Saturday 11 August 2012

Colour by Michael Freeman

My first reaction to reading this book is that I need to read it again!  But before I do that I need to know more about my software (I use Nikon Capture) so that I can make the most of enhancing colours.

I was interested in the names of the colours Freeman used; having studied painting I am used to the naming convention for paints, but the names used here were not familiar.  Many aspects of photography colour are however similar to the theory of paint colour, for instance the perception of colour changes relating to the adjacent colours; this is explained well on page 95.

Freeman also touches and expands on the subjects in the course work; I am yet unconvinced that the ratios proposed for contrasting colours are ideal.  I enjoy a range of colours in a variety of proportions and have seen many successful images of contrasting colours with the ratios reversed to the ones proposed by Freeman and the course materials. 

On my second read, I felt the same and also realised that I don't deliberately seek out particular colours when taking a photograph.  I react to colours that are pleasing at the time, and may therefore wish to capture something on the basis of the colours, but in general I accept the colours presented to me and look to enhance them in processing (if required - I usually bump up the saturation). 

I will come back to this book as I progress further with learning to use my digital software.

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