Page 22 - Cake, Croquet & Corsets

Written by Amee Curtis
a world of color May I introduce your new
best friend+s...
CWhen coloring anything you have to understand colors
themselves. How they interact with each other, how the environment impacts those colors and how we as humans perceive colors. Each facet on it’s own makes a huge affect on the others.
When colorizing multiple images over a series, it’s important to have a plan. In the case of the Rococo shoot, the Creative Director for the project wanted a warm, dreamy look that evoke an antiquated era with a modern twist. I chose a palette of golds and roses with burnt umber undertones for the shadows. Using the same colors across all images creates a sense of continuity that helps your viewer transition more easily from one image to the next.
It’s important to point out- even when you take multiple pictures in the same location on the same day, the atmosphere will almost
certainly cause slight color shifts in your image that will need to be corrected in post. These changes are caused by atmospheric interferences such as clouds moving, reflections off water, even wind! And if you’ve been taking pictures for any length of time you’ve probably noticed that early in the morning and late evening the color captured is significantly warmer than mid day. This effect is due to the fact the sun is low in the sky, resulting in light rays having to pass a longer distance through the atmosphere. Violet and blue wavelengths tend to scatter, while the warmer tones endure to reach the surface of the earth where they enrich the colors of the world. But more on this another day.
To achieve a cohesive look, use your color palettes and stick to them! When building complementary tones, use that color picker and grab a color from your image- this will create realistic environments that your viewers
wants to see!
And please, from this retoucher’s heart, learn your color BEFORE just slapping filters on your images. Yes it “works”, but when you understand colors you have SO MUCH more control.
When you use this information and a consistent color palette, you create a professional series of images that connect both visually and emotionally to tell a story.