Hi, y’all! Jenn Hicks here from good ol’ Texas, and mama to two blue-eyed boys. I’m sharing some thoughts about color theory in hopes of encouraging anyone who wants to incorporate color more intentionally into their imagery.
I’m a very visual person and process the world through emotions. Because of this, I have a strong relationship with color. Color speaks to my heart, bringing about a sense of happiness, passion and feeling in my life. This is one of the reasons I incorporate color into my photography. I want that same feeling and passion infused into every image.
In order to make color theory an artform in our photography, though, we must first understand the science behind it. Using color is a huge part of composition and can bring our images to that next level of creativity. Then we can find what appeals to us most and incorporate certain color palettes into our imagery in an intentional way.
Color evokes different emotions and communicates differently depending on the way it’s used. Let’s dive into each color and what they can represent to get started.
The Meaning of Color
Warm Colors: These colors can represent energy, passion and positivity and tend to be more emotional. Think fall leaves, sunsets and sunshine.
Red – love and passion (and consequently, anger and violence), warnings, food/hunger
Red is a dominate color. There is a reason stop signs are made of red and many food advertisements incorporate red into their marketing. McDonald’s fries anyone? Our eyes are drawn directly to red in an image, so it is important to use it with intention. When used well, it can draw a viewer’s eye further into an image.
Orange – energy, earthy, childhood, change, vitality, creativity
Fall leaves have an energizing, earthy effect. Orange can also represent childhood, as I’ve learned from photographer and mentor: Meg Loeks.
Yellow – energizing, joy, happiness, hope, deceit
Yellow is another dominant color, and when used well can bring about an energetic, happy feeling to your images.
Cool Colors: These colors can represent calm, relaxation and nature and tend to be more subdued. Think forests, lakes and blue skies.
Green – success, down to earth, new beginnings, envy, abundance
Green can have a balancing, stable effect. It’s one of the most common colors in nature and is usually the color we associate with life and earth.
Blue – calm, sadness, peace, religious meanings, reliability, responsibility
Blue is the most common color found in nature and translates well with most other colors. Did you know blue images on Instagram get more likes than warmer toned images? It’s no wonder with landscape imagery like skies, lakes and oceans.
Purple/Violet – royalty, imagination, romance, wealth
Purple has a sense of tranquility to it, and since it’s the least common color found naturally, it has a tendency to draw the viewer into an image quite well.
It’s important to note that altering the lightness or darkness of a color can change its meaning. For example, while bright orange can represent vitality, muted orange is associated more with an earthy feel. This is when saturation plays a key role in color theory. Keeping your colors the same strength (vibrant versus muted) creates a cohesive look and is more appealing to the eye.
Color Schemes
This next part is super fun for color enthusiasts but can also be daunting when trying to capture imagery that’s color coordinated. Understanding the meaning behind each color is the first step in creating a consistent color scheme in your imagery. If you know you like yellow and its meaning (much like me) then you want to consider schemes that include more yellows.
All these color schemes are created using the standard 12-spoke color wheel.
Here’s a brief explanation of the different color schemes. Don’t let this overwhelm you. This doesn’t mean we should use all of these in our imagery.
1. Monochromatic – Created by combining different shades or tones within a specific color.
Think of all the different shades of red that are used to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
(Image by Shutterstock)
2. Analogous – Created by using three colors found next to one another. Analogous means “closely related” so these colors are great at creating a sense of harmony.
(Image by Shutterstock)
3. Complementary – Created by combining colors on opposite sides of the color wheel. This is a popular and straightforward color scheme for photographers.
(Image by Shutterstock)
Main examples include:
Red and Green (pictured below with my son in a red shirt in green grass)
Orange and blue (pictured next with my other son in a blue shirt covered in an orangey blanket)
Purple and yellow
Yellow and blue is also a strong complimentary color scheme as orange is made of yellow
4. Split Complementary – Created by combing hues on either side of the color opposite the base color. This adds a layer of complexity to the complementary scheme.
Base color of yellow with two split complementary colors of magenta (red purple) and violet (blue purple)
(Image by Shutterstock)
5. Triadic – Created by combining colors that are equal distance from one another on the color wheel, forming a triangle. This color palette can be made of primary, secondary or tertiary colors.
(Image by Shutterstock)
Popular schemes:
Primary colors: red, blue and yellow (example below)
Secondary colors: green, violet, orange
6. Tetradic – This is one of the more difficult color schemes to create. It’s used by combining colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel, creating a rectangle. This is like combing two sets of complimentary schemes together.
Red and green (first complimentary scheme) with yellow and purple (second complimentary scheme)
Expanding on Color Schemes
While red and green are complimentary colors, adding orange or yellow with them creates a lovely autumn-like feel. This can be considered an extended analogous color scheme as well.
Conclusion
What do we do with all this information? It can definitely be overwhelming, so here are some steps to take in creating a cohesive color scheme in your imagery that I hope you’ll find helpful.
Tips for finding your favorite colors:
What do you love? Are there certain colors associated with it? For example, I love nature and big open skies. Naturally, this makes blue a common color in my imagery.
What message do you want to send with your imagery? Each color evokes a different feeling. Greens are stable and calm, representing nature and earth, while yellows are upbeat and happy, representing joy and hope.
What draws your eye most in other people’s images? Do you love seeing calm, cool colors or warm, passionate colors? I’m always inspired when I see pops of yellow. These images tend me make me feel happy and upbeat.
Finding the colors and saturation that appeal to you most will enable you to choose color schemes that include more of those colors in an appealing way.
Here is a tool you may find helpful when researching more about color and their schemes: https://www.shutterstock.com/colors.
Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram if you have any questions about color theory or incorporating color into your imagery! I’d love to hear from you.
My gear: I carry a 5D Mark III and have two lenses: 1) An economical EF 50mm 1.4 and 2) a dynamic EF 24-70mm 2.8.
Go to lens and why? Indoor, I use my 24-70mm due to its versatility. I need to be able to move around and don’t need the same depth of field as my 50mm. I also take self-portraits with my boys indoors and this lens is a great option for that. Outdoors, I want a shallow depth of field, so I shoot with my 50 mm 1.4. It’s super economical and while I intend to upgrade one day, this baby does the job for now.
Who/What inspires you? Because I’m incredibly nostalgic, I draw a lot of inspiration from my children, my own childhood memories, pretty much any music that gives me feels and books, particularly quotes and favorite characters. I’m also very inspired by color and nature and photograph my children around big Texas skies as often as possible. Cloudy day? You can probably find us in an open field enjoying the moody weather.
I also have a running list of moments I want to capture or recreate with my boys, like swinging in the hammock summer after summer or remembering something funny they did and then recreating it in an artistic way.
I’m also inspired by many photographers like Jenn Bartell, Meg Loeks and Kristen Ryan to name just a few.