Want to take your landscape and fine art images up several levels? Then it might be time to consider how color affects the emotion within your photographs.
In this video, landscape photographer Christian Irmler talks about how you can make conscious decisions about color, even in your landscape images.
Christian starts by explaining his thoughts on what elevates a photograph from a snapshot to a piece of art. In his mind, that’s where the importance of color comes into play. A painting, he explains, is a form of simplified reality. If you want your photographs to have that fine art look, then you need to embrace that simplified reality.
Christian says that he achieves this simplification through his choices concerning color. Many of his images are based around just one or two main colors. A warm orange at sunset or a cool blue and yellow, for example. The rest of the palette is fairly neutral.
Color theory generally states that different colors evoke different moods, so you can use that to your advantage. Similarly, a bright warm color will immediately attract the eye. A tiny pop of red, for example, will instantly draw the viewer’s attention, and you can use that to move their eye towards the important features in the image.
Now, of course, this is easy to address in post-processing but less easy when you are out in the field with your camera. However, by consciously simplifying the image in your frame and choosing what to include and what to leave out, you can move your photos towards a more artistic impression.
We actually have a lot more choice over what to include in a composition when we take the time to pause and really think about your intentions behind a photograph before you hit the shutter.
It’s an interesting and simple approach and not something that a lot of landscape photographers think about. They are too busy chasing the light and finding an epic composition. But sometimes, the more simple, quieter approach can be better.
What do you think? Do you consciously think about color in your landscape images?
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