Post 15- Colour Blind

 I have been trying to increase my visual literacy for nearly two years and believe I have come a long way.

My journey has been interrupted by the continuing restrictions made necessary by the Coronavirus Pandemic and the arrival of Winter. It has been difficult to get out and about and there has been a big reduction in the amount of eye catching subject matter. I have continued my studies of Photoshop and Lightroom but have rarely been inspired to make new images using the new skills.

A recent update to the Creative Cloud programmes Lightroom and Photoshop have included major changes to the colour adjustment capabilities. This has made me realise that I rarely utilise any of these techniques when developing my images and have concentrated instead on adjusting the tonal values of my files. I rarely attempt to "tweak" the colours because I have no understanding whatsoever of how colours interact and contribute to the attractiveness of an image. This is a major gap in my knowledge and something I must work hard to rectify.

Talking to Moy, my wife and Mentor, I realise that she has a natural feel for what colours go well together that has come from years of being a watercolour artist, something I have never tried. 

YouTube is a fantastic resource and I have started to explore the subject of colour theory. I have come across numerous techniques for colour correction and colour grading and have started to "play" with the latter. Colour Grading seems to be used to modify an image by adding colours to the shadows and highlight areas to create a different "look". There seem to be many conventions and fashions in this area that come mainly from the movies but they can also be seen in fashion photography. I  quite like some of the still images I have see that use these techniques and have started to experiment.

I have no idea why adding Teal to the shadows and Orange tints to the highlights of an image is commonly used but quite like the "look". I have so far just played with one image and quite like the way very subtle adjustments to tints and tones change the overall image. I have posted a before and after shot below.

 

I clearly have a lot to learn but the Covid restrictions have provided me with an unrivalled opportunity to study this massive subject. No excuses!