Exercise 4: Colour into tones in black and white

For this exercise I had to compose a still life image which included the colours red, yellow, green and blue. 

I then had to convert it to black and white in photoshop elements and adjust the colour filters to see what affect they had on the tones in black and white. 

Here are the results.

Neutral - as suggested by Photoshop

Red

Green

Blue

This exercise shows that adjusting the colour lightens the tone of that colour in the image and darkens the tone of the others.  This can be seen clearly in the above images.  It is also worth noting that the darkening effect is strongest on the complementary colour as can be seen in green above.  

I have to admit I never thought much about the effect colour had in black and white images.  I was therefore unaware how you could control the tone and bring out certain objects in the image by adjusting the colour levels. 



Exercise 3: Colour Relationships

Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel have a naturally harmonious relationship and are referred to as complementary.

Due to the fact that the hues vary from light to dark in these relationships we need to look at relative brightness.  For example, orange is twice as bright as blue and yellow three times as bright as violet. 

As a result the following are the ideal proportions for how much colour should occupy the frame.

• Red: Green - 1:1
• Orange: Blue 1:2
• Yellow: Violet 1:3

The first part of this exercise is to produce images based on these ratios.

Red: Green 1:1

Orange: Blue 1:2

Yellow: Violet 1:3

For the second part of the exercise I had to produce 3-4 images using any colour combinations.

Orange: Green 1:2

Orange is close to red and so works well with green and is balanced in these proporations

Blue: Green 1: 3

The blue is the darker colour here and therefore reverses the ideals and upsets the balance.

Violet: Orange 1:2

Although a darker versions of both hues, the combination works surprisingly well.



Exercise 2: Primary and secondary colours

This exercise is based on the colour wheel of primary colours - red, yellow, blue - and secondary colours - green, violet, orange.

Producing images that match these 6 colours closely is easier than it sounds.  Of course some colours are easier to get than others, but when you try and get those colours from natural sources and not man-made decorative surfaces. 

Here are my results:

Orange - Average
The most like orange on the wheel



Orange - 1/2 stop brighter




Orange - 1/2 stop darker




Green - Darker
Most like the green on the wheel




Green - Average



Green - 1/2 stop brighter



Yellow - 1/2 stop darker




Yellow - Average
Most like yellow on the wheel



Yellow - 1/2 stop brighter



Red - Average




Red - 1/2 stop brighter




Red - 1/2 stop darker
Most like red on the wheel



Blue - Average

Blue - 1/3 stop brighter

Blue - 1/3 stop darker

Closest to blue on the wheel

Violet - Average

Violet - 1/2 stop brighter

Violet - 1/2 stop darker

Closest to violet on the wheel

From this exercise I have learnt how exposure affects colour in my pictures.  Over-exposing images makes the colour brighter.  Under-exposing makes colours darker and more saturated. 

Yellow is an example from this because when it is darker is becomes a different colour - ochre.  

Exercise1: Control the strength of a colour

For this exercise I used a wall that was painted dark green.  All images were taken at a shutter speed of 1/125s.



f/4



f/4.5

f/5

f/5.6



f/6.3




f/7.1

 The colour in the under-exposed images is deeper, darker and more saturated. In those that are over-exposed the colours are brighter and lighter.


As part of this course I have been studying Michael Freeman's book Perfect Exposure.  From this I have created a chart that outlines the most  common exposure setting we are likely to come across as photographers.  

Part 3: Colour

Primary Colours
The primary colours traditionally used by painters are Red, Yellow and Blue.  As digital photographers we should be aware of the fact that light and digital technology have a different relationship with colour.

Transmission primaries are RGB.  Mixing coloured light produces different results for example red and green produce yellow. 

We have therefore two ways of dealing with colour.  Technical deals with the process of recording and displaying colour RGB.  Perceptual is to do with the way we see and feel about colour therefore using red, yellow and blue.

Hue
We can think of hue as the essential quality that decides how we name a colour - red, blue for example. 

To alter the hue in an image you can use a coloured filter or change the white balance.  This can also be altered in post production using image-editing software.

Saturation
When we think of a colour we can think of its saturation is it pure, intense, saturated or dull, weak, unsaturated?

Saturation can only be adjusted by using a digital camera where settings like Standard, Neutral and Vivid can be chosen. 

Different hues show maximum saturation at different levels of brightness.

Brightness
We can think of colours in terms of how bright they are.  For example are they very bright, bright, fairly bright, average, slightly dark, dark or very dark.

Brightness can be controlled by exposure.