It was brought to my attention a short while ago that colour in photography can be the key ingredient that makes the image. Sounds obvious doesn’t it! However, it’s a little more than just splashing any old colour in there.
There are some colours that work really well together and some that are less so and there is a theory behind what works and what doesn’t and, importantly, why – it’s unsurprisingly called Colour Theory and has been in use for centuries. Look at the ‘Old Masters‘, they used colour to create mood and feelings and we as photographers can do just the same.
The image above contains primarily two small groups of colours – Blues and Oranges – and this is quite deliberate. The window aspect of the image was chosen because the blues complimented the oranges in the subject but also included some rusty colours itself. The addition of the streetlamp added to the colour and the composition.
Interestingly nature can also make good use of colour for photographers, the image above uses a Triadic colour pattern and is constructed from Blues, Greens and Orange tones.
Below is a PDF file that I have put together with some basic ideas. This is really just an introduction and much more in-depth articles can be found on YouTube and with your search engine of choice.
Steve Proctor 