Let’s consider another hypothetical example. Suppose there is an area of red in the lower right of the image (not necessarily the cardinal, but any red object). Are there other reds, perhaps reds of less intense saturation, or alternatively red-oranges, magentas, or other similar colors within the image that relate to the red object in the lower right? If not, can such a color relationship be arranged, perhaps by changing the camera position? Is it desirable to have that solitary red object stand alone, unrelated to any other color in the frame? What element of composition ties the lower right area to the rest of the scene? In other words, does it relate compositionally to the rest of the image?
Unless a related form of a different color (or several such related forms) exists, or a strong line leads from that lower right area to elsewhere in the image, that corner of the photograph will be heavily imbalanced. It will not relate visually to the rest of the image, but rather stand apart and draw your eye strongly to it. Of course this may be your intent, but you should be aware of this effect. It can create either a powerful contrast or a harmful distraction.
Too many color compositions include unfortunate distractions because they were attractive to the eye at the scene. The simple expedient of turning the camera so the object is farther away from the corner or edge can relieve the imbalance and improve the image, but only if the elements around it add visual interest and work well in relationship to it. Sometimes a small spot of a related color elsewhere in the image sets up a powerful visual relationship that is enough to balance it successfully.
Camera position can change a random array of colors into an organized composition with interesting lines, patterns, color placements, and color relationships. Resist the urge to quickly shoot a scene that has pleasing colors. Instead, see where your camera can be placed to move the eye around related colors in a directed fashion, or reveal a subtle pattern or visual rhythm not seen from any other viewpoint.
In 2004, as I hiked along the Escalante River, I found a fallen juniper tree with wonderful patterns in the wood. From one exacting viewpoint, a marvelous pinwheel form emerged that brought out the superb coloration and became an abstract painting (Figure 6-7). For studio compositions and often for close-ups, objects can be moved relative to one another to enhance color relationships. But whether the composition is indoors or outdoors, arranged or found, colors, line, and light can (and should!) be used to direct the viewer’s eye.
Repetitions and subtle echoes of color throughout an image set up visual rhythms. They help tie the image together as a unified whole. They must be sought and considered from the start. Too often color is included in a photograph simply because it’s there, without adequate consideration given to its placement within the scene. You may not be able to rearrange the objects and their colors, but a change in camera position can alter their relative positions with respect to one another and may be sufficient to bring about greater compositional interest (Figure 6-8).
The eye will follow a series of color-related objects in the same way that it follows a series of related forms in black-and-white. Just as related forms of the same tonality—or even different tonalities—can produce interesting visual rhythms in a black-and-white composition, related forms of different colors—or of different but related hues or saturation levels of the same color—can produce exciting visual rhythms in color photographs. Such visual rhythms should be sought out or exploited whenever you find them, for they are so visually revealing and appealing. These are the things that can open up new vistas to the viewer, who may have subliminally seen such relationships in passing without ever stopping to really notice or think about them. Now, you’re pointing them out! The viewer instantly sees what he or she has never consciously seen or thought about previously. You’re expanding the viewer’s horizons. That’s an achievement, and it shows that you have the eye to notice such things and bring them to the fore.
This is a truly abstract form that could accommodate a wide range of colors. Yet the colors that were actually present could hardly be improved upon, so I made no effort to change them. Only from this camera position did the pinwheel form come across so boldly.
Figure 6-7. Juniper Pinwheel
Positive/negative space, discussed in Chapter 3 as the interplay between light and dark areas of the image, has an interesting extension in color. Not only will light and dark areas create positive/negative interactions, but alterations of color may do it equally well. One family of colors interacting with a contrasting family of colors may set up a fascinating positive/negative interaction. If the two families are opposites (e.g., blue and orange or red and green), the interplay can be vibrant and scintillating; if the two families are closer together, it can be quiet and subtle.
Yellow golds dominate this image, yet subtle variations into browns (toward the bottom) and greens (toward the top) create a visual flow. It’s the light streaming around the trees and the strong shadows that create the movement. Kodak Ektachrome 64T film held the high contrast of the scene so that the near side of the trees retains a wonderful glow, despite being shaded.
Figure 6-8. Autumn Aspens, Late Afternoon, Sierra Nevada Mountains
Colors can be used effectively to balance an image. A relatively small color-saturated object—royal blue, fire engine red, etc.—toward the edge of an image can balance larger objects on the other side that are not as deeply saturated. This is the teeter-totter analogy of a small child at one end balancing a huge man on the other side of the fulcrum, but close to the fulcrum. Conversely, of course, a color placed toward the extreme edge or corner can unbalance an image, and that can be used effectively if that’s your intent. Yet those colors may not stand out as equivalent gray tones in a black-and-white image, and therefore may be compositionally meaningless in black-and-white.
The most important thing to recognize is that composition must be controlled in a color photograph. Painters have complete control over color—the overall palette, the color intensities, placements on the canvas, harmonies and contrasts between them, and all other aspects of color composition—and photographers should exercise the same degree of control. The photographic controls discussed above and the elements of composition discussed in Chapter 3 contribute to that end.
Color and Emotion
As you think about the color sphere, consider color families and how they can augment mood. Reds, yellows, and closely related colors are known as “warm” colors; blues, greens, and related colors are known as “cool” colors. The reasons for this terminology are rather clear. Millions of years of evolution have taught us that fire, sunlight, and a host of other things that are warm in temperature are associated with reds, yellows, oranges, and the like (Figure 6-9). We have also come to associate water, ice, thick vegetation, and other cool things with blues, greens, and related colors.
People respond emotionally and physically to warm and cool colors. Artistic depictions of landscapes or still lifes dominated by cool colors actually impart a feeling of lowered temperature; those dominated by warm colors have the opposite effect. Portraits dominated by warm tones may subtly convey a feeling of personal warmth, charm, or friendliness; a similar portrait dominated by cool colors may depict aloofness or other related characteristics. Furthermore, people often become agitated or nervous when surrounded by bright reds, pinks, and oranges. We grow relaxed and restful among darker warm colors and so-called earth colors, and even thoughtful among cool colors. This explains why fast food restaurants decorate in bright pinks and oranges to move people through quickly, whereas plush restaurants use deep reds and browns under soft, subdued lighting to keep people seated in a cozy atmosphere. Libraries and other public buildings use beiges and soft blues and greens to help promote quiet.