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What is the impact of color on our lives?

Color impact on life is something we often take for granted. It greatly impacts how we see art, people, and our environment. Some colors make us feel more calm, while others excite emotions. Throughout history artists, advertisers, architects, interior designers, and photographers have used these theories to impact how they make decisions in their workflow.

One example of how color theory is used in photography and videography to highlight subjects is the use of the way cool colors and warm colors interact with each other. For instance cool colors normally make things recede towards the background, while warm colors cause things to get visually pulled forward. As and example of this, look at the image below. For most people the blue will recede causing the the yellow circle to appear on top of the blue square, and the blue circle appears to be a hole in the yellow square.

When we understand these theories we can use them to bring focus and purpose to our work.

Color Experiment

When you look at the images below what are the differences? Are there differences in lighting, camera settings, color temperature, and post production?

Chelsea Hunter in color impact on photography by Ryan Stead.

The model in these photos is in a very similar pose, with only subtle differences, but this is not what make the images look so different?

The reality is that everything in these two photos is identical: camera settings; color temperature; lighting; flash position and power; and post production. With that said I think we can all agree that there is a huge difference between the two photos. They have different moods, and even the skin tone of the model is slightly different. So why does her skin look different, is it an illusion or is there and actual difference? There is an actual difference, because the light bouncing off the backdrop changes color and reflects differently on her skin. Take not of her foot in the air, the one has a tint of orange while the one on the blue is darker and had a blue undertone.

I chose these two backdrops very purposefully. The one on the left creates a complimentary color scheme, while the one on the right is monochromatic. When you look at the two images how do they make you feel? Are you drawn to on versus the other? Do you have an emotional response with one more than the other? Comment below and let me know what you think.

Planning your Session

So as we begin planning our sessions it is important to think bout color and how you want your images perceived. Do you want to create an impact or do you want to be more subtle. Do you have a specific location in your home you want these photos to hang and what are the wall colors and other themes in the room.

To book a consultation with me click on this link to give me some basic information and then I will send you link to setup a call so we can begin the process of booking your session.

What is Beauty?

This age old question of what is beauty has both haunted and defined people’s lives for thousands of years. We can see even in our earliest history that people were designing ornaments and jewelry to add to their wardrobe. We have seen this develop into a full blown industry of fashion and makeup products allowing for consumers to find any particular style their heart desires.

This creates a few challenges though. People are overwhelmed with unlimited options, and bombarded everyday through the media with someone else’s idea of beauty — leaving most feeling like they can not measure up.

Confidence is key.

Let’s be real, with the exception of a few, most men don’t really care about how they look. At least not in the way women do. So for women it is very important to define what their idea of beauty is and then feel confident in their definition of what this means to them. Once this happens a woman will begin to shine.

There is nothing more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful.

Sofia Loren

As a man I believe this to be so true, and as a photographer I’ve seen it time and again while working with women. Sometimes a woman will come into the studio not feeling very confident, but as we start working and she begins to see the results, her confidence begins to grow and from that point on her photos just get better and better.

Defining beauty.

There are a few things woman can do to help them create their definition of beauty. Most of these involve stepping out of our comfort zone or our normal daily routine. Not because we want to live in this uncomfortable place, but it is in this place we often find something about ourselves we didn’t know existed.

Below are a few ideas on how to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone.

Go shopping.

Go out and buy something you would not normally wear. Take a trusted friend with you and make a day of having fun trying on new clothes. Think about the entire ensemble: shoes, lingerie, etc. It isn’t all going to looking good on you, but make it a goal to walk away with something completely new.

Once you find something, go out and celebrate by having a meal/drink with your friend while wearing your newly purchased outfit.

Pamper yourself.

Take a day to go and get your hair and makeup done by a professional, and be brave enough to let them tell you what looks good on you. With that said choose your stylist wisely. Ask around and get a bunch of recommendations, but then trust them to do their job.

Book a photoshoot.

Celebrate your newly defined beauty by booking a photography session. This can be a great culmination to the entire process and is a fantastic way to capture your newly found confidence. Maybe you even plan your day of shopping and pampering to coincide with the session. If you plan on doing this I highly recommend talking to the photographer first.

You might think that this advise is totally self serving, but in my experience it is a real confidence booster to get in front of a camera. It also will test your definition of beauty to see if you truly believe it or not.

Be accountable to someone.

It is important to make sure to not allow ourselves to fall into unhealthy lines of thinking and beliefs. There are some lines we should be careful to not cross. For instance a person can be so skinny or too over weight that is begins to impact their health, so it is important to have trusted friends or consultants who you let speak into your life.

Choosing the right photographer.

Selecting the right photographer can seem like a daunting task, so here are a few suggestions to make the process a little easier.

Start off by finding imagery you like. Ask yourself, “Do I want something dramatic, bold, bright, vibrant, indoors, or outdoors?” Then create a Pinterest board or saving images to your phone. This process will help you narrow down on what you like. It is also creates great reference material to use in future discussions with your photographer.

Do a google search for photographers in your area. This will help bring up some of the best photographers in the region to allow you to begin seeing if their style matches what you have in mind. While there, read their google reviews.

Ask for references. Once you find a photographer, ask around to see who has had experience with them. Maybe ask people they have previously worked with to hear about their experience.

Ultimately you need to go with your gut.

Red Sands Maternity Session.

Behind every photography session there is a story, and this was no exception. This maternity session started long before we ever showed up on that cold and rainy morning. It started by Jody and I having several conversations about the best time of day, what locations would work best for the concept, was it going to be just her, etc. She then spent time looking for her wardrobe and selecting the color to match the sex of the baby. In other words this wasn’t something we just showed up for one day. What we didn’t take into account however was the weather. We showed up and it was raining and breezy, which made for a very cold afternoon.

So we discussed the situation and decided that we would go ahead with the session anyway, and I am so glad that we did. The lighting was so beautiful because of the filtered light coming through the clouds and the rain made the sand turn an even deeper shade of red. We were even able to take advantage of the wind as it blew her hair and dress making for some lovely shots.



A note about on location photography sessions:

I absolutely love taking pictures on location. There is something so beautiful about working with the natural light and my subjects. The downside is you can never fully anticipate what the weather will do, which means that all the careful planning in the world could be ruined.

So how do I handle these kinds of situations. Well, first off I always like to see if there is any possibility to continue with the session, because a lot of time and effort went to getting us to this point. If it is not possible to continue then we are left with two options; reschedule or cancel:

In all honesty I’ve yet to cancel a session due to environmental factors, but I always want to be upfront with my clients. Letting them know the risks and benefits that come with choosing an outdoor session.

If you have any questions it is always important to discuss them with me prior to making plans to do a session with me.