Manipulating colour
Manipulating colour
Colour is a fundamental part of photography. It is often what separates the beautiful from the ugly. So, as a photographer, you must know how to control it.
what are your tools?
There are three primary tools used to manipulate colour.
Temperature- Colour temperature or white balance is the relative warmth or coolness of light. All light exists on a colour spectrum that spans from cold (blue) to warm (yellow).
Saturation-Saturation is the intensity and purity of colour in a photograph. Increasing the degree of saturation in an image makes all the colours in the image more intense and thus makes your image more vibrant and colourful.
Vibrance- Vibrance refers to the intensity of the colours in an image. It adjusts the saturation of an image in a more subtle and controlled way than the standard saturation tool.
How can you manipulate colour?
Keep the balance
Basic edits are usually all you need. First, adjust your white balance such that what's white in real life looks white on your screen. Then, lift your vibrance carefully to enhance your colours and make the image pop. Lastly, if necessary, cut your saturation to balance out your image.
Use emotion
Colours are linked to emotions. Blue is sad and red is angry. Based on your image, pick an emotion and corresponding colour you'd like to emphasise. Then, adjust your white balance until the colour you choose is predominant. Next, push your saturation as much as possible until your image looks unnatural. This type of editing works best with dark, dramatic photographs, so use light settings to ensure it is dark and has high contrast.
Whether it
Look at your image. What's the weather like? Is it dry or wet? If dry, raise the white balance slightly to create a sense of warmth. Then drop the saturation by around twenty points and lift your vibrance slightly to balance out the image. This creates a dry arid feeling, characterised by muted tones and desaturated colours.
If wet, do the opposite. Drop your temperature slightly then lift saturation by at least twenty points and drop your vibrance by around ten points. This creates a wet moist sensation to accentuate the feel of your image.
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