I have been impressed by the striking nature of some web photos I have seen where the image is in black and white but with a touch of colour being used as a highlight. I'd love to know what you think of this style of photo.
This lighthouse has guarded the southern entrance to Sydney Harbour for over 150 years and is painted a striking red and white like that of a barber's pole. Is this a more interesting photo when the blue of the ocean and the green of the grass are desaturated and only the lighthouse remains with any colour?
Similarly does the violets of the water hyacinths in a Kenyan national park become more striking when the surrounded lily pads are turned monochromatic?
For some photos, it is difficult to decide which element to colour. During a recent Sydney festival, this fine musician plays the accordian and saxophone equally adepted, yet does the rich crimson of the accordion make for a more striking photograph?
Or does the silky gold of the saxophone win the day? Or would a full colour photo be preferred?
Please share your opinions on this style of photography. A following article describes the touch of colour technique using Photoshop Elements but the general method should work similarly for any photo editting program.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Photo of the Week: A Touch of Colour
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Nice pictures. A photo always looks good in B n W, but i really liked the small amount of colors you have added to those black and white photos.
Hi Mark: I do like this effect but I think the selection of the area to be colored can make or break the photo. For instance, I really like the one where the accordion is colored but don't care for the one where the saxophone is in color. I like the purple water lily but don't care for the lighthouse. Its subjective though; I suspect the next person could have an entirely different opinion. Interested to see how you achieve this effect in your upcoming article.
@airsoft gun: Thank you. I am glad that you liked them.
@barbara: I think it may come down to the actual colour and the amount of area that I cover, I friend in Sydney commented that he thinks the amount of colour should be small and maybe the lighthouse and sax cover too much of the photo. Like you said, everyone's eyes are goin to be a little different in what they like.
I love colour but using just a little bit like this draws the eye to some detail of the photo
@heather: I'm a colour person too but I find these quite striking because you can choose a detail to highlight. I am hoping to get more views on what people think.
I think I'd prefer the full-coloured photo.. :)
@abhijit: I appreciate your feedback. Full colour does show the place for what it is.
Selecting the color effect is the most difficult part of a design .
@bangkok: The eye for which colour to highlight does change the mood of the photo. See the difference in the musician between the choice of two different colours.
Post a Comment