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Colour in Cinema: Ad Astra – The Most Colourful Movie You Never Saw

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Have you seen Ad Astra? Do you remember it being one of the most colourful movies you’ve ever seen? No? Why not?

Many modern space films have been guilty of looking a little drab and desaturated, but can we blame them? Space, as far as many of us see it, is pretty colourless. It’s just a vast black void punctuated only by blindingly bright light. We don’t immediately associate that limitless void with bold, striking colours that exist between those two extremes. So how does a film about space inject colour into its scenes whilst still remaining somewhat realistic?

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Colour in cinema: Abstract colour in Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira

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Many new people who find my work today, think my lighting is simply inspired by me watching a couple of modern films. Either that or I get asked which photographer inspires me the most. The truth behind my lighting and colour inspiration is routed far further back than that though, and not even by cinematographers or photographers at all.

Although I’ve never consciously tried to be inspired by this, my best guess assessment of what inspired me and my work all those years ago was in fact not a photographer at all, but rather a comic.

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How to shoot ’80s-themed colorful portraits on a budget

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If you want to shoot colorful portraits inspired by the ‘80s aesthetic, you’ve come to the right place. Tajreen and Chloe of Tajreen&Co have prepared a fantastic video to give you some guidelines and examples of how to do it. The girls share lots of useful information in a short and concise video. But also, you’ll see that it doesn’t take much money to make this setup, and you can even do it in your own living room.

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What does bit depth even mean? And does it matter?

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Bit depth is a topic that always comes up whenever a new camera is announced. But what does it all actually mean? And why is it important? Given that most monitors can’t even display 14-bit images and jpg files are 8-bit anyway, is it even important at all? In this video, Matt Granger explores the topic, explains what it means, and why it’s relevant for your images (and video).

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This brain-melting video explains why our cameras see in RGB – just like our eyes

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When we’re kids, in school, we’re taught that the primary colours are red, yellow and blue. But this isn’t entirely accurate when it comes to light. Pure white sunlight is made up of a whole spectrum of colours, with the primaries actually being red, green and blue. Our cameras with Bayer filter arrays on the sensor see RGB. Our monitors also display RGB.

But have you ever wondered how we’re able to get so many different colours from just three? And why just blasting red, green and blue LEDs at an object doesn’t always give you true white light? This fascinating video from Technology Connections isn’t really specific to photography, but light in general, and how red, green and blue affects our (and our camera’s) perception of colour.

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Lightroom & Photoshop quick tip: how to pick a color from anywhere on your computer

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When you’re working in Lightroom, you can add color to all local adjustments by selecting it from a swatch. But did you know that you can pick color from anywhere in the photo? As a matter of fact, you can pick it from anywhere on your computer. In this video, Matt Kloskowski shows you how to do it in Lightroom. It’s a very simple trick, and it also works in Photoshop.

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How to take awesome paint splash photos with a speaker, a garbage bag and some noise

Paint splash photos are really fun to take, and they can certainly look amazing. If you would like to experiment with this technique, Steve Kazemir shares a very cool technique in his latest video. He takes fantastic, colorful paint splash photos with the help of a speaker, a garbage bag and some noise. Check out his video below if you want to learn how to take them, too!

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Less than 1% of people can hit the perfect score on this color test

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If you’re a photographer or retoucher, perhaps you perceive color better than an average human. But is it really the case? The UK-based vision care company Lenstore has created a test that lets you check your color perception. It’s super-fun but pretty difficult, so the results may surprise you.

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Two simple ways to copy the color grade from one image to another

Color grading is a great way to change the mood of your images, and there is more than one way to do it. But other than doing it from scratch, you can copy the color grading of an image you particularly like, and add the same mood to your shots. In this video, Ted Forbes will teach you two simple methods for copying the color grade from one image to another, and you can apply it to any photo you like.

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How to decide if a photo should be color or black and white

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Sometimes, it’s not so easy to decide whether a photo should be in color or black and white, especially if you’re still new to photography. So, how do you know whether you should leave it in color or convert it to black and white before delivering the photo to a client? In this video from Denae & Andrew, you’ll hear some thoughts and tips that could help you make a decision.

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