Photography and Color: Theory and Application

Color Theory Part A - Research and Slideshow:

Create a slide show using google doc slides, or any presentation software you prefer. Complete a slideshow that demonstrates the concepts and topics listed below. 

Assignment Specifications:

Create a slideshow that displays examples of the images listed below. Use the internet to research and find the images and incorporate them into your slideshow. Be prepared to discuss how the images achieve their appearance, is it caught in camera or created in post processing? How does the color dominance in the image affect the mood or emotion of the image, does it communicate a story and is the story altered by the color dominance?

• Show 3 images that display Primary Colors
• Show 3 images that show Secondary Colors
• Show an image that displays Complimentary Color
• Show an image that displays Analogous Color
• Show an image that displays intense or saturated color
• Show an image that displays desaturated or muted colors

Make your presentation visually interesting and be ready to present and discuss the images you are showing.

Presentations are due by the following thursday, email them to your instructor or turn in via usb thumb drive for credit.

Color Theory Part B - Color Palette Generation From Photograph:

In the study of color theory, primary colors refer to the 3 or 4 color combinations that all other colors can be derived from. In photography, an image can have cool, warm, light, dark, saturated or unsaturated primary colors. In this short project we will extract the colors that make up our image. From that palette we can choose pleasing color combinations for layout purposes.

Step 1: Choose one of your own images you have taken for this to use in this exercise

"Wearever whale" Image created by Seth Wilson 2012

Step 2: Navigate to this online palette generator, and upload your image as a JPG file. Here is the link : http://www.cssdrive.com/imagepalette/

Make sure you click "choose file" and upload your image....

Look for this link near the bottom of the page...

Step 3: After your image is done uploading, look at the palette it created for you, then download that palette as a Photoshop ICO File.

Step 4: Now switch over to photoshop. Create a document about 1000X900 pixels at 72 dpi. Copy-paste your photo into it, scale it down and leave some room on your document for your color palette. You will be creating shape layers and filling them with color from your custom color palette.

Step 5: On your Color Swatch / Sub-Menu, choose Replace Swatches...

Step 6: Navigate to the Photoshop ICO file you downloaded from the palette generator website.

Your color swatch tab should show your custom color palette loaded up, with no other colors available (you can change it back by choosing "reset swatches" from the submenu later on).

Step 7: After your palette is loaded, use a shape tool to draw a square, circle etc...

Step 8: Draw 1 object, then switch to the Move Tool and Option-Drag a copy....

With the Move Tool selected, and your object Layer selected... hold the option key and drag your copy...

Step 9: Continue this process.. each time you create a new object, select a new color from your custom palette by clicking on the swatch. Then you can use the Option-Delete command to fill with that color, or go to the Edit Menu / Fill / Using Foreground Color...

Continue this process until you have 20 different objects... fill these objects with the most dominant colors you see in your custom swatch palette.

Final Step: Add your name and some cool title text to your design and save it as a JPG and post to the group.

- Mr.W