Examples of using colour for pictures full of impact
Good colour technique is not just getting the correct look, it’s about portraying emotion, mood and passion
RHAPSODY IN RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Beach and mountain scenes under clear blue skies can often have a cool look that can make the photograph less welcoming. Cloudy days can also lead to blue-looking pictures; coolness will be especially evident in the areas of neutral tone, but Auto White Balance can work eectively, giving precise results in most outdoor situations. Any issues with cool pictures can be easily resolved in editing, if you are shooting in raw and even jpeg format, but it can also be dealt with by switching from Auto White Balance to the cloudy or shady settings, if you prefer. Both will add warmth to the scene to counter any unwanted blueness.
MANY SHADES OF ONE COLOUR
Scenes dominated by a single colour can fool a camera’s white balance system, so pay attention to the preview image in such situations. If the colours look ‘o’, use a dierent white balance setting, set it manually or take a custom reading. Images dominated by a single colour can be a powerful compositional tool. Monochromatic colour images can be created during editing but it is more visually stimulating to look for scenes that suggest a particular emotion. Blue scenes can convey coolness and can be sinister while red is more aggressive but also suggests passion and love. Green is a calming colour and is often associated with nature.
GO FOR A COLOUR KNOCKOUT
Vibrant colours in bright light can be saturated more by underexposing the shots by about 0.3 or 0.5EV. That helps control areas of strong highlight but take care not to block up heavy shadows. A scene of intense colours such as this street view captured in Burano, Venice, might not need a polarising lter but it can saturate colours. The polariser reduces reections o glass and water, intensies weak blue skies and beefs up colours by cutting down glare. Its impact depends on many variables including lighting, the sky and the subject's characteristics, so don’t use it for every shot. We’ll explore the power of the polarising lter in issue 282.