Color contrasts

You are here: Nature Science Photography – Lightness and color – Opponent color combinations in image composition

Not all color combinations have the same effect on us. We are quickly put off by too stark colors, and we find monochromatic designs just as boring as, for example, the juxtaposition of completely unsaturated colors. In the section “Third processing stage – adding a spatial aspect for color”, we learned about the double opponent color mechanism, which enables the visual system to establish spatial relationships between color arrangements. In them we find the neurological basis for the fact that those color combinations, of which we noted in the section „The relationship between the additive and subtractive primary colors“ that they complement each other (i.e., quasi-neutralize) to white when mixed, mutually reinforce each other when they are spatially juxtaposed. In the case of the complementary light colors, these are the pairings red + cyan, green + magenta as well as blue + yellow and all other analogously occurring combinations. In the „right“ ratio, we perceive such combinations as harmonious; in the „wrong“ ratio, however, as inharmonious. Although the process of this evaluation remains unclear, we can still derive some basic rules that are useful in image composition.

A clear way to order the color values in terms of their harmonic effect is to represent them in color wheels. They arrange the primary colors differently depending on whether they represent additive or subtractive color mixing. The mixing of light in a computer monitor or television is based on the additive primary colors red, green and blue. Color printing works with the subtractive primary colors yellow, magenta (violet) and cyan (blue-green). Mixing two primary colors creates a secondary color, while mixing one primary and one secondary color creates a tertiary color.

Typically, a color wheel arranges the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors in such a way that the secondary colors sit between the primary colors, and the tertiary colors sit between the primary and secondary colors they mix with. In subtractive mixing, the primary colors yellow and red become the secondary color orange, red and blue become violet, and blue and yellow become green. If you mix the primary color yellow with the secondary color orange, you get the tertiary color yellow-orange. The same process creates the remaining tertiary colors.

Regardless of the primary colors used, we can derive various types of contrast and harmonies from the color wheels, as the color values strive to balance each other out in a neutral way, creating a harmonious effect on us. Color combinations that meet these conditions reinforce each other, make the other color more saturated, and have a stronger effect than the single color. Examples include gradations from a saturated yellow to an unsaturated yellow for quality contrast, combining red and green for complementary contrast, or using blue, red, and yellow together for hue contrast.

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