Color

What is Color?

In the dictionary, color is defined as:

The quality of an object or substance with respect
to light reflected by it, usually determined
visually by measurement of hue, saturation,
and brightness of the reflected light;
saturation or chroma; hue

This may all sound a bit confusing; therefore, I will attempt to expand on this definition. "The quality of an object or substance" This refers to the actual color we see. Example: an apple is red, an orange, orange and a banana, yellow. This is the color of the light being reflected back from the apple.

 

The properties in the skin of the apple reflect only a portion of the light that appears red to the eye. It is the same throughout nature. The property of color is not to be found in an object. Light defines an object’s color. The quality of color is broken into three characteristics.

Colors Characteristics

HUE describes a particular color of the visible spectrum, red, blue, green, and yellow. They are all called the pure or true colors.

SATURATION or CHROMA refers to the purity of the Hue. When white is added to a color it will become desaturated. Saturation displays the variances of the original hue.

BRIGHTNESS or LUMINOSITY refers to the amount of light an object reflects. Another way to reference brightness is by its value between light and dark.

(Film and Television use a black and white gray scale to gauge brightness.)

Different systems of color have been created. Each system has its own unique approach to color. I will present a basic color theory of Primary/Additive and Secondary/Subtractive colors.

ADDITIVE COLORS are red, blue and green. The combination
of the three additive colors will produce white.
When two of the additive colors are mixed,
they will produce a subtractive color.

Red and blue = magenta, while green and red = yellow. Additive colors (RGB) are the color that is referenced in film and video.

 

SUBTRACTIVE COLORS are cyan, magenta and yellow.
When the three secondary colors are mixed,
they produce black. If you blend two of the
secondary colors, they will produce a primary color.

Magenta and yellow = red. Cyan and yellow = green.
Subtractive color (CMYK) is the referenced colors in print.

How We Perceive.

Color is a visual experience. It plays a critical role in the way we relate to the world. Color or a combination of colors can influence our perception and mood. It is this influence that helps us categorize colors as warm or cool (Red is warm, Blue is cool). However, even a single color (Hue) can be categorized as warm or cool. A reddish blue will seem warm, while a bluish yellow will feel cool. This may sound like a contradiction at first, but as you explore color and it is attributes, you will begin to see the subtle nuances and their effects. Differences in light, color and contrast define for us shape, outline, texture and three-dimensional form. Objects' qualities are another influencing factor, whether opaque, transparent and translucent. Each of the factors comes into play when you approach the art of lighting.

Light and color have been the subject of artists throughout the centuries. Today, more so then in the past, color plays a major role. The use of color can be found in sales, advertising, television, film, clothes and automobiles. Few areas escape the impact of color. Take a moment the next time you walk into a supermarket. Look at all the brands of products on the shelf. Which label attracts your eye first? Then ask yourself "Why"? Learning to examine the way we react to color is the first step in understanding it.

 

What is Light?

Light is a form of radiant energy that consists of separate bits
of energy particles that behave in a uniform wave pattern.

Now, did that clear up everything for you? It did not for me. Light and color, color and light, one can not exist without other. Where there is light there is color. Our main source of light is the sun. The radiation of energy from the Sun spreads out across the solar system like waves of the ocean. There are many types of energy produced by the sun.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum allows use to categorize forms of radiant energy. Some examples are: X-rays, Gamma, ultraviolet, Radio, Infrared and Light waves. Of all the wavelengths in the spectrum, Light is the only one visible to a human being and is known as White light or visible light.

 

White light is the product of a combination of various wavelengths that are contained within the Visual Spectrum. As Isaac Newton demonstrated with his prism, White Light is broken down into various colors.

(VIOLET, INDIGO, BLUE, GREEN, YELLOW, ORANGE AND RED)

 

In order to measure these colors a system was developed called the Kelvin Scale.

 

The Kelvin Scale is used to measure the color temperature of a wavelength. You can see in the diagram:

• Daylight, a bluish light, has a high color temperature of 5600 degrees Kelvin.
• Tungsten, a red/orange light and lower color temperature of 3200 degrees Kelvin.
• Sunset, reddish light, at 2000* Kelvin.

 

With the use of this system accurate color, reproduction of images can be achieved. Film stocks and video cameras are balanced for Daylight or Tungsten light. Daylight film is sensitive to the blue wavelength. While tungsten, film is sensitive to the red wavelength. Each of these films can be substituted for the other with the use of a special filter. The next time you buy film for your still camera look inside the packaging. There you will find a table of recommendations for the film. If it is Tungsten film and you are shooting outside, It will suggest using a special filter. This filter will change the Daylight into tungsten light and will allow for accurate color reproduction. Without the filter, your images will have an overall blue cast to them. Let us now look at the effect of light when it hits an object.

 

When light hits an object, it will reflect back a particular wavelength of Visible Light, while absorbing others. In this case, the red of the apple will be reflected back to the viewer, while all the other colors of the spectrum will be absorbed. It is the pigment or dyes in the object that allows for the manipulation of Light. The color an object transmits is effected by the intensity of light and spectral (color) wavelength.

When we look at the apple in Daylight the reds will have more blue in it. Under Tungsten light, the red will appear stronger. This effect is reversed for a blue object. Blue objects will have a stronger blue in daylight. The human eye can correct for any type of light change. The understanding of light's properties will help to differentiate the variations in a color.