This is a departure from the red, green, and blue with which we are familiar in creating digital color. There are three primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. Think back to grade school when you first learned about color. Clear as mud, right?įIGURE 4.1 A traditional color wheel is composed of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors, and each color serves as the complement of the opposite color across the wheel. That is exactly what the color wheel looks like. Picture the color temperature graphic from the previous chapter turned into a circle where the two ends meet. This wheel is a circular depiction of all the colors in existence along a continuum, each transitioning into the colors on either side of it. Probably the most notable fundamental of color theory is the color wheel ( FIGURE 4.1). However, I do believe that having a bit of theory in your back pocket at the very least makes you a more aware photographer, whether you are shooting commercial work in the studio or photo-walking around the neighborhood.

It’s not the sexiest thing to talk or to think about. I’m not sure how true that statement is, but I do know that color theory seems to intimidate folks, mostly because of the “T” word. I once heard that spending any amount of time studying color theory places you in a special club that the majority of photographers never try to join.

Color: A Photographer's Guide to Directing the Eye, Creating Visual Depth, and Conveying Emotion

Color wheel primary secondary