Colour is such a natural part of our perception that most of us rarely think about it. As photographers, we simply react to subjects and scenes we find attractive or thought-provoking, and raise the camera to our shooting eye. We start weighing up the composition, the focus point and the way elements are balanced within the frame. We might think about the depth of field we’d ideally like, and how fast our shutter speed needs to be. But when it comes to colour, it’s just there: an integral, fixed part of the scene that’s as remote and immovable as a mountain in a landscape.
Over the next dozen pages, we’re going on a journey that delves deeper into this core photographic element. We’re going to open the door on this seemingly fixed idea, and discover that it can be moulded and shaped to help you create better images. You’ll discover not only how colour works in terms of its makeup and how you perceive it, but also about how you can choose it, adjust it and even change it completely to suit your photographic vision.
Some techniques depend on the way you set up your camera, and others rely on simple software skills using a raw converter or Photoshop, but all will get you thinking about colour in a more profound way.