Done well, colour management can breathe life into an ugly scene. Done poorly, it can destroy a beautiful one.
Colour is simply part of the broader spectrum of visible light. Advances in colour management must be the icing on top for modern developments in photography . Photographers of old could have only dreamed of having the tools available to us now. From colour film to digital sensors, the range of options we have at our fingertips is huge. Computer processing gives us still further creative control over our final product. A V8 gives you incomparably more driving freedoms than your regular hatchback in many circumstances; so also, we have now have the power to push our images in the direction of our choice. You can run your powerful car into a tree; so also, you can demolish the beauty afforded by colour if used wrongly. I've seen far too many photos killed by the thoughtless use of colour. It only takes a quick google search to find thousands of horrible, jarring images where some well-intentioned soul has taken a blunt machete to the concept of colour management - not pretty.
The trouble here lies in the complexity of the task. Making an image that satisfies all the demands of our eye is rather difficult and an objective I do not claim to have mastered. Thus, I often enjoy the simplicity of a strong black and white image. However, it is certainly one of my aims to bring strong and vibrant colours to my photography. It is imperative that this is done sensitively, however. Below is a recent image of mine that sparked this train of thought and demonstrates what good colour can bring to some images.
Here, it is the colour that makes the photo. It turns a nice photo into something special and brings the scene to life. As previously mentioned, good colour is the end product of a complex process with many factors including environment, angles, planning, camera settings, RAW processing, personal taste, and good luck. This is one of the first times I feel that I am beginning to scratch the surface of the possibilities afforded by good colour management.
Key point: If using colour, use it tastefully and thoughtfully.
Colour is simply part of the broader spectrum of visible light. Advances in colour management must be the icing on top for modern developments in photography . Photographers of old could have only dreamed of having the tools available to us now. From colour film to digital sensors, the range of options we have at our fingertips is huge. Computer processing gives us still further creative control over our final product. A V8 gives you incomparably more driving freedoms than your regular hatchback in many circumstances; so also, we have now have the power to push our images in the direction of our choice. You can run your powerful car into a tree; so also, you can demolish the beauty afforded by colour if used wrongly. I've seen far too many photos killed by the thoughtless use of colour. It only takes a quick google search to find thousands of horrible, jarring images where some well-intentioned soul has taken a blunt machete to the concept of colour management - not pretty.
The trouble here lies in the complexity of the task. Making an image that satisfies all the demands of our eye is rather difficult and an objective I do not claim to have mastered. Thus, I often enjoy the simplicity of a strong black and white image. However, it is certainly one of my aims to bring strong and vibrant colours to my photography. It is imperative that this is done sensitively, however. Below is a recent image of mine that sparked this train of thought and demonstrates what good colour can bring to some images.
Here, it is the colour that makes the photo. It turns a nice photo into something special and brings the scene to life. As previously mentioned, good colour is the end product of a complex process with many factors including environment, angles, planning, camera settings, RAW processing, personal taste, and good luck. This is one of the first times I feel that I am beginning to scratch the surface of the possibilities afforded by good colour management.
Key point: If using colour, use it tastefully and thoughtfully.
No comments:
Post a Comment