What is color photography, really?
As I always say…
“Color Photography isn’t about taking photos IN color, it’s about taking photos OF color.”
How does color contribute to the story that I’m telling? When does it add information? When does it distract from the subject? When is color the subject itself? These are things I’m considering when I’m photographing.
When photographing the 2024 Carmel Artomobilia (an annual car show in my town), color is a major part of the story. The people who visit and participate in these shows like to drive and see exciting cars. So that means color is front & center in this story.
Color as the Subject
These photos of Artomobilia are a part of my upcoming video where I try film for the first time in 20 years. And because I was using color film, I really wanted to focus on utilizing all the bright colors around me.
I also photographed on digital but still focusing on the colors to see how they differentiated from the film stocks I used (mostly Kodak Portra 160, but a few are CineStill 800T)
A lot of what I do when I want color to be a major factor is to find colors that I like and then hang out in that spot for a bit to see what happens around them. Ideally I’m looking for a moment between people. Sometimes interesting light or shadows form the right “moment.”
A good color palette in a photo is not circumstance. I keep an eye out for when complementing colors converge in a scene. I also find colors in good light where they really pop.
Sometimes it’s about limiting colors of the scene overall to help a specific color stand out. For example, when photographed against the neutral gray background of the street, the pink color of the car below is the main thing you notice.
I’ve been doing this long enough that I don’t have to actively think about color. Recognizing and incorporating good color into a photo has become instinctual over time.
Related Posts
Thanks for reading! For more brightly colored cars, check out my other auto-related posts!