An investigation into the concept and psychology of colours and their many representations.
1. Introduction
1. Introduction
Colour is influential and dominant in every aspect of life. Colour can potentially alter thinking, change actions, and cause reactions. It affects society immensely as it provides a platform for communication between producer and consumer. Colour can determine the mood of something and can therefore cause a chain reaction. A person's mood can determine their productivity which in turn can affect their success and satisfaction levels, ultimately influencing their happiness. It is important to explore and study the psychology of colour as it provides people with an understanding on the connotations of colour and how they can effect people.Following this, an investigation on the psychology of colour can provide a more in depth understanding on how to use colour effectively and achieve a desired outcome which is generically understood. For example, the colours Red, Yellow and Green are used in the design of traffic lights which send the universal message of stop, get ready, go which is understood world wide. In an operation room, the colour green is used to make patient calm. A white wedding dress is symbol of being good luck. Every colour has a meaning, function and purpose.
2. Brief History
Colour photography has been the dominant form of photography since the 1970s, with monochrome photography mostly relegated to niche markets such as art photography. Colour photography was first attempted in the 1840s by several experimenters such as American Daguerreotypist Levi Hill and Edmond Becquerel around 1850 but struggled to maintain the colour of an image through viewing. Hill invented the "Hillotype" process whereas Becquerel achieved better results but still failed to find a way to prevent the colours from quickly fading when the images were exposed to light for viewing.
It is established that the first colour photograph was made by the three-colour method which was theorised by James Clerk Maxwell in 1855. This method is also referred to a colour separation where an image is formed by photographing black and white photos three times through red, blue, and yellow filters, then recombining the images into one colour composite. The first photograph of a tartan ribbon was later taken in 1861 by Thomas Sutton which is shown below.
In 1935, the first modern "integral tripack" colour film was introduced by American Eastman Kodak and called it Kodachrome. Its development was led by Leopold Mannes and Leopold Godowsky, Jr. By 1960, colour was much more common but still tended to be reserved for travel photos and special occasions. Colour film and colour prints still cost several times as much as black-and-white but by 1970, prices started depreciating.
Instant color film was introduced by Polaroid in 1963. It consisted of a negative-positive peel-apart process which produced a unique print on paper where the negative could not be re-used and was discarded. After a transition period which mainly centered around 1995-2005, colour film was relegated to a niche market by inexpensive multi-megapixel digital cameras which can shoot both in monochrome as well as colour. Film continues to be the preference of some photographers because of its distinctive retro "look" and fondness of the format.
3. Two current photographers
Nadav Kander is a current London-based photographer most renown for his portraiture and landscapes. Nadav tends introduce colour most effectively through the use of gel lighting in order to create a particular mood. A colour gel or colour filter, also known as lighting gel, is a transparent coloured material that is used in theatre, event production, photography, videography and cinematography to colour light and for colour correction. His style of composition is very effective as well as the way in which he darkens the areas around the outline of the subject - Allowing them to stand out and also provide a 3D effect.
http://www.nadavkander.com/# - Ridley Scott
In this photograph, the subject is Englush film Director and Producer Ridley Scott, he is known for his atmospheric, highly concentrated visual style. Though his films range widely in setting and period, they frequently showcase memorable imagery of urban environments. Nadav has used coloured gels over the lighting in order to introduce colour into the photo. A green/blue gel would have been placed over the light which is positioned to the right side of the composition at a relatively high level. There is also a red/orange glow coming from the bottom left hand corner of the frame where the other light is positioned. This light can be seen on the underside of the table and also the subject's hands and left side of his face. The blue light provides a rather cold mood whereas, when the red glow is introduced from a low angle, a rather mysterious and sinister atmosphere is created. The impression is furthered through the fact the subject is facing away from the camera, accompanied by a serious facial expression which provides a sense of evil, wrong-doing or mischief. There is also a pencil in his hand and scrunched up paper on the table, perhaps suggesting that he is in deep thought.The overall colour scheme is considerably dark and subdued with low saturation, enhanced by the black jumper and cold lighting. Another interpretation is in relation to the fact that the subject is holding a pencil at a table with paper scrunched up. This has references to school and the model's distanced look suggests a period of reflection and reminiscence on childhood days.
http://www.nadavkander.com/# - Tinie Tempah I
In this photograph a model is placed in front of a grey background; he is also wearing a grey shirt with a white collar so he wouldn't normally stand out. However, here Nadav has included one of his unique techniques of darkening the areas around the outline of the subject, providing the sense of a shadow. This allows the model to stand out from the background. The model is looking away from the camera towards the left side of the composition. There is a light placed at the left side of the set up which allows for the left side of the subject's face to be highlighted in contrast with the darker right side. The different tones illustrate the formal elements of form, structure and shape of the face. Also there is another light positioned to the right but is much softer. It allows for the temple and ear to show their form due to the highlight and shadow areas and also allows the shape of the lips to be seen. This time colour has been introduced through the use of paint/spray paint where colours such as pink, purple, blue and green can be seen. This is generally used of the right side of the face and even on the collar, bow tie and shirt. These colours and the way they have been applied can be associated with the modern moments in both art and music. The moment of gaffitti (spray paint) is a considerably modern art movement where artists express their view and ideologies to the public. Also the artist in this piece is Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu, better known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, an English rapper which contributes to the modern feel to the piece.
The majority of Steve McCurry's photography revolves heavily around colour and ethnicity as most of his work has been taken in the Indian region through travelling, therefore focussing on the formal element of colour. Also most of his work is portraits, which I would like to experiment with in the future. Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic voices in contemporary photography for more than thirty years, with scores of magazine and book covers, over a dozen books, and countless exhibitions around the world to his name.
http://stevemccurry.com
This photograph is a close up headshot of a young girl taken from a high angle where she is looking up directly at the camera. The supplies a sense of innocence and vulnerability. Colour is introduced through the clothing and the eyes of the subject. The head scarf is teal but a rather muted teal, implying a sense of grit and dirt.This is complimented by the blue coloured eyes of the little girl, the scarf frames the face and matches the eye colour which allow both to stand out from the composition. This is because the rest of the composition is very dull and bleak, the background is dull and dark as it is assumed to be a wall as it is shot on locate alike a lot of Steve's portraits. Also there are shadows towards the bottom of the girls body and also around the girls face which produce a vignette effect. There are also dark lines on the clothing which provides a sense of its texture. This therefore allows the face of the subject to stand out as it much lighter in tone, contrasting with the rest of the composition. There are very soft shadows on her face which exaggerate her youth and femininity. Unlike Kander the subject stares at the audience which allows for a better tension and connection to be made.
http://stevemccurry.com
Similar to the photo above this image is in landscape orientation which is very effective in producing large spaces either side of the model. These large areas is the blurred background which is considerably dark, allowing the model to stand out due to the contrast of colour. Colour is shown through the subjects hair and beard which is yellow/orange. This colour has connotations of illness and weakness which implies the health condition of the man. Due to contrast of tones on the arms of the subject, he appear very skinny and looks frail and old which is also shown through the formal element of line, illustrated through his wrinkles. Once again the subject is placed in the centre of the composition, acting as the focal point. The model is looking straight int the camera, making very intense eye contact. His facial expression is very emotive and can be considered as a plead for help. The lack of clothing also infers a sense of vulnerability.
4. How does your work fit in to this
In this photograph I have once again used a pink background in the same way as before because i feel that the colour pink is is feminine and romantic, tender and intimate, thoughtful, sensitive and caring. It tones down the physical passion of red replacing it with a gentle loving energy. In color psychology, pink is a sign of hope. It is a positive colour inspiring warm and comforting feelings. I included a yellow gel light coming in form the left side of the composition. However when reviewing the image I felt that the yellow was too bright and harsh on the image to in Photoshop I changed the hue and saturation to make it into a much more warm colour which compliments the overall colour scheme. I made sure that the front light intensity was quite low to reduce the contrast. Once again I had editing the skin of the subject where I altered the highlights and shadows on the facial features like I did previously but much more subtly this time. This time I also ensure that her cheeks looked slightly rosy through the use of the paint tool in photoshop and the decreasing the opacity to make it more subtle. This contributes to the femininity and beauty of the model as it makes her look warmer and also makes it seem as if she if wearing makeup. The made the model do a pose where she flicked her hair and I took a picture during the process. By doing this a sense of movement is created through the lines of the hair all pointing in one direction. I enhanced the lines of the hair by sharpening these areas. I still ensured that the subject is making eye contact with the camera in order to allow for a connection with the audience to be made. Her facial expression appears peaceful and relaxed which enhances her beauty as she seems to be effortlessly an elegantly moving. The fact that she is placed in the centre of composition and that a vignette is used allows for the attention to be directed towards the subject, making her be the focal point as desired.
Here I intended to create a type of pastiche of McCurry's work. However my work is slightly different due to the ethnicity of the model and I feel that it provides a sense of mystery. Above, the left image depicts my original unedited photograph and next to it is my editing which illustrates the grate amount of editing which I applied to gain the final outcome. The cultural context of a sari provides a sense of identity due to their association with India. I desaturated the background in order to allow the vibrant subject to stand out very effectively. I then selected the sari by using the lasso tool and altered the colour balance to change the colour of sari. I transformed the sari from a pale purple to a bright saturated blue/turquiose which is very similar to one of Steve McCurry's photographs. I feel that the fact that the model is placed slightly below eye level as the camera is looking down on her makes her look innocent and vulnerable. The eye contact made is considerably mysterious and I also slightly edited the colour of the eyes to match the colour of the sari in order to form a blue colour scheme. I then used the burn tool to make her to dirty and gritty and sharpened these areas to make it seem more realistic and less edited. This slightly difference is shown through the image below where the image looks more realistic and provides a sense of texture in the skin. I also changed the colour of the subject's lips in order yo make her look more natural and also altered the curves and levels of the piece in order to increase the amount of contrast.
5. The Future
Colour photography can be furthered developed in relation to shooting in raw. A camera raw image file contains minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, image scanner, or motion picture film scanner. Raw files are named so because they are not yet processed and therefore are not ready to be printed or edited. Precise adjustments can be made before conversion to a "positive" file format such as TIFF or JPEG for storage, printing, or further manipulation. Also using 4K resolution is being introduced into visual fields such as television and cinematography. It refers to a display device or content having horizontal resolution on the order of 4,000 pixels which has a very realistic outcome, enhancing the vibrance and realism of colours. Also the theory of colour could perhaps be used in the future to effect the mood of people. Colour could have a specific purpose and meaning, for example, a room could be painted a warm colour such as pink and criminals could be placed in this room in order to reduce their violence levels. Or hospitals could be painted blue in order to calm people.
6. Conclusion
Ultimately, the psychology of colour is proven to be an influential part of everyday life and specifically photography. Through studying this topic I have gain a further understanding on the extent in which colour impacts our life and also have an improved knowledge on the psychology of colour and the particular connotations that they have. This has allowed me to consider the colours in much more depth when photography/editing as I now realise how effectively they can create a mood.
Bibliography of all sources used
http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/meaning-of-colors.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_photography
http://stevemccurry.com
http://www.nadavkander.com/#
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