Assignment 3: Colours.

Before starting this assignment I have had a think about what I want to personally achieve with the outcome.  For a start I want to shoot things which have some kind of meaning to me. What is the point in photographing something that has no real link to you? I want to be able to look back at my work and link it with a memory of a place or person.  I think that it improves the end result when an artist or photographer has taken pleasure in their work.

Throughout this course I have spent my time trying to photograph what I believe others will want to see and be impressed by rather than pleasing myself. I have always felt that I have fallen short of expectations and seem to continuously feel disappointed in the work I have produced. This time, however, I shall be photographing for myself. I need to try and get away from just photographing “things” and move into putting more of myself and my own style into my images.

In this assignment we are to show our understanding of colour in photography. We are to take four photographs (a total of 16) to show the following relationships:

·         Colour harmony through complementary colours.

·         Colour harmony through similar colours.

·         Colour contrast through contrasting colours.

·         Colour accent using any of the above.

Whilst researching complementary colours I came across this image by Olivia Williams and felt inspired.

The image was taken from http://365daysoliviawilliamsphotography.blogspot.com/2009/09/complementary-colorsday-204-365.html

I noticed that she had commented “I wanted the red to stand out so I went with an outside photo to use the complementary color to help the red pop out of the image”. Seeing her photo made me think that for this assignment I wanted an almost ‘fashion shoot’ theme. I love this area of photography and anything fashion related, it would definitely put more me into the images.

Colour harmony through complementary colours.

These are colours that face each other across the colour wheel.

Red and Green.

Here I have taken Olivia Williams idea and tried to make it my own. I was conscious of the ratio red to green 1:1 and have tried to photograph to match this.

Nikon D90 1/4000 f5 ISO 200 52mm E.V -2.0

This was my 6^th attempt at this shot. While the weather was good, with bright light, it was unfortunately very windy which played havoc with the sheet. I used a fast shutter speed to compensate for that. I have altered the saturation of the colours by making the image more under exposed to create rich colours as the sunlight was draining the red from the sheet. I also played around with the composition and had my model on the left hand side of the frame, but I felt that this worked much better having the red at the top of the image.

As my printer/photocopier/scanner has rather unhelpfully broken I have had to draw each image and then photograph it to get it on my laptop. 

Your eye is immediately drawn to the red as it appears much richer with the viewer’s vision swept up the sheet to the person laying. I feel the image is well balanced as the ratio is almost exact. I tried cropping a little of the grass off in photoshop as I started to think that there was a higher percentage of green but then felt that the red began to outweigh the green so I have left it as it was shot.

Blue and Orange.

The ratio of blue to orange should be 1:2 so again I have tried to achieve this.

Nikon D90 1/60 f5.6 ISO 200 105mm E.V -0.5 with tripod

This actually happened to be the first photo I took  with this arrangement, but I carried on taking more and experimenting with different settings but this one still came out as my favourite. It was shot on the same day as my red/green image but the wind had died down, which helped. Unfortunately I had lost quite a bit of daylight but I am still very happy with how this has come out.

I feel that the image is well balanced and meets the ratio requirements. Your eye is drawn straight to the orange flower first and then moves down the stem to the hands. The blue of the dress makes a nice background which I have tried to blur out slightly.

Violet and Yellow.

The ratio here should be 1:3, the relative brightness of yellow is 9 where as violet is 3 so I needed to show three times as much violet to yellow.

Nikon D90 1/90 f5.6 ISO 200 92 mm with tripod EV -0.5

Again I have set up my own still life and I have specifically counted out the yellow to violet ratio and got it as close as possible, also taking into account nail size! To make the ratio more exact it meant hiding a finger which just looked odd.

Not a brilliant sketch but it demonstrates the point as your gaze follows the direction of the hands. Focusing solely on the colours, I feel that the image is as balanced as it can be with the violet ever so slightly outweighing the yellow.

Violet and Yellow Part 2.

Nikon D90 1/60 f5.3 ISO 200 66mm with tripod metered exposure.

This turned out to be quite problematic as my original attempts showed my model looking rather uncomfortable which detracted from the main focus of the colours. When she was touching up the make she looked much more relaxed so I was able to take a more comfortable looking image which in turn leads the viewer to notice the colours first.

Another appalling sketch but it shows the violet and yellow meeting the ratio. Movement passes between the eyes and travels down the frame to the mouth in a triangular shape.

Research.

Whilst researching this assignment I thought that I would take a look at fashion photographers that have used complementary colours in their work. I came across Steven Meisel (born 1954) who is a well known American photographer, having worked on the American and Italian Vogue. I love his picture below and the richness and depth he has created but I think that it is important to note that while he has used the red and green combination, he has not strictly adhered to the ratios as the red is considerably more prominent.

Colour harmony through similar colours.

These are colours near each other on the colour wheel in a cool or warm range of colours.

Red, Orange and Yellow.

Nikon D90 1/200 f5.6 ISO 200 92mm with tripod metered exposure.

This is one of my favourite images. The flowers are so striking and I have tried to make them the main focus shooting with a wider aperture to blur out my models face. The red, orange and yellow create a  nice warmth. I took this photo indoors with a black sheet as the background to create a greater contrast with the flowers. This was not my first idea of this type of shot. I had originally had the model laying down with her hair fanning out behind her with lots of red, orange and yellow flowers scattered in the hair. Whilst there was nothing wrong with the images they did not create the strong impact I was looking for. Some of my assignment “rejects” will be posted on my blog for comparison.

Again I have not altered the image in Photoshop at all. Maybe part of me feels dishonest doing this as though the original photograph should be good enough on its own. Maybe with future photos in this assignment I shall use the opportunity to experiment a bit more and see what effects I can create, in the hope of enhancing my shots.  With this image your attentions is drawn in a triangle between the flowers and then moves to the left hand side of the frame to pick out the face. J.W. Von Goethe suggests that the values assigned to these colours are yellow 9, orange 8 and red 6 which together create a high level of brightness greatly exceeding what is seen to be the ideal proportions. The image does appear somewhat unbalanced to me but I think that this creates more tension and a more interesting image.

Orange and Yellow.

Nikon D90 1/640 f5.3 ISO 640 66mm E.V -0.3 with tripod.

This is actually one of the last photos I shot, I did not work through the assignment in the order shown, instead taking photos as and when the opportunity arose. I was quite conscious that I should stick to my theme, but at the same time this became increasingly difficult to come up with new, more varied ideas. I does also state in the course notes that we should “try to vary the subject matter”, so what I have now decided to do is still try to be creative and use more of my ideas rather than just photograph objects as they are. With this image I really wanted to use  wooden chopping board as it would of created more feeling of warmth from the image, but unfortunately I do not own one.

I have also decided to give using paint a go. I avoided using paint before as I felt that the drawings produced would look untidy but after thinking about it they only really  need to illustrate the point. Your eye is drawn to the top left of the frame to the orange and lemons in a triangular formation and then moves across to the knife and segment of lemon. Before starting this course, when setting up a still life like this I would of just put everything in the middle of the frame and photographed it like that therefore creating a rather static image. I think I have become better at creating a more interesting composition and this assignment has really made me think much more carefully about the use of colour and its effects.

Blue, Purple and Green.

Nikon D90 1/200 f4.8 ISO 640 48mm E.V -1.0 Used tripod and flash.

I took several attempts before coming up with this idea. I originally had all the pencils lined up next to each other on a plain white piece of paper, but it just seemed so dull. Then I came up with the idea of dropping them onto the paper so the composition seemed less rigid but the background still felt so plain. I finally settled on scribbling all over the paper using all of the coloured pencils shown so that the background ties in more with the subject.

This image is just so busy your eyes flicker between the pencils and the background. All of the colours shown are stereotypical cold colours. I considered the ratio of purple green and blue and have only used 2 purple, 4 green and 5 blue as I wanted to emphasise the brightness of the blue.

Blue and Green.

Nikon D90 1/200 f5.6 ISO 640 105mm E.V -0.7 Tripod and flash used.

Back to another image that fits with my original theme. Many photos taken for this combination of colours also. This is actually my second favourite image but my first choice actually showed my model tilted away from the camera slightly, but the eye nearest the camera was slightly out of focus which ruined the shot somewhat. I have obviously cropped this image to just focus on the eyes. Looking back now to emphasise the harmony through similar colours, it would of been ideal if my model had actually had blue of green eyes. I feel that  the brown does add warmth to the image which I actually quite like.

The eyes are unfortunately not quite square on in this picture. I still feel that the photo is reasonably well balanced and the viewer’s eyes constantly move between the eyes in the picture.

Colour contrast through contrasting colours.

These are colours which are spaced about a third of the way around the colour wheel. They are colours that are very different from each other but they are not quite complementary colours. The colour combinations are not really harmonious but they create striking contrasts.

Orange/Yellow and Green.

Nikon D90 1/500 f4.8 ISO 640 48mm E.V +0.3 Hand held, no flash used.

I noticed this bush with berries at the road side. The contrast of the brightness of the berries against the dark green of the bush really caught my eye. I feel that this image has captured the time of year well. I have felt as though I have been at a bit of a disadvantage having to work on this assignment now, in the middle of Winter, when completing it in the Summer months would be so much easier. I think that in a way I am glad things have worked out like this as I have had to work much harder at finding situations that occur naturally, as well as creating the still lifes and it has led to me having to use my imagination and creativity much more than if every flower was in bloom and lighting conditions were perfect.

When composing this shot I tried to get a ratio orange : green 1:2 as I felt the yellowy orange of the berries was about twice as bright as the green and I really wanted to try and get the balance right. The berries immediately grab your attention and your eyes moves between them, your attention is then drawn to the background where you scan for anything that may have been missed, finally settling on the lone berry near the bottom of the frame.

Red and Blue.

Nikon D90 1/200 f4.5 ISO 640 40mm E.V -1.3 Flash and tripod used.

Back to my theme again here for another still life set up. I lost count of how many times I shot the shoes. I originally started off with the black sheet as a background and somebody wearing one red shoes and one blue shoe but this was quite dull. I progressed through shooting with a wooden floor as the background as well as a white sheet but decided black definitely worked the best. I introduced two more shoes so that they were in pairs and had them placed on stairs. This formation worked the best. I wanted to have a ratio of red:blue 1:1 but having the point where all the shoes met, in the centre of the frame did not work that well either. Having the point just off centre worked so much better but this in turn has affected the ratio slightly. I set the exposure to -1.3 as while the flash was need to compensate for the overcast day, it tended to bleach the colour from the shoes and reflect of the silk quite a bit. Post production I have increased the level of black to even out sheet. I had to cover the insides of the shoes as they are actually red and bright pink, so I used socks for this. Increasing the black helped to even that out and make the shoes stand out even more. I also increased the level of red and blue slightly on Photoshop as I wanted the colours that bit brighter. I have really just been experimenting a lot during this assignment with different ideas and the effects different settings and Photoshop have on the end result.

Balance wise I feel the red slightly out weighs the level of blue present. With regards to the movement, attention is drawn to the point where the shoes meet and then travels around the frame in a clockwise direction. This is probably one of my favourite images in the whole assignment as I could really put myself into it as well as be creative.

Orange and Green.

Nikon D90 1/4000 f4.5 ISO640 40mm +0.3 Hand held, no flash.

Again these flowers were by the side of the road. For once it was a particularly bright day so no flash was needed. I did not have the tripod with me so shooting hand held meant that I needed to select a fast shutter speed. Whilst it was bright, unfortunately it was still freezing cold which did not really help with subsequent camera shake. The bright sunlight resulted in some of the colour being washed out of the flowers so I have tried to combat this by altering the exposure to compensate. Looking back I feel that I could have done a bit more to try and remedy this, I don’t think that I needed the ISO to be this high but had left it set like that from my previously shot photograph and have forgotten about it. I do however like the area of shade on the left hand side. Options for composition were pretty limited as and alternatives would have meant trampling in someone’s garden.

The balance and composition of this image is actually quite similar to that of the berries. Is this something that I unwittingly look for when composing a photograph?

Blue and Yellow.

Nikon D90 1/500 f5 ISO 640 50mm  +0.3 No tripod or flash.

Another freezing cold day damp day and I came across these two bikes advertising cycling tours of Cambridge. It actually reminded me of a couple of years ago when I cycled from London to Cambridge for charity. I particularly like the contrast between the blue and yellow. I still wanted the photo to reflect the miserable day. Reviewing this image I think that I could of done with having slightly less yellow to make the ratio closer to yellow 1:2 blue. Post production I have tried to emphasise the colours ever so slightly.

I feel that the blue is much more commanding in this photo than the yellow. After focusing on the blue your gaze is drawn up the frame by yellow.

Colour accent using any of the above.

A small area of colour within a larger area of another colour as an accent.

Green and Red.

Nikon D90 1/200 f5.6 ISO 640 105mm -0.7 flash and tripod used.

I really like this photo, it reminds me of something advertising food. I had to use the flash as the room was so dark, which in turn washed out the fruit. To try to compensate for this I made the image slightly under exposed to try and retain the colour. The only thing that really concerned me about this picture was whether the strawberry was small enough to constitute an accent. Maybe it would have been better to have used a cherry?

Red and green have the same relative brightness ratio of 6 which does unbalance the image. The strawberry takes all of the attention straight away and then the viewer’s gaze spreads out over the image to check that nothing else has been missed.

Yellow and Purple.

Nikon D90 1/200 f5.6 ISO 640 98mm -0.1 Flash and tripod used.

Still a miserable day so the flash is necessary with a wide aperture and high ISO to let in as much light as possible. In hindsight maybe the yellow of the dress could be a bit richer in saturation but I think the purple of the bag does provide an accent.

According to J.W.Von Goethe yellow has a brightness value of 9 where as violet has a value of 3. The ideal proportions therefore are yellow:violet 1:3. In this image I have switched the ratio round to see the affect it has on my image.

I have noticed a pattern again with my composition, everything is moved to the top right hand corner. Is this because I am right handed?

Blue and Orange.

Nikon D90 1/4000 f4 ISO 640 18mm E.V +0.3

This was shot on the same day as the orange and green flowers with the weather so lovely and bright. I have lots and lots of photos trying to take the perfect shot. Most of them either just show the hands or the empty sky. I used the fastest shutter speed possible but obviously my reaction and timing is not as good as I had hoped. In Photoshop I have increased the level of orange and blue. I left the hands as they were, slightly blurred, as they are not the focus of this picture. It is a shame that I missed a tiny bit off the top of the ball. It would have also been better if I had been able to buy a ball that was plain orange but I do not really think the black on the ball makes much of an effect.

It was quite hard to control the balls positioning composition wise but I think that it works quite well being slightly off the centre line. After taking in the ball, attention moves down towards the hands.

Blue and Orange.

Nikon D90 1/200 f4.5 ISO 640 35mm -0.7 flash and tripod used.

This is another of my favourite pictures as I was able to be really creative. I ended up having to make the paint palette out of cardboard before I could start. I started off having the paint looking as though it had just been squeezed out of the tube but it looked too rigid in design so I ended up getting my fingers and pushing it all around. The newspaper makes a nice background, I think, and reminded me of when I was little and your mum would only let you get the paints out if you had put newspaper down first. The paint has picked up a lot of the flash but I like how it gives it a glossy quality. You really get a feeling of texture from this photo with the paint reminding me of waves.

I have not altered this image at all as I do not really feel that it needs it. Having spotted the orange you are then scanning the palette until your eyes rest on the hand holding it.

Conclusion.

Out of all of the assignments this has to be the one that I have been most pleased with. I feel that to a certain extent I have been able to be much more creative with this set of photographs than I have been able to be with the previous assignments, or maybe the opportunity was there and I just never took it.

I feel like I have achieved what I set out to do in the sense that rather than just take photos of ‘things’, particularly objects that have been designed by other people, I have been able to use my imagination much more.

If I was doing the assignment again I think that I would try and use more found situations as the majority of my work has been still lifes that I have set up.

I have always avoided photographing people in the past, I’m not really sure why, maybe I felt that they were ‘ruining’ my photos. However, this assignment has shown me how having people in your images can really enhance them.

As well as having to think about colours and the effects they have on each other, I have also paid a lot of attention to composition and how I seem to position things a certain way. I must really try to vary composition more in the future.

Even thought this assignment didn’t come at the best time season wise, I’m glad I managed to shoot it just in time before the snow came.