The brief for this exercise is in two parts. Firstly to produce one photograph for each of the following primary and secondary colour combinations.
- Red:Green 1:1
- Orange:Blue 1:2
- Yellow:Violet 1:3
The course notes suggested finding these combination might be difficult and finding the correct proportions even more so. I really struggled to find these combinations in the correct proportions and have had to result to cropping the images to try and produce the correct proportion of each colour.
Photograph 1: Red and Green 1:1
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| Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens, 88mm, f/6.3, 1/160s, ISO 400 |
I think this image of the rose and leaves was both the easiest to find and compose in the correct proportions. The strong red colour of the rose is complemented by the equal amount of green.
Photograph 2: Orange:Blue 1:2
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| Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens, 105mm, f/22, 1/200s, ISO 400 |
I found this colour combination nearly impossible to find. I couldn't find it existing naturally in plants or animals.
I came across this boy in a orange t-shirt against a bright blue sky. Unfortunately, he was walking near some railings and quite a distance away. I have therefore, needed to crop this image quite a bit to conform to the proportions. I took the shot thinking that if I couldn't find anything else then this would do.
Photograph 3: Yellow:Violet 1:3
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| Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens, 67mm, f/6.3, 1/100s, ISO 400 |
This colour combination was relatively easy to find as these flowers are all over my garden at present. However, what I struggled with was the correct proportions. I do not own a macro lens therefore, shot a group of pansies and cropped the image to fit the final proportion.
This first part of the exercise has taught me the importance of using colours in an image in a natural harmonious relationship and this can be achieved by using 'complementary' colours. Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel.
For photographic composition using two opposing colours helps achieve a sense of harmony.
However, just because complementary colours look harmonious doesn't mean that all images should strive for this colour balance. A slight visual tension that comes from imbalance of colours might produce a slightly more interesting image. I might explore this theory in the next part of this exercise.
