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The world of colors in photography
In photography, the way we perceive color is crucial to creating captivating and meaningful images. That's why we're going to explore how colors are perceived and the role they play in the art of photography.
Color perception is a complex sensory experience resulting from the way light interacts with our visual system. Our eyes are able to distinguish a wide range of colors using specialized receptors called cones. These cones are sensitive to different wavelengths of light, allowing us to perceive a diverse spectrum of colors, from red to violet and every shade in between.
(The color wheel)
The role of colors in photography is multiple. They can be used to arouse emotions, tell stories, highlight subjects or create a specific atmosphere. For example, bright colors can convey joy and vitality, while softer colors can evoke tranquility and melancholy. Additionally, color combination can be a key element in the composition of a photograph, helping to direct the viewer's attention and create a powerful visual impact.
(Diagram of the eye with the cones of the different RGB channels. Source: olympus-lifescience.com)
Colors play an essential role in visual perception by the human eye. The human eye contains light-sensitive cells called cones, which are responsible for color perception. There are three types of cones, each sensitive to a specific range of wavelengths of light: red, green, and blue sensitive cones. The combination of signals from these cones allows our brain to perceive a wide range of colors. Colors play an important role in object recognition.
This is how the RGB model, short for “Red, Green, Blue”, relates to the functioning of human vision. It is one of the most commonly used color models in digital photography, television, computer displays, and many other imaging-related fields. It is based on the principle of combining different intensities of light in three primary color channels to produce a wide range of colors.
By combining these three color channels at different intensities, you can create a wide range of colors. For example, to get yellow, you would have a high intensity of red and green, but a low intensity of blue. For white, all intensities would be maximum, while for black, all intensities would be minimum.
RGB channels have a major influence on the appearance of images because they determine the color of each pixel. Here's how RGB channels affect the appearance of images. They are the basis of additive primary colors, meaning that all other colors can be created by combining different intensities of red, green, and blue. Therefore, RGB channels are essential to correctly display all visible colors.
Additionally, the intensity of the RGB channels in each pixel influences the brightness of that pixel. For example, a pixel with high RGB values will appear brighter, while a pixel with low RGB values will appear darker.
(Diagram of the eye with (Each small square represents a pixel = this is the basic unit of a digital image.
In contrast, a dead pixel represents a point that does not light up and displays a fixed color, generally black.)
As seen previously in our article onvisible light, light is a form of electromagnetic energy that travels in waves or particles called photons. Additive synthesis is a process used to create colors by combining different sources of colored light.
The primary colors in additive synthesis are red, green and blue. By combining different amounts of these primary colors, a wide range of colors can be created. When the three primary colors are completely mixed, they produce white, and when they are completely absent, black is obtained.
Secondary colors result from mixing two primary colors. In the RGB model, the secondary colors are:
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yellow, obtained by mixing red and green
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magenta, obtained by mixing red and blue
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cyan, obtained by mixing green and blue).
Secondary colors are important because they expand the palette of colors available for creating images and allow for greater diversity in visual representation.
(Additive color synthesis)
(Subtractive synthesis of colors)
Subtractive synthesis is a process used to create colors by mixing pigments or dyes, such as ink, paint, or color filters. Unlike additive synthesis, where colors are created by adding light, subtractive synthesis works by subtracting certain parts of the light spectrum.
The primary colors in subtractive synthesis are cyan, magenta, and yellow, often abbreviated as CMY. When you mix these primary colors, they absorb some parts of the light and reflect other parts, creating a range of colors. Subtractive synthesis is used in color prints, paintings, and graphic arts.
Post-production plays a crucial role in color editing. Image editing and video editing software offers a range of powerful tools for adding, adjusting and enhancing colors. Retouching software can correct faulty or poorly balanced colors. You can adjust the white balance to make colors more accurate and natural. This is especially important for photographs taken under different light sources. You can increase or decrease color saturation to create specific effects. Increasing the saturation will make colors more vibrant, while decreasing it can create a softer or sepia look. Likewise, adjusting the brightness can make colors brighter or darker.
(Adobe Photoshop 2023)
In RGB (red, green, blue) photography, light quality is crucial to achieving sharp, true-to-life images. Different light sources have different color temperatures, which can influence the tone and saturation of colors in a photograph. Poor quality light can result in distorted colors or inadequate white balance. As a result, photographers often need to adjust their camera's white balance to adapt to the ambient light, whether daylight, artificial light, or other sources. High-quality light, well-balanced and matched to the scene, is essential for capturing accurate and attractive RGB images.
This article explored the importance of color perception in photography and how they are used to create meaningful images. We discovered how our eye distinguishes a wide range of colors thanks to cones sensitive to different wavelengths of light. The RGB model, essential in digital photography for creating an infinite variety of colors by combining the red, green and blue channels. We covered post-production and how editing software helps adjust and enhance colors in images. In our next article we will discuss how light and darkness appear in an image throughmastery of tonality in photography.
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