Cast your eyes to the right, and you’ll see a nature shot of a bee heading off from a flower on a nectar hunt. But think in terms of pure colour, and there’s a certain harmony going on: magenta flowers, green foliage and the yellow insect ‘popping’ out. The reason this shot’s colour palette is eye-catching is that it has a primary colour (green) and its opposing secondary colour (magenta) working together.
The primary colours of light are red, green and blue (RGB). Cameras (and your eyes) mix these together to form all the colours you see. Opposing these are the secondary colours: cyan, magenta and yellow (CMY). They’re opposites: for example, cyan is a mixture of green and blue, and contains no red. Similarly, magenta is a mix of red and blue (with no green), and yellow is a mix of red and green (with no blue).
Using a primary with its opposite secondary gives you maximum colour contrast, and is a sure-fire way to get a picture with immediate visual impact. Memorising these six main colours, and knowing which opposes which, is all you really need to know about the heady subject of colour theory.
Esta historia es de la edición August 2020 de Digital Camera World.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August 2020 de Digital Camera World.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Jess McGovern
The multi-award winning photographer will speak twice at The Photography Show this month. Niall Hampton finds out what's in store...
Viltrox AF 27mm F1.2 Pro
A ‘pro’ lens with a consumer price tag
Lumix S100mm f/2.8 Macro
Ticks many boxes but is not a total success
Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM
Every so often, a new superzoom telephoto lens grabs our attention.
Hasselblad 907X & CFV 100C
Not just a beautiful camera system but versatile, too
Sam Davis
The caving photographer will be shining a light on his passion at The Photography Show. Niall Hampton gets a deep dive into the subject
Explore the Multiply blending mode
Multiply is a versatile mode that can be used for a wide range of effects, either on its own or combined with other modes
Create a fine-art border in Lightroom
Enhance your landscape photos by adding a fine-art border with an even feathered edge
Content Credentials explained
Fight the fakes and prove your own photos are genuine with provenance tools in Photoshop and Lightroom
Scanning ahead...
With ever-higher sensor resolutions, Jon Devo asks whether zoom lenses have had their day