The Colors You Use in Your Photos Set a Mood
Copyright 1998 Scott Bourne - All Rights Reserved
Did you know that color symbolism plays a big role in everything from religion to culture? Have you stopped to think about the colors in your photos and how they might (or might not) mesh with the subjects you’re photographing?
Let’s look at some primary colors and talk about the mood they help to convey.
Red is a stimulating, engaging color. It denotes action, passion, romance, energy, heat and power.
Blue has the opposite effect of red in many cases. It’s calming, quiet, peaceful and cool.
Yellow is the brightest color of all. It’s very uplifting and cheerful. In some cultures it conveys wisdom. It’s radiant.
Green symbolizes renewal and has some of the qualities of yellow in that it is uplifting. It signifies a new beginning.
How can you use this information? Be mindful of the mood that you’re trying to set. If you want to shoot a lake on an overcast day, during the cold winter, be careful about interjecting something red or yellow into the scene since those are in conflict with the calm mood. Get the idea? Feel free to share other examples in the comments section.
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Though my subject matter tends towards the cold metallics of long abandoned industrial monsters, I tend to warm the photos up using the flash white balance. I find it puts the viewer more at ease, and welcomes them to view it.
Example: http://www.smlg.ca/pblog.php?showimage=1272
On my last image I used a green mask to add that late neon greasy feeling. When correcting the image with auto-color the whole mood is just lost.
Here, check it out -
Yes, white balance is also important. Since I shoot in RAW, it allows me to tweak white balance during post-processing.
Sometimes I use it to create a mood, and don’t always necessarily use “correct” white balance.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarah_amirault/3205848172/
Thank you for reminding me of color moods in photography. As a musician, the color of a studio is also so mood responsive. Love the greenness of the above photo. Hopefully things around here will start to look that way.
As I often travel to Asia on assignemnts, I find that having reasonable knowledge about what various colors symbolize provides me with just a little extra consideration to my subjects and the situations/environments they are being photographed in. Here’s a quick list of Asian color symbolism:
Red: Happiness, marriage, prosperity
Pink: Marriage
Yellow: Against evil, for the dead, geomantic blessings
Green: Eternity, family, harmony, health, peace, posterity
Blue: Self-cultivation, wealth
Purple: Wealth
White: Children, helpful people, marriage,
mourning, peace, purity, travel
Gold: Strength, wealth
Gray: Helpful people, travel
Black: Career, evil influences, knowledge, mourning, penance, self-cultivation