One of the essential elements of photography is color, and it’s the most overlooked element. We spend all the time in thinking about the framing, rule of thirds, selecting between vertical and horizontal compositions. But the shades blends used in a picture are as essential as any other element in drawing the attention of the viewer. You should know the primary shades theory for photographers to make your images stand out of the crowd.

For years, it’s been known that hues has physiological and emotional effects. For example, the red color is revealed to raise the heart rate; blue is linked with a calming effect. Color is used to create balance, make an element stand out from a background or propose chaos or conflict.

Let’s understand the color theory of photography:

Primary Colors

Many of us know about the primary shades, we all have learnt about them in school. They are the colors that can’t be made by mixing two colors, they are primary colors of a color wheel. While a standard artist color wheel makes use of red, yellow and blue as primary colors many photographers think regarding RBG (red, blue and green) color spectrum.

Secondary Shades

Secondary colors are a result of the mixing of primary colors. On the photographers color wheel, these shades are orange, purple and green.

Tertiary Hues

Tertiary colors are created by combining the secondary and primary shades. For instance, when using the first yellow, blue and red hues wheel mixing the orange and red or green and blue would result in tertiary hues.

Complementary Shades

One of the most common links is between the additional hues. Complementary colors fall in the opposite from one another on the color board. These colors develop high contrast and grab the viewer attention.

Analogous Colors

Analogous hues are next to each other on the wheel. Making use of similar shades create a more harmonious shade scheme and low-contrast.

Monochromatic Hues

The monochromes are usually referred as black and white; monochromatic shades are made from hues of just one hue, for example, several different tones of blue. Monochromatic shades are low in contrast and usually create a soothing look.

This article just gives a brief knowledge of the color theory and how to work with it. The more you know about shades and their impacts on your pictures, the more you can control your composition and become a pro photographer.