Colour complements

What exactly are complementary colours, and how I can use them in my photography? Susie Bagshaw I need to think back to my days doing A-Level Art at school for

this answer! If two colours are said to be complementary to another, it means that when they are combined they will enhance each other’s qualities. Complementary colours are actually on opposite sides of the colour wheel, so they are contrasting colours too.

If you look at the example image of a butterfly, there are a lot of colours within the frame. The two strongest colours are the purple of the flower on which the butterfly is resting, and the yellow out-offocus flowers in the background. Yellow and purple are complementary colours, as you can see from the colour wheel, where they are opposite each other. Having both purple and yellow dominate within the frame helps to make this a strong and vibrant image.

Now look at those yellow flowers against the little area of orange on the butterfly’s wing. These two colours are not such a strong contrast, because they are close to each other on the colour wheel – what’s called analogous colours.

Paying attention to how you combine complementary colours or analogous colours can help you set the mood for your image. Using bold complementary colours will shout for attention, but blending only analogous colours will create a more peaceful sense in your photo. It’s not hard to find these colours put together – nature does it for you – but it definitely pays to understand their relationships and the affect they can have on your photos.