Color Is An Event

Color doesn’t exist out there. Color is produced inside us. Color is the human response to vibrations in a narrow part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

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Color is an event. In any color event you need a light source and an observer – and often an object that reflects the light perceived. There is no color without an observer – just energetic vibrations.

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Our perception of color is complex; part physical, part biological, part psychological. Understanding more about our different responses to color and how they interact helps visual artists be more visually sensitive observers and more effective communicators.

Read more Color Theory.
Learn more in my digital photography and digital printing workshops.

Color Memory is Fluid


A lot of photographers set an objective to match color the way they remember it. But how reliable is their color memory? Not very.
Try this. Look at this color. Then hide it. Mix it in Photoshop. Then compare your results with the original. Were you too light or dark, warm or cool, saturated or desaturated? Do this with 50 different colors and you’ll start to be able to identify consistent errors, which indicates your color tendencies and preferences.
Find out more in my downloads , DVDs, and workshops.
See the results my workshop students generated this week. Read More