Color Selection in Photography

An often overlooked part of photography is choosing your color palette. Just like a painter, a photographer should be aware of the colors in a composition. Unlike a painter, a photographer does not have complete control over the colors of our palettes. When we shoot in a controlled environment like a studio we have much better control than when we shoot outside. Taking formal portraits of people (even outside) is also much easier to control than nature photography or street photography.

The color wheel can help you understand the colors in your composition better. The color wheel can be very basic (like the illustration with this article) or be very complex and show minute shading differences for millions of colors. The color wheel shows the relationship of each color to other colors. Colors next to each other are complimentary while colors across from each other are opposite colors. Colors that are at an angle to one another are often the most clashing colors. For example, purple and green do not go together well at all. Orange and green also fight against each other.

The stronger the color is, the more strongly the clashing effect will be felt. For example, a deep purple will clash with a deep green more strongly than a pale green and pale purple will clash.

Opposite and Clashing Colors

• Can overwhelm an image or subject
  
• Can be used to draw attention to one part of an image
  
• Can be used to create a feeling of discord in the image

Complimentary Colors

• Tend to blend in and not overwhelm an image or subject
  
• Can be used to "tie" two pieces of an image together
  
• Can be used to create harmony within the image