Art Element: Color

What is an art element? They are the building blocks (visual components) of art work They appeal to the a viewers senses Can affect the mood of a photograph (especially color!)

Color Can you imagine a world without color? -It's such an intrinsic part of our lives that sometimes we don't even notice it. We only stop to think about color when we encounter a particularly jarring or particularly pleasing combination. But for a good photographer, color is a integral part of the constant image processing we do in our heads. We don't just see a composition in terms of lines and shapes; we see the colors in it and the way they work in harmony or opposition.

How colors affect our mood.

The vocabulary of color Color is made up of three properties: hue, value, and intensity. Hue : name of color Value (also called brightness or tone) : a color’s lightness and darkness (a color’s value changes when white or black is added) Intensity (also called saturation) : quality of brightness and purity (high intensity= color is strong and bright; low intensity=color is faint and dull) Tint : a lighter version of a color Shade : a darker version of a color

Intensity/Saturation Intensity of colors, either from luminance or saturation helps to guide a viewer’s eye to the right place. Notice in the photograph the vividness/saturation of the color. Saturated colors contain very little white light. Since color affects the mood and impact of an image, saturation becomes important. One of the biggest factors that affects saturation is the time of day. Early morning and late afternoon generally provide more saturated colors than mid-day.

Tints and shades (values) Using tints and shades of colors are a great way to make an interesting photograph with fewer colors, leading to simplicity. Tints are lighter versions of a color and shades are darker versions. The below photograph only consists of blue and green, but still appears to have a wide range of colors. The greens go from nearly black to a pale green in the highlights.

Tints and shades (value)

Primary Colors Red, Yellow and Blue In traditional color theory, these are the 3 pigment colors that can not be mixed or formed by any combination of other colors. All other colors are derived from these 3 hues

SECONDARY COLORS Green, orange and purple These are the colors formed by mixing the primary colors. Pete Turner uses saturated secondary colors in this image

TERTIARY COLORS These are the colors formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color. That's why the hue is a two word name, such as blue-green, red- violet,and yellow- orange Patricia Ridenour from “Places to Sit” series.

Analogous colors Colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel, e.g. yellow and green Analogous colors next to each other on the color wheel "get along" and are referred to as being harmonious. Analogous colors are often used in visual design and have a soothing affect.

Complementary colors Colors opposite to each other on the color wheel, e.g. Blue- violet and yellow, represent colors positioned across from each other on the color wheel Complimentary colors exhibit more contrast when positioned adjacent to each other -for example yellow appears more intense when positioned on or beside blue or violet In the photograph above - green and yellow are analogous colors that harmonize where as the violet color of the shooting stars appears more intense against a complementary colored background.

Complementary colors (cont.) Blues and orange are complimentary colors directly across each other on the color wheel

Green and red are opposites on the color wheel and are also called complimentary colors

Warm and cool Colors are called warm or cool because of our association with various elements in our surroundings. Red, yellow and orange are considered warm colors whereas blue, green and violet are considered cool colors. These contrasts are relative since yellow-green are cool next to red, orange or yellow, but would be considered warm next to blue- violet. Photographers can position different colors in an image to maximize contrast between them and also to provide perspective. Perceptually, cool colors tend to recede into the distance whereas warm colors appear to advance The warm glow of a sunrise advances where the cool blue shadows recede

Warm colors Yellows, red and orange we associate these with blood, sun and fire. Sunrise behind a popular tree at Writing-on- Stone has a warm fire like feel to it

Cool colors violet, blue and green because of our association with snow and ice. Using a light blue filter emphasizes the coldness of winter (Monochromatic color)

Selective coloring The focal point should be colorful while everything else is bland. Use selective coloring to emphasize the focal point and make it stand out.

beautifully-done-with-selective-coloringhttp://pixzii.com/featured/23-photos- beautifully-done-with-selective-coloring/ Selective coloring

Chris Jordan Chris Jordan likes using most the color wheel in his images. From the series “Intolerable Beauty, Images of American Mass Consumption”

Use a histogram A histogram of the photo will let you know how much light and dark you have in the photo.

What colors or color scheme do you see?

Student examples (Photo 1)