Storytelling with Colour Theory

You probably remember back in school learning about colours and their relationships to each other - the primary colours, secondary colours, mixing red and blue makes purple, etc, etc...

But did you know that colour means so much more than what we see. The relationship between different colours helps define a mood, and alone can completely change the story being told in our images.

For example, a photo of a forest trail in fall, with all the warm reds and oranges that come along with autumn, give off a warm and cozy vibe, whereas the new, bright greenish blue leaves and budding flowers in spring give off a cooler, fresher vibe. The vibe IS the story. It sets the mood!

Why does red and green together feel so cheery? The colours we all know as "holiday" colours signify a happy, cheery time of year. Which is why (for me at least) big red barns in a nice green field are a happy, cheery sight. Those colours are complimentary to each other, bringing out the best of both colours.

So, how do you determine which colours work together to crate the mood you want? It really comes down to the most basic answer - a colour wheel!

If you look at this colour wheel, the colours opposite each other are you complimentary colours. This means red and green, blue and orange, purple and yellow, and everything in between.

Combining these colours in your images will not only enhance your story, but are more pleasing to the viewer, making them take more notice of the elements within the photo... always a good thing right?

But complimentary colours are not the only colour combinations that can enhance your images. There are SO many different combinations, some that include multiple colours to work properly, others which only require one main colour - your monochrome images.

So, let's look at some of these combinations, starting with my beloved monochrome. This, again, means one main colour. In this image, that colour is green. Monochrome does not mean black and white, it just means there is one main colour present (but not necessarily the ONLY colour).

The next colour combination we typically see is those complimentary colours (those opposite each other on the colour wheel), but we already discussed those so let's move on to analogous. These are 3 colours on the wheel that are directly beside each other. They can be anywhere on the wheel, but all 3 need to be beside one another.

In this example, I am using green, teal, and blue, which are next to each other on the wheel. These would be analogous colours. Similarly to complimentary colours, these help to define and enhance the story being told in your images by sticking to a similar theme and undertone.

Next up, we have triadic colours. These are colours that form a triangle on the wheel. I don't tend to use too many triadic combinations in my photography, but when I do it tends to be my primary colours: red, blue, and green. Where analogous colours create a calming effect since they all share a similar tone, triadic colour schemes tend to be a little mor vibrant, adding some drama to your images.

Here, you can see I've used some teal, orange, and hints of pink-purple, as these colours form a triangle on the colour wheel. Having other colours in this image is fine, because the main focus is the triadic colours, which add a dramatic vibrancy.

Now we'll take a look at one I use quote frequently - split complementary! I love using this because it gives me a similar vibe to complimentary colours, but adds a little more interest and depth to the image. Split complimentary is when you take those complimentary colours, and one of the colours is split, meaning instead of using 2 colours directly opposite each other, the line is split and hit the 2 colours on either side of the one opposite. That sounds confusing, I know, but this little schematic helps to show what I mean.

I find it very easy to find split complimentary colours in my everyday. Maybe it's because I am naturally drawn to colour, but not to vibrant, dramatic colour. I enjoy soothing tones immensely!

In this image, I've used green, orange, and pink as my split complimentary colours. This is definitely a more dramatic type of image, since my colours are very vibrant, but normally I would use more muted tones for my pinks. Either way though, it still works!

Now, there are MANY more types of colours schemes you can use in your iages, but the last one I'm going to talk about it is tetradic. This is where the colours you choose create a rectangle on the colour wheel. It uses 2 sets of complimentary colours that all tie in together to create one glorious mesh of colours! Now, this is not something I find often in my images, but I do love myself a good tetrad!

I hope this helped you quickly know how to use colour to your advantage. It really can make or break an image if the colours just don't work well together - like trying to brush your teeth while eating cookies. It just doesn't work well. Colour theory is one of the first things I always look for in my photos, and is why I've developed ways to change the colours of pretty much anything in post processing to match the mood I was trying to get.

A quick tip to end things off: I HIGHLY recommend saving a copy of a colour wheel to your desktop your phone, anywhere that is easy access so you have it for a quick reference both while shooting, and while editing. You'll thank yourself later!

Until next time! Keep on snapping!