Why Photographing for Color Should be Part of Your Creative Playbook

Photographing in color isn't about deciding if your photo should be in color or converted to black & white. Instead, think of photographing for color as a method to influence the viewer's mood when looking at your photo.

Color can be the subject of your photograph, or it can influence how someone perceives your subject. We can use color psychology to invoke feelings and emotions. People associate certain colors with a sense of time of place.

Imagine the warm colors of autumn, or the pastels of spring. Those colors may provide a sense of time. Color combinations may remind of of a place, like the urban colors of asphalt, skyscrapers and yellow cabs.

How to use Color in Your Photography

Color is all around us, but it's often a mess. Distracting colors do more harm than good. Concert photographers occasionally get bitten by unflattering stage lighting on their subject. When the photo is otherwise a good shot, they'll convert it to black and white to eliminate the distraction.

The problem is that a black & white conversion won't save every photo, and most of us don't want to look at black and white photos all of the time. It's up to us as photographers to manage our colors and use them for a purpose.

There are three elements of color that you can use to influence the emotional impact it presents to your viewer.

* Hue – The hue is what most of us think about when we hear the word “color.” Is it a Red or Green hue?

* Saturation – Hues have different levels of tone. We can change them with by adding white (tint) or black tones (shade).

* Brightness (or Luminance) – Changing the brightness of a color is like adjusting its exposure value. That may also impact its hue and saturation.

So how to you use color in a photograph?

Dominant Color

In some scenes, one color just stands out and demands attention. In the example above, the fireman is awash with red. The wall, his shirt, the axe, numbers on his helmet and even a patch of the Canadian flag on his jacket all work together.

It makes sense, given his profession. We're used to Firetruck Red, and the color dominates several aspects of his career. A dominant color can communicate many things, and it's the context used with the color that truly determines its meaning.

Red can convey excitement, power, romance or love. In this case, his profession has moments of excitement and power. Red suits him.

What color describes your next subject?

Color Contrast

Color contrast is the difference between two colors. Those colors at opposite ends of the color wheel are complementary colors, which indicates a high color contrast.

In this image, the red coat offers a contrast against the green trees in the background, and also the head of her umbrella. Red and Green are complementary colors. They help your subject stand apart, separating foreground from background.

High tonal contrast separate dark from light

Splash of Color

It's hard to mis the man in red. He stands out of the neutral background of this photo. It doesn't matter much what color he wears. Choose any fully saturated color on the wheel and he'd still be the center of attention.

Sometimes a finding a neutral background gives you an opportunity to wait for the right actor with high contrast, colorful clothing.

Using a splash of color works in any genre of photography.