Play with colour contrast
Exploit the basics of colour theory and use opposing hues in your shots, to maximise colour contrast and increase impact
Understanding a little about colour theory can help introduce extra impact in your shots, because if you combine two complementary colours in a scene, you create maximum colour contrast and achieve a bold visual separation between them.
The easiest way to understand colour theory is to see how the primary colours of light – red, green and blue – are opposed by the secondary colours of cyan, magenta and yellow. With these six colours in our mental artist’s palette, we can establish that shots featuring strong red-cyan, green-magenta or blue-yellow content will have a real sense of impact.
In the shot above, for example, the reason the colours work so well is that the yellow leaves are opposed by the blue sky.
USE A POLARISER
Polarising filters are often used to suppress reflections in water or glass, but they also ‘cut through’ the stray light in a scene and produce more intense colours. Once a polariser is fitted to your lens, rotate the bezel on the front element while looking through the viewfinder. You’ll see the scene become more intense as you get to the point of maximum polarisation. You’ll also lose around two stops of light, so a tripod may be needed to avoid camera shake.