display this concept, a color wheel was invented that shows three pairs of colors located opposite each other. This wheel is based on modern concept color space CMYK, which includes:
1. Red - red; Cyan - blue with a hint of neon glow
2. Yellow - yellow; Blue is a blue that approaches purple
3. Green - green; Magenta - purple.
All these colors can be combined in a different order, but it is the described combination in the works that will evoke a much greater response from viewers.
Complementary colors How does the harmony of the color wheel manifest? You might immediately think that these colors don’t go well together. The lettering in each circle is made with a color from the opposite circle. This combination clearly demonstrates. This incompatibility, which appears when considering a combination of colors, is deceptive. The fact is that it is with this combination that a person can perceive both the color and structure of an object. The colors are contrasting to each other, so even in rich and heavy colors such as purple, red or dark blue, the lettering is clearly visible. Thus, visual harmony is achieved. It is this color scheme that can be found in the popular graphics editor Photoshop. It is found in the Color Balance tool:
“Color balance” in the graphics editor Photoshop In nature, there is evidence of the compatibility of colors of complementary pairs. What is combined in nature according to this rule? For example, a sandy yellow beach and a blue sky, purple flowers in green foliage, again, a yellow sun and a blue sky, a sunset that combines a red sun and sky blue color. Examples can be seen in the pictures. This image of an ancient Egyptian temple shows varying shades of yellow, from dark to light, that match the blue sky. Shapes and geometry also affect the feel of an image, but if you change the original colors, the feeling will be completely different.
The next photo was taken at night. The combination of blue-violet hotel and yellow-brown immediately catches your eye. Eiffel Tower. The dark yellow hotel building in the background completes the composition. creating a transition between the main objects.
Undoubtedly, everyone saw the attire and paraphernalia of the monarchs. The main color of the kings is purple, and the main symbol is the golden lily. Luxurious robes purple embroidered with gold. The next photo was taken in Fontainebleau. This is the former residence of kings and the last resting place of Emperor Napoleon. In the photo decorative element walls interior space. Over time, the colors have faded, but yellow shades to this day create a pattern on a purple background.
Here's another pair of colors: green and purple. This combination is inherent in nature. The greenery of the vegetation and the purple flowers create a vibrant contrasting picture. The orchid against the background of green grass looks amazing. It is worth noting that almost all the work in the picture is done only by color. Most details are out of focus.
Another shot from the world of the artificial. The photograph symbolizes the RGB color space. The outside was illuminated with changing colors. The illumination changed in accordance with the complementary rule. It is very interesting to watch the change in emphasis. Objects stood out and faded away in turn. color space. In this photo, the green rakes against the purple background stand out the most.
Now let's look at red and light blue (Cyan). The picture shows one of the cars from the fifties of the last century. The color of the car is in harmony with red carpeted, and how reflections appear on blue stains.
The last photo shows regular shops. These colors can be found anywhere. IN in this example The combination of red and turquoise attracts special attention ( Cyan). Yes. specifically turquoise, because Cyan- this is turquoise, although in official sources it is more often called light blue. These colors contrast and stand out wonderfully. There is another pair in the picture - this is a light yellow and dark yellow (orange) building combined with purple tones.
Knowing how to combine colors can be a big help when working with advertising and stock photography. to receive good result you need to plan everything in advance and select matching colors.
Based on materials from the site:
