Assignment 3 – Colour

The primary colours Red, Blue and Yellow have complimentary secondary colours Green, Orange and Violet as illustrated in the painters colour wheel below:

As you can see Reds complimentary opposite is Green, Blues is Orange and Yellow is Violet.  There is also thought to be a correct ratio between these colour relationships:

Red and Green 1:1 as they are the same brightness
Orange and Blue 1:2 as orange is brighter than blue
Yellow and Violet 1:3 as yellow is far brighter than violet.

These ratios are used to give the correct balance of colour in a composition making it pleasing on the eye.

In addition to these complimentary relationships there are other colour relationship to take into consideration:

• Similar colours that lie next to each other on the colour wheel appear harmonious when combined with the correct ratio.  These colours can also be broken up into warm and cool colours.
• Contrasting colours are two colours away from each other on the colour wheel.  This combination isn’t considered to be harmonious but can be striking.
• Accent of Colour can be any of the previously mentioned combinations but the ratio is always the same.  This has a small area of one colour on top of a frame full of another colour.

My aim is to produce four photographs of each type of colour relationship.

Complimentary Colours

Photograph 1: Orange and Blue 1:2

With the background being neutral the main two colours in this photo are blue and orange.  With the cap and eyes pointing downwards bringing the addition blue shoulders into composition the colours have a correct ratio of 1 orange : 2 blue.  Without the addition of orange in this photo the blue against the neutral background would be quite flat but with it the orange adds depth.  As a photograph this portrait captures a young boy taking a moment in thought which is a rare sight at that age.  With the smile being visible it gives a happy feel to the overall image.

Photograph 2: Yellow and Violet 1:3

My aim here was to try to eliminate as much as the background colour, in this case green, to achieve a ratio of yellow 1 : violet 3.  Yellow being the highest warm colour against a cool violet to balances out the arrangement in the frame to give a sence of harmony between the two.  This photo was cropped to cut out some of the yellow so as not to overload the photo with too much brightness.  By highlighting the yellow portions below you can see an uneven pattern has formed which allows the eye to flow around the photo giving quite a lot of movement to the composition.  Although flowers are one of my favorite subjects because of their abundance of colour this photograph is pleasing to me as there is a carpet of flowers with one flower reaching out more than the others giving a focal point.

Photograph 3 : 1 Red : 1 Green

I happened upon this combination of Red and Green whilst visiting a museum.  I was on the lookout for certain colour combinations and this seemed to have quite vivid shades of red and green.  By creating a tight frame I was able to include the correct amount of red to balance it with the same amount of green.  What I like about this image is that although the red is separated by the green the shape of the metal points down to the green portion and then more implied vertical lines down to the remaining red making your eye take in the entire amount of colour in one swoop.  As a photograph it seems pleasing on the eye albeit not the most interesting photo but fits the brief of colour partnership and ratio perfectly.

Photograph 4

This isn’t a high quality image as it was taken through an aeroplane window on a flight from Dubai to Brisbane.  During this flight as you’re chasing the night and in darkness for 14 hours.  Eventually the sun breaks over the horizon and you’re blessed with this natural colour spectacular.  Having now studied colour in photographs I understand why this image is so pleasing.  Not only does it encompass the blue and orange complimentary relationship it also has the correct ratio of the two colours being 1 orange : 3 blue.  The horizon line draws your eye across it and back out through the silhouette of the wing to the light at the end giving movement.  Below you can see a graphic of the colour ratios and how movement has been created.  I toyed with the idea of this photograph being within the colour accent category as the colour is a small proportion of the entire frame but I decided against it as it contains two harmonious colours in between a silhouette.

Similar Colours

Photograph one: Green, Blue and Violet (Cool)

What attracted me to photograph this flower in the first instance was the lovely deep violet colour with the quite contrasting green buds and some of the background.  After uploading the image file for editing I noticed the nice blue blurred out background which seemed to harmonise the violet and green.  I like this combination of colours and feel that they compliment each other very well.  This image has depth with a narrow depth of field making the flower stand out from the background.

Photograph two: Orange and Yellow (Warm)

When looking inside a flower it opens up a whole new world.  What may not have been obvious to the naked eye are these circles of yellow petals within the orange flower.  The inner part of the flower has more yellow than orange but the outer orange petals even out the balance of brightness giving a pleasing combination and ratio of colours.  Also within this flower are different types of implied patterns.  The darker inner circle has lots of tiny buds making quite and even pattern.  There are implied circles of yellow and orange petals.  Then the outer petals imply different types of lines all pointing in towards the circles.

Photograph three: Green, Blue and Violet (cool)

This photograph has all the three cool colours on the colour wheel which work in harmony when altogether.  The addition of the yellow bits works well because they are placed within their complimentary opposite of violet.  When planning this photograph I wanted to include as much green as possible to make the violet flowers less prominent but somehow it didn’t work that well.  My son was standing nearby wearing a blue scarf so I asked him to smell the flowers to see if the blue scarf added anything to the frame.  I was pleased with the results as the blue scarf added balance to green and violet.  As in my other photograph of crocuses there appears to be a random pattern formed with the flowers but in this instance movement is created with direction of my sons face pointing towards the focal point.

Photograph Four: Green and Yellow

I have never considered putting yellow and green together before but it’s a common relationship in nature.  Green and yellow sit next to each other on the colour wheel as green shares some of the yellows properties.  This combination has more of an edge as it crosses the cool\warm boundary by placing one colour from each side into the frame.  This colour combination is harmonious and easy on the eye.  As a photograph that was taken on wet spring it has a nice composition although the twig in the top right corner can be distracting.  Having multiple points within the frame makes the eye look at the whole photograph eventually settling on the biggest flower facing the lens.

Colour contrast through contrasting colours

Photograph 1: Green and Orange

Every morning my dog hunts for the only bit of sun that enters our cottage.  It’s normally on the end of the bed but on this day she decided to perch awkwardly on the head of the sofa.  When I saw her and noticed how the light had caught one of her eyes and shadowed the other I reached for my camera so as not to disturb her.  I then noticed how the light was on her proudly crossed legs as she eased into a comfortable position in the sun.  I then noticed the silhouette of the window frame and the vase of flowers placed nearby.  And there it was quite a nice portrait of my dog in a natural pose with interesting light and neutral background.  My intention was to upload the photos, edit them and convert them to black and white.  However when viewed on the computer screen I noticed the contrast in the colours of the sofa and wall being green and orange.  In this instance I think the colours work really well together creating an interesting and eye-catching photograph.  Also the slant of the light through the window pointing directly towards the dogs adds movement to the photo especially as the dog is then looking directly into the camera.  It’s as if the flow of light is visual in its path from outside and into the camera.

Photograph 2: Red and Blue

The colours in this photograph are highly contrasting.  The brighter blue sky in the background accentuates the deeper blue and red of the rollercoaster tracks.  The ratio seems to be fairly accurate with less red being the brighter of the two to create an interesting photo.  The strategic placing of the camera was deliberate beneath the two upward pointing triangles to give a sense of height and to steer the eyes towards and along the track.

Photograph 3: Green and Violet

The lavender in this photo shows a curve of violet leading your eye from front to back.  The contrast in colours in dramatic but one that works well.  The ratio of green to violet is approximately 1 Green : 2 violet which is good considering green is brighter than violet.

Photograph 4: Red and Blue

This still life image was created with blue hair gel and red tomatoes with a view to create a dramatic contrast in colours and textures.  I mounted my camera onto a tripod to enable me to be more exact about the composition. The gel and tomatoes were placed in a glass dish and lit from underneath to create an illuminating effect.  Also some tomato slices were placed underneath the gel to add some depth to the image making this still life less static.  The underneath illumination is making the blue brighter and therefore reaching quite a good balance of the two colours when combined.

Colour Accent

Photograph 1:

The red light against the bright blue sky is quite eye-catching.  The light is like a statement peace within the frame which your eye is drawn to immediately.  With the red being bright coupled with the fact that it’s a light it stands out enough on its own to make a pleasing accent of colour.  The lamp-post leads a line down towards the basket catchers and the blue outline of them compliments the sky.  Because the lamppost is in the top right of the frame and the baskets in the bottom left I feel that this gives a nice balance to the composition.

Photograph 2:

This still life was setup to capture an accent of colour.  I chose Blue for the background colour and yellow for the colour accent because I thought they would not only contrast each other but would also be an interesting and striking combination.  With the camera mounted on a tripod and using a 100mm macro lens I set about composing a pleasing arrangement.  Using m & m’s I firstly wanted to ensure the m logo wasn’t visible on any of the sweets as I thought this would be distracting.  Then I arranged perfect lines within a square to create a neat pattern in which to lead the eye to and from the accent of colour.  I tried the yellow m & m in various points within the frame but found this to be the most pleasing and less static.

Photograph 3:

When preparing this shot I had to wait quite a while for the red boat to enter the frame sa as to eliminate all the distractions that were present.  I wanted the red boat to dominate the frame with its bright colour against a sea of blue, background and sky.  I also want to add movement to the photo and with the addition of another point is the frame i.e. the white boat, this has been achieved.

Photograph 4:

When I think of colour accent I also think of colour popping which is why I’ve added an example in this section.  In particular I chose this composition where the colour accent is close to the edge and your eye is directed straight to it.  Your eye is then led away from the colour accent to the face of the bride onto the groom and down towards the detail in the back of the dress.  Although the colour accent is the focal point the eye is led all around the frame.

The above examples demonstrate the effectiveness of using colour rules when composing images.  By using the basic rule of combining the opposite colours on the colour wheel harmony can be achieved.  On the other end of the scale is colour contrast where although harmony may not be achieved interesting and striking photos can be.  I tend to lean more towards contrast as I like effect it adds to photographs that would otherwise be quite mundane.

3.4 Colours into tones in black and white

My aim here is to demonstrate how colours when converted to grayscale can change their tone with the addition of coloured filters.  I started off with a basic setup which included the four main colours I want to demonstrate, red, yellow, blue and green which can be seen in the photo below:

As I use a Canon Eos 5D MII DSLR I only needed this one image to carry out the following tasks using the post editing software, Photoshop, to edit my RAW file.  The first task was to convert the above image to grayscale and accept its natural conversion.

The conversion is as expected with the brighter colours i.e. yellow appearing brighter in grayscale and the darker colours i.e. blue appearing darker.

As I’m not using a manual camera I don’t need to use physical filters attached to the end of my lens.  I can adjust the digital image by accessing the colour filter sliders in my RAW editor and the results are as follows:

Blue filter

Green Filter

Red Filter 

Yellow Filter

What this shows is that when adding brightness to the yellow filter, for example, and its digital equivalent of adjusting the brightness of the yellow filter, the yellow in the photograph appears brighter and the other objects appear darker.  The reason for this is that the yellow filter allows all yellow light through to the lens but block the other colours.  This is repeated with all four colours and the results remain the same, whatever the colour of the filter it will allow that colour in the frame to pass through and block others.

3.3 Colour Relationships

I’m finding the exercises in this ‘Colour’ section quite difficult to carry out during winter where there is a lack of colour everywhere you look.  I could have used food or household items but this just didn’t seem very imaginative.  However, what I have done is a mixture outdoor and indoor photography.  In some instances creating the colours myself to obtain the correct combinations and ratios required.

Part one:
When looking at the painters primaries of red, yellow and blue in a standard colour circle you can see how their complimentary opposites of green violet and orange, may look together.  My challenge is to photograph these complimentary opposites with the ratios of, red and green 1:1, orange and blue 1:2 and yellow and violet 1:3.  It is considered that these ratios produce the right amount of colour in each frame to be pleasing to the eye.

1. Red & Green 1:1

I love the way that nature produces complimentary opposites of colour.  I used a macro lens to only include red and green in the frame but was in two minds as to whether the original frame had an equal balance.  The photo was cropped to include the vibrant grass at the bottom right of the frame and eliminate some of the bigger tomatoes on the top left side. I now find the ratio of 1:1 in the colour opposites really pleasing to the eye.

2. Blue & Orange 1:2

Whilst setting up this shot to capture the colours Orange and Blue with a ratio of one orange to two blue I had originally intended to capture only the boat int he frame.  this was a challenge when considering the need for twice as much blue as orange because as a tighter crop on the boat gave and equal ration of colour.  However, two orange speed boats entered the frame and not only gave the correct balance of colour but also created an implied triangle giving more movement to the photo.

3. Yellow and Violet 1:3

At this time of year the most obvious combination of yellow and violet is a pansy.  Having said that, I haven’t been able to find one to photograph.  I do have a nice orchid which isn’t strictly violet but rather a shade of violet but the yellow element does have a deeper violet pattern on it.  The yellow is bright and set just off centre is the focal point of the frame.  With this in mind and the first place the eye looks, the ratio of yellow is enough to be vibrant but not enough to be over powering.

Part 2:

Here are some of my own favorite colour combinations.

Orange and Green 1:2

What I find particularly pleasing is naturally formed colour combinations and more specifically in cooking ingredients.  I often find myself photographing a particular combination and this one lends itself heavily to the autumn\winter months.  The strong vibrant shade of green of the coriander adds depth whilst the more subtle greens of the leeks and celery balance out the brightness of the orange carrots.  This ratio is pleasing to the eye as too much orange would overpower the green.

Yellow and Red & Blue 1:2

This combination works because it encompass all three primary colours when placed next to each other are quite striking.  The centre blue snow marble is bright and matches the ratio of the red.  The balance comes with the yellow strategically placed further away from the camera to appear smaller and therefore not distracting but more complimenting the other colours.

Yellow and Blue 1:2

Along the esplanade of Tenby there’s an array of different coloured buildings but the two that sit well next to each other are these.I placed myself to the left of the blue house so as to look across at the two houses which meant the blue house being closer would fill more of the frame than the further away yellow building.  This created the correct ratio for a pleasing colour composition.

My first attempt at Yellow and Blue with a 1:2 ratio didn’t turn out as well as the above perspective.

This is a snow marble in the making.  My plan was to fill a blue balloon with yellow water (turning into ice) so when I peeled the balloon away it would expose the yellow and make a striking contrasting combination.  All seemed to be going well whilst preparing the snow marble and even photographing it I was pleased with the light.  Its snow in the background so I set my cameras light meter to two stops over to compensate to the brightness of the snow as I didn’t want a dull background.  This seemed to have the desired effect but made everything look so bright the ratio of vibrant or bright colours seemed uneven and it hurt to look at or edit these photos.

Yellow & green and blue 1:2

This is a photo already in my collection that I keep returning to as I love the colours draw me in.  After studying this section on colour and undergoing this particular exercise I now understand why I find this so pleasing.  We have the deep blue of the sea and a gradient of blues for the sky.  This is balanced out by some brightly coloured balls against neutral sand and the bright yellow ball in the boy’s hand which is quite close to the deep blue sea.  In addition to this we have an implied triangle effect with the boy standing and the balls to the right.  Also the boy is looking at the camera giving the photo more life.  My last observation is that there is an implied line of yellow from the boy’s cap to the ball in the boy’s hand and the yellow ball on the sand with everything else around it being quite neutral.

I feel like I’ve had my eyes opened during this exercise as I naturally lean towards monochrome colours in my dress and furnishings.  Maybe that’s always been because I don’t have a natural ability to match complimentary colours or even know when too much colour is in fact too much!  This has helped me to understand more about the colours to look out for and what makes a pleasing combination in a photograph.

3.1 Control the strength of a colour

The purpose of this exercise is to control the strength of colour by varying exposure.  Using manual controls on the camera I took five photographs of varying apertures and the results are as follows:
                          f2.8
                          f3.5
                          f4
                           f4.5
                           f5

The differences are subtle but the point is that even though I’m photographing a purple bauble, the amount of exposure will dictate what shade of purple that is.

3.2 Primary and secondary colours

Yes I know, I havent posted exercise 3.1 yet, it involves taking 5 shots of ‘definite colour’ in various exposures and here’s the reason why I’ve had to move on:

It’s a very cold, wet and dreary winters day.  The exercise says to photograph your front door!  1. I don’t want to get my camera wet and 2. I don’t want to get wet (notice my camera comes first….).

So I’ve started Part 3 which is entitled Colour.  My first thoughts are why didn’t I do this in Summer?  or even spring?  I mean you couldn’t get less colour than in the season of dullness.  This has forced me to improvise so I hope I do a good job at that.

On to exercise 3.2 Primary and secondary colours:

The idea is to find three scenes which are dominated by the primary colours Red, yellow and blue.  In addition do the same with secondary colours green, violet and orange.  The challenge here was to photograph scenes that are natural in their colour and not choose man-made colour such as paint, fabrics and manufactured goods.  As mentioned were into winter and the abundance of colour we enjoyed in spring summer and autumn has now ceased.  It may be obvious but my choice of subjects are things that have grown in the form of a Lemon, orange, lime, tomato and a flower.  One missing you may say, read on!

Tomato – Red:

This tomato was a lovely vibrant red, very ripe.  When the light hit the centre it created a ring of varying shade that was becoming orange.  Moving away from the centre the red got deeper the further it receded into the shade.

Lemon – Yellow:

The lemon seemed to be all the same colour to the naked eye but when photographed the light adjusted parts to give varying shades of yellow.  Having said this the shades aren’t very different from the original colour.

Blue?  When thinking of something that is naturally occurring in the colour of blue I immediately think of the sky.  As the sky has been grey and overcast all week (see above photos) my next thought is the sea.  I live in the middle of the country so I can’t just grab my camera and nip to the coast to complete and exercise but I do have an extensive catalogue of photos in Australia earlier this year and when I thought of a blue photo, this came to mind straight away:

The colour on this image hasn’t been altered.  The spectrum of blues in the sky varies from deep blue to pale blue.  The range of shades for the colour blue is extensive.

Lime – Green:

This lime seems to have quite a dominating and even green although it filters through to yellow towards the bottom.  When choosing something green to photograph the options were endless.

flower – violet

Luckily my husband had bought me a rather nice bouquet of flowers at the weekend full of purples but this particular scene encompassed the requirement for violet.

Orange – orange:

I love photographing orange.  It seems to always be vibrant and generally a similar shade.  This scene gives a good example of the secondary colour.

I hope that my need to complete this exercise during this study session hasn’t hindered the results in any way.  Part of the problem with home study is maintaining a regime of study and then carrying out the practical.  It’s when the practicals can’t be done there and then you can become behind.  Also the order of learning is dependant on knowledge of the last so on occasions progress can be slow.