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Color relationships within a scene create feelings of
harmony or discord, of calm or excitement to the eye. Certain color
relationships form the basis for color play that has proven fruitful for
artists through the centuries.
There are special sets of colors that seem to form a unique
bond. Look at the work of painters such as Cezanne, Monet or Seurat, and the
photography of Pete Turner or Ernst Haas, and you will discover how color
relationships play a special role in both enhancing content and drawing the eye
into the scene.
The setting sun striking these bushes on a stream bank creates an offset against the shaded blue of the rocks and stream behind them, reinforcing and heightening each color and area within the frame.
One set of relationships are complementary
colors, such as red/green, orange/blue, and yellow/violet,
opposites on the color wheel. When both colors are present, and in close
proximity, they intensify one another.
For example, a red or yellow flower will always stand out more against a field
of green. The degree of richness and brightness
of these opposites also has an effect on the power of the visual response.
The "complementary effect" may explain why we
are so dazzled by sunsets. When orange/red clouds intermix with blue we tend
to pause to consider the display. Mixed colors in the sky are always more
fascinating than a continuous-tone blue.
When colors come from the same general band of the spectrum
they are said to be of the same "family". They harmonize with one
another, and have an effect on the scene’s mood. We tend to describe these
families as "warm" (red, yellow, orange) or "cool" (blue,
violet, green.)
The unity and harmony of this bucolic scene is created by the dominance of the warm color cast by the rising sun.
People have different reactions to certain color
relationships. Some tend to find cooler color scheme restful; others
find them “cold” and less inviting. Some say that warmer plays are more intense,
while others find them peaceful. A "cool" image may be made of a forest floor
under a canopy of trees; a "hot" color scheme might be the range of colors
in a desert sandstone formation.
Images can benefit from a
hint of complementary or even anomalous color thrown in: these "hints" of complements are like strong accents that can attract the eye. Having a dash of "cool" colors in
an overall "warm" color scheme can be very effective, and vice versa.
Playing with color families and then spicing it with complements can heighten
the vividness of any scene.
While the overall effect here is of a "cool" scene (blue dominated), the small branches and red leaf create an accent that catches the eye.
Another fascinating color effect is provided by monochrome (not black and white but color play within the same hue). When we seek monochrome color compositions we are exploring a
relatively narrow band of color, with slight variations in saturation and
brightness. This differs from black and
white photography, where we are dealing with shades of gray, but is analogous
to black and white in that texture and tonality can be explored.
The color schemes and plays you choose for your photographs
comes down to your taste and subjective reaction to a scene, and there is no
right and wrong in what you choose to do. But study of color relationships will
open your eyes to more possibilities, and taking chances with color can lead to
some exciting results.
Next post: Some color vision exercises
