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One of the best ways to improve your photography is to learn to properly use color. The proper use of color will add intensity your images. Color is the primary reason that we see so many sunset and flower images. These images are popular specifically because of the colors that they contain.

Color has a couple of functions in photographs. First, color grabs the attention of the viewer. Perhaps, because this function of color is so palpable, many photographers miss the more sophisticated function of color: color sets the mood of an image. Since color is such an important compositional ingredient, we should use color to its fullest extend — incorporating both functions of color into images.

Grabbing the Viewer’s Attention

The use of color to grab the viewer’s attention is fairly simple. The color will quickly grab the attention of anyone viewing the image and will focus the attention on the area of the color. The color will also serve to hold the viewer’s attention. If the viewer does look elsewhere in the image, the color will draw the attention back to the area of color.

There are a couple of primary ways to use color to grab a viewer’s attention. The first way is to use very bold colors. An example of this approach would be a dramatic sunset. The second way to use color to grab a viewer’s attention is to use a mix of contrasting colors. An example of this approach would be an image of fall colors where there is a combination of red, orange, and yellow leaves.

Color and Mood

Color and mood go hand in hand. While the use of color to set mood is a bit more sophisticated than just using bold colors, it is just as powerful.

The key here is that color affects mood. By controlling the use of color, we can control a viewer’s mood when observing an image. Clearly, it is impossible in a short article to cover all colors. Furthermore, it really isn’t necessary to do so. Instead, a review of a few of the most basic colors will give us a good understanding of the interrelationship of color and mood.

Blue

Blue is a soothing color. It produces a feeling of calm or cold. This is how we see blue in nature. We see the calm blue of a deep ocean or a peaceful sky. We also can see blue in large chunks of ice. So, if we want to create a feeling of calm in an image, we should include blue in the image. Thus, we could include blue objects such as a peaceful bluish stream or lake.

Green

Green often communicates a feeling of lushness and vibrancy. Again, our feelings about this color are tied up with how we frequently experience the color in nature. We tend to associate green with spring and new growth. Green is frequently used in landscape photography. Green meadows, plants, and fields can be used to convey the mood of a flourishing scene.

Yellow, Orange, and Red

Yellow, orange, and red are the warm colors. These colors tend to create feelings of warmth and comfort. For example, we usually have a comfortable feeling when we view a beautiful sunset that displays these colors. Just as we saw with the previous colors, our perception of these colors is tied to how we experience them in nature. When we wish to create a warm, comfortable feeling in a viewer of an image, we should consider including objects that contain these colors such as rock formations or flowers.

Light

So far, we have looked at using color to create mood in photographs by means of including objects, with the appropriate colors, in an image. However, there is another way to use color to create mood in an image – the use of light. Early morning and evening provides us with colored light which can be used to powerful effect in images. Before sunrise and about twenty minutes after sunset, everything is bathed in a soft blue light. This light can be used to create a calm mood such as an early morning shot of a beach bathed in the cool, blue light.

Shortly after sunrise and before sunset, the light displays the warm tones of yellow, red, and orange. This light is excellent for creating a sensation of warmth and comfort such as when we view a distant mountain range glowing in the last few minutes of the light before the sun dives below the horizon.

In Summary

Color is a powerful tool that can be used to draw viewers’ attention and communicate emotion. So, how do you plan to use color in your images?

If you would like to learn even more about the use of color in photographic composition, please check out Ron’s full length advanced composition article at Advanced Composition. Want to learn more about taking powerful images? Visit Ron’s free site at Ron Bigelow Photography to learn the skills that you can use to become a great photographer.