Think of the photographs that, thanks to their color palette, really impressed you, caught your eye. Moreover, the presence of bright shades is not at all necessary, these photographs stand out among others due to the ratio of colors, which is built directly by the photographer.
To enjoy and benefit from all the myriad shades of color, we must have a good understanding of color theory. In this article, we have summarized the basic tenets of color theory for you.
Let's start with the basics. Color circle
Most likely you have heard about the existence of the color wheel more than once, perhaps you studied its structure as a child in drawing lessons. We invite you to brush up on your knowledge.
We need the color wheel to understand how colors interact with each other, how they are combined. That is why it was created.
Within the color wheel, there are primary, secondary and tertiary colors that together form the color spectrum. This separation makes it much easier to consider the relationship between colors. All original colors are the brightest in the spectrum, adding to them White color, we get lighter, pastel shades, adding black, we get colors in dark colors respectively.
We will now look at primary, secondary and tertiary colors.
Primary colors
The most basic, basic colors are red, yellow and blue. Mixing them into different proportions, we get all the other colors of the spectrum, and by adding black and white, we get their additional shades.
Complementary colors
Complementary colors (in other words, complementary) are secondary, i.e. are created by connecting two primary ones. On the color wheel, they are located opposite the primary color, which they do not contain.
- Red + Yellow = Orange (complementary color - Blue)
- Yellow + Blue = Green (complementary color - Red)
- Blue + Red = Purple (complementary color - Yellow)
We get aesthetic pleasure when we see colors in a picture that complement each other. A correctly selected palette of colors can significantly increase visual effect... In photography, combining complementary colors, we get contrast, which gives the image more dynamism.
When photographing, try to look for these complementary colors around you. You will soon notice them all over the place.
Use the theory of the color wheel when staging, when composing.
And when shooting portraits, this theory will be no less useful. In any photo, colors should be combined, look harmonious. When choosing an outfit for a model, think about the background against which you will shoot her, and, based on this, choose the color of the clothes. For example, a model in a yellow dress will look very impressive against a blue or purple background.
Similar colors
These are the colors next to each other on the color wheel.
For example, let's take green and blue-green, these colors are the same, as well as yellow-green. Their combination gives a feeling of calmness, harmony.
Warm and cold colors
The color wheel is usually divided into warm and cold colors. Warm colors are: red, yellow, orange. Cold, respectively: green, blue and purple. Interior designers very often use the properties of cold and warm colors... Cold colors can visually enlarge the space, and warm ones give a feeling of home comfort.
These facts can also apply to photography. When creating a composition, for an object whose color can be attributed to warm, find the background of the opposite, i.e. cold color. This will add drama to the photo. However, objects of cold color do not always look harmonious against a warm background.
Knowing and understanding the physics of color, its psychology, the ability to combine, you will be able to create expressive, spectacular photographs that will catch the viewer's eye. It is the color that creates the whole mood of the photo and makes one object stand out from the rest.
A professional portrait photographer 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 nevercreate harmony.
Below we will give a few 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, the fact that in order to systematize shades, people have created a simple coloristic model, or, in other words, color circle... It is divided into three main parts corresponding to the base 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 opposes red and yellow; yellow - blue and red, and red "does not like" yellow and blue.
It makes sense that base colors create a contrasting pair with secondary, blended colors. So, red with green (which is a mixture of blue and yellow), being side by side, mutually reinforce each other. In the same way, blue and orange, yellow and violet do in relation to each other. Tertiary colors appear after mixing base colors with secondary colors. For example: red-purple "plum", blue-green "kerosene", etc. But the rules for combining tertiary colors with quaternary are quite complex.
When working with white balance, it is extremely important to remember the conventional division of shades into "cold" and "warm". In addition, it should be borne in mind that opposing colors can block each other. For example, in the "cold" blue distorted yellowish shades, acquiring "earthiness" of color, and in reddish lighting loses its qualities green color- it simply fades. All these nuances are very important for the photographer working with color portraits. Many masters do not attach importance to the order in which changes are made: they can make them in preparation for shooting, during the photo session itself, or during post-processing. However, there are a number of principles that must be followed:
The subtleties of professional makeup
Traditionally, cold colors are used more in visage, which is due to the peculiarity of warm ones: reddish "warm" shades often give the model an unhealthy look (a very vivid example is the eyes "inflamed" from red shadows). However, it should be borne in mind that shadows of certain cold shades (especially green gamma) can also spoil the pictures, emphasizing the redness of the model's eyes. In this case, if there is no popular "Vizin" at hand, then it is better not to use them - optimal solution there will be a selection of neutral, gray-silver eyeshadow shades.
It may seem that the dominance of the cold scale is the rule with no exceptions. However, it is not. For example, it is highly undesirable to use plum, lilac, purple shades of 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 cannot do without retouching. With imperfect white teeth, it is better to choose shades closer to terracotta, bronze or chocolate.
Any colors with a yellowish tint are also suitable: peach, pink bronze, golden, etc. Red is therefore considered a classic color because it never fails in matters of professional make-up for photography. If red predominates in the skin tone of the model, use specialized correctors that include greenish pigment particles. This technique makes it possible to "block" skin imperfections.
All these rules of "portrait" colorism are extremely important for a photographer working in a studio, even if his staff includes a professional make-up artist. The participation of a stylist is highly desirable, since one of his work tasks is to create a color-harmonious ensemble. A good make-up artist will not only select the "right" shades of cosmetics, but will also be able to advise on what color elements to use to complement the image. 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 to give color scheme snapshot. We wish you good luck with your work and creating harmonious portraits!
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Why do so many people choose to create artistic photographs in black and white over color? Do colors distract from the subject, as most people say, including myself in the recent past? Now my answer is no, not when color is used thoughtfully and to emphasize a subject.
Last year when I first started experimenting with color after production exclusively black and white photos over the years, I've wanted to explore my creativity and find out why color doesn't work as well as black and white in artistic photography... Because I was sure it was just a myth. Why, then, are almost all the paintings of eminent artists in art history created in color and found feedback from so many people, including me?
This is where I started my research: studying the artists I love to understand more about how they used color.
For centuries, artists have used colors in a very deliberate and effective way based on color theory. If you are familiar with the color wheel and color schemes, then you know about harmonious combinations such as complementary, triadic, and analog colors.
As photographers, we can learn a lot from famous artists. You may already know about Rembrandt lighting, which is a characteristic triangle of light just below the eye in portrait photography, named after the great Dutch painter Rembrandt. And you may be familiar with the term chiaroscuro, which is a dramatic use of contrast in light and shadow, and was coined by the Italian artist Caravaggio. But have you ever noticed the limited color palette in Rembrandt's paintings? Or how did Da Vinci use "sfumato", which deliberately makes outlines fuzzy and color fading to create a sense of depth? Many other ideas can be gleaned from great artists, such as Van Gogh's use of bright complementary colors placed next to each other to attract attention, or Vermeer's technique of using half-force complementary colors for a more subtle effect.
As I have always admired Rembrandt's limited palette, my use of color is the result of inspiration from his work. This is not the only correct way, it is just my preference, so if you prefer a different color scheme, then try using that.
After studying the work of Rembrandt and other great artists, I have identified three secrets for both enhancing a composition and effectively grabbing the viewer's attention within that composition with color:
First, the use of selective contrast in highlights.(This rule also applies to black and white photography). If your main object composition has the highest contrast in the highlights, then the gaze will be turned towards it, because the human eye always rushes to the areas with the highest contrast in light and shadow.
Second, the use of selective contrast in color. Use the most contrasting colors on your main subject to direct the eye exactly there. The eyes are looking for contrast, so placing contrasting colors next to each other will draw attention to that specific area. If you use complementary colors (opposite colors on the color wheel) then this effect will be enhanced.
Third, the use of selective saturation. The more saturated the color, the more the eye will be drawn to this area. This means that the place you want to draw the viewer's attention to should be more saturated than the rest of the image.
In photography, as in painting, there are ways to finely control different areas of an image in post-processing. By making sure that the highest contrast of all three elements (light, color and saturation) is focused on your main subject and the area around it, you can be confident that the viewer's eye will be drawn to it as effectively as using leading lines in a composition. ...
What is my approach to color photography based on a preference for limited colors? If you look at my color photographs, you can see that I am using an analog color scheme combined with a few split complementary colors to enhance the composition. The highest contrast in saturation, light and color is always concentrated in the main subject and the area around it. In addition, I use sfumato - colors that are farther from the spotlight, faded and less contrasting. This makes the detail less visible, on the verge of almost disappearing, and thus creates an atmospheric perspective and greater depth. You will also see that I use a lot of neutral colors.
Looking at Rembrandt's paintings, you will see that there are richer, brighter and more contrasting colors in the faces of his portraits (areas that he wants to draw your attention to). He uses many shades of brown combined with black and gray in the background and to a certain extent in people's clothing. This is because the eye moves away from neutral colors. The use of neutral colors also lends a calm, serene appearance to the image, as well as the place where the gaze "rests". Black, white, gray and brown are considered neutral colors. Shades of gray or a combination with shades of another color are also considered neutral colors.
Their use in combination with contrasting, saturated colors will effectively attract the viewer's eye and create tension at the border of their intersection. What did Rembrandt do so well. On the other hand, using very specific and rich complementary colors next to each other will create a certain uneasiness, and Van Gogh used this effect in many of his paintings.
In conclusion, avoid the temptation to globally saturate all of your colors. Instead, develop a color concept for your image and be the same artist who uses light, color and contrast wisely.
How to learn to work with color in photography? January 23rd, 2015
The question is burning. And I must say that if you don't feel the color, a formalized approach won't do the job for you. However, it might help.
Once upon a time there was Johannes Itten. And he wrote the book "The Art of Color".
Among other things, he invented his own color wheel. Twelve-bit.
You can read about how it differs from the optical circle from my friend and colleague Andrey Zhuravlev.
He, sobsna, here is a circle. By the way, you can not be jerky that warm yellow is not called sienna, but cyan, turquoise. It is important for us to talk about the same thing here, so let's be like this legend let's accept.
There is a popular application for FS - Adobe Kuler. And in no case should you use it. The fact is that just the optical circle, which is correct from the point of view of physics and the real spectrum (RGB), is implemented in it. And this circle is about something else. If you like, it is made by artists for artists.
Yellow is at the forefront - it is the lightest and cannot be obtained by mixing any other darker colors. Yellow is part of the primary triad (RYB). It also includes blue and red. By mixing the primary colors, we get a secondary triad: green, orange, purple.
The arrangement of flowers in the circle is not accidental. Each pure color has a "native" tone. Tone is brightness, it has nothing to do with hue (about concepts, yeah). Yellow is the lightest and at the very top. Purple is the darkest - opposite yellow and at the very bottom. These are two pure colors that do not have a "brother" in tone. If you draw the vertical axis in the middle of the circle, then the brothers will look at each other, like in a mirror. Pure syenta and herbal, green and orange, and so on are equal in tone.
Opposite colors are called complementary or complementary.
Itten, among other things, singled out the types of contrasts before this very mother.
We are used to the word "contrast" denoting the degree of difference between dark and light. However, in reality, contrast is the degree of ANY difference on any scale.
Therefore. To learn how to work with color, you need to see these contrasts and distinguish them:
1.achromatic (darker-lighter)
2. color shades(blue, not red, green, not yellow)
3.temperature (by the way, a color cannot be warm or cold by itself, - only in the context of other colors)
4.saturation (red - gray)
5.Complementary colors (blue - orange, green - red ...)
6.in area (small red ball on a large green lawn)
7. Simultaneous ("look at this incomprehensible picture for 30 seconds without blinking, and then look away sharply at white wall and see the face of Merlin Monroe "- once went on the Internet)
On the second type of contrasts, harmonic combinations are derived. Well, that is, the "rules", which colors are combined with which, and which ones to exclude from the photo.
In the illustrations below, you can twist the black figures in a circle at any angle, the scheme will work. Well, the pictures are intended to illustrate belonging to the type of scheme, and not to a specific rotation of the figure in the circle. Photos are drawn from the VK Retouch Pro public.
Related scheme (3 adjacent sectors)
Related-contrast (4-6 adjacent)
Triadic (equilateral triangle)
Chord (1, 2, 3 or 4 chords strictly at an angle of 0 or 90 degrees - yellow at the top, purple at the bottom)
Complementary
Each "pole" of the circuit can and should be split symmetrically. For example, in last example I can split the yellow into herbal and sienna in equal proportions and get more variability in shades. You can't just split yellow into herbal. It should split in both directions. So that splitting when mixed gives a kind of yellow.
Pavel Kosenko, in the comments to Andrey's post, the link to which I give above, swears terribly at all these circles and schemes, hinting at quackery. I answer. If you use these schemes just like that, nothing good really will come of it. But someone forgot that we have as many as 7 types of contrasts. And the schemes describe only the second (color shades). Inside the photographs, the remaining 6 must live and harmoniously combine, for which no schematics have been invented. However, within the second type, all these combinations work fine =)
A knot for memory. Instead of a charlatan Cooler from Adobe, you can use this. It does the same thing as the Cooler, only both circles are sewn into it with the ability to switch - RYB and RGB. We really only need RYB =)
And to understand why your photograph looks like a piece of turd in terms of color, it is enough to ask yourself 7 questions: "What do I have with the contrast in saturation?" And with the other six. We need to work on each one.
So what? These are all types of contrasts and schemes. Is there a plug-in that is on the button and all the colors are beautiful?
- No, you lazy ass. This is a cheat sheet and rules. The colors in the photo must be changed with pens. Oops.
- And what about presets and cross-processing? They are nice and clicky.
- Sit on Instagram and enjoy. What does image-making have to do with it?