Understanding Color in Photography

Veteran photographer and instructor Bryan Peterson is best known for his arresting imagery using bold, graphic color and composition. Here he explores his signature use of color in photography for the first time, showing readers his process for creating striking images that pop off the page. He addresses how to shoot in any type of light, and looks at color families and how they can work together to make compelling images in commercial and art photography. He also helps readers understand exposure, flash, and other stumbling blocks that beginning and experienced photographers encounter when capturing images, showing how to get the most out of any composition. With its down-to-earth voice and casual teaching style, Understanding Color in Photography is a workshop in a book, helping any photographer take their images to the next level.

Table of Contents:
Preliminary TOC Introduction Chapter 1: The Messages and Meanings of Color How we understand and interpret color depends on many different things, including culture, circumstances, and personal experience. This chapter will explore different colors, their histories, and their cultural meanings and messages, as well as a bit about the science behind how people see and interpret color. Chapter 2: Light, Exposure, and Color When photographing, the two most important factors influencing the color in your images are light and exposure. Color changes throughout the day, depending on the quality and angle of light. This affects exposure and best practices for capturing and conveying color in photography. This chapter will explain how to photograph color in different light levels and environments, depending on your desired end result. Chapter 3: Color Theory Color theory influences photography the same way it does conventional artistic media. Clashing colors, bright and dull colors, and complementary colors will all be explored, as well as recessive and aggressive colors. This chapter will help you understand how to use color theory to create compelling images. Chapter 4: Color and Composition Color can draw a viewer's eye to an image, conveying what the photographer thinks is most important about a subject. It can also overwhelm, creating visual chaos. Here we will explore how to use color in composition. Chapter 5: Filters, Gels, and Flash Filters, gels, and flash can all influence how color looks in our images. You can either enhance or diminish the role of color in your compositions using these tools, if you understand how they work. Here I will explain how to use these elements to get the best images possible. Chapter 6: Photoshop and the Post-Processing of Color in the Digital Age Everyone nowadays is familiar with Photoshop, which can help you manipulate color when all else fails in the field. Here I will explore how to use Photoshop to process your color to get the desired end result, while also discussing when to rely on this amazing tool, and when to rely on your own skills with a camera.