RGB in Photography – The importance of colour

Black and white photography, for many, is where it’s at. I disagree, and I find it a little clichéd in modern times.

Colours can bring out the life in every picture. Red, yellow and blue compose everything in this world.

Can you imagine being stuck just with just black and white, and various shades of grey depicting nostalgia and gloom?

Let us take a step back and consider the rudiments of photography.

Hue in photography is the balance of colour. Saturation is adding more colour. Contrast is adding more black. Brightness is adding more light. Lastly, sharpness makes lines more dominant.

All of these aspects of photography have colours to interact and lessen if needed. Even light is still a combination of colours.

Every photo has everything to do with colours, and we should never ignore that as photographers.

Isn’t it interesting as photographers we often fail to appreciate colour?

Almost everyday, our eyes fail to appreciate the colours around us. Yet we should. Even when we look at pictures we should consider how the colours are translated to make them more vibrant.

Colours have the most impact in our lives. It is not just pictures that we are made aware of their presence.

Photos capture colours and as photographers we should embrace them. Black and white is often a quick win, making our photos more appealing and seemingly more professional than colour photos, but shouldn’t we be challenging ourselves?

It is not too late to appreciate all the combinations of red, yellow and blue. The next time you venture out with your camera, really focus on colour – from a leaf to a portrait to a smoggy urban scene.

Embrace colour in your photography!