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Color photos

 (all taken by me)
Ever wish you knew more about what makes great pictures?  Well, sometimes I think I know what I'm talking about, and then sometimes I really do know.  You can try the tips on this page, and then make your own judgments.

Know what you want to see
The trick to taking color photos is knowing what the photograph is going to look like before you take the photograph.  "Oh, it's that simple?!" you say.  Well, yeah, kinda it is.

Think about your favorite color shots, take this one by me, for example.
What is it that makes this a good color picture? 
the surreal effect of the water, caught in time as foam,
the darkness of the woods beside the waterfall, offset by the greenness above,
the blueness of the water sitting below in the pool.

I love this picture because it is the first time exposure shot that I ever took with my first camera (Olympus OM-1)

Now, how did I know this was going to be a great color shot?  Well, I had just seen a photo of an exposed waterfall, and just thought I'd try it.  To be honest, I had no idea that it would turn out this good.  When I look now at the picture, I can tell you what is great about it, but then, all I wanted was the waterfall...I didn't worry about framing to make sure I got the green, nor removing the phallic jutting rock from the front (not that I could have prevented this anyway, since I did not have a tripod, and had to set the camera on the ground in order to keep from having a shaky negative.

Would this have been a great black and white shot?  No, but it would have been a good one.  For one, the only bright thing is the waterfall, so if all you wanted was water, and just wanted it to be dark on the sides, then black and white would have worked.  However, you would not have had a border at the top, since the green woods would have just shown up gray and unimportant, leaving you with 3/4 of a great picture.

Color contrast
Let's consider another good color photograph, again by me (cause, dangit, I don't want to have to pay anyone to use their picture!).  I snapped this at the top of the Arc d'Triomphe in Paris, France, with my parents Pentax.
What is it that makes this a great color picture?
Purple!!! Look at all of the overcast sky, and the boring brown buildings,
My wife's jacket and her hair make a neat transition from the lifeless city to the living person,
The essence of life is especially sent through the wind blowing her hair, bringing motion to her,
The weather (gray, lifeless clouds) accentuates the drollness of the city, even though it is technically the weather that gives life to my wife's hair.

Did I know this was going to be a great color shot before I took it?  You're darn tootin' I did!  Although it was about 40º up there, and it was raining on and off, I waited for about 30 seconds before the wind blew her hair just right.  Unfortunately, you can see the raindrop that entered onto my lens at about that time, removing some degree of perfection from the shot.  But, I am quite happy with it.

Subtlety
Another great reason to shoot color film is one word: slides.  The process of color reversal (as opposed to color-negative) is incredible for acquiring little grain and remarkable color ranges.

6thStreetTrees.jpg (615959 bytes)
Take for example the picture above.  The shot was taken with Fuji Velvia slide film (50 speed...not for the faint of heart or shaky of hand).  I snapped this one with my trusty tripod on an overcast Saturday.  The even light provided by a diffused sun allowed for subtle greens to be present throughout the shadow of the trees, as well as the ivy.  With black & white film, this shot is just a lump of darkness, but color provides the extra dimension for the subtle feeling, and an almost intuition for the temperature and time of day.

Lessons
So what are the major lessons about color?
  1. Think about what color contrasts are important for your shot.  This may be red versus yellow, or pink versus blue (green and red make great holiday contrasts).
  2. What ranges of colors are important for your picture?  Do some research, and find which film will help you best (e.g., Fujichrome Velvia is well known for its ability to represent green, and some people swear by rating it at ISO 40 instead of 50).
  3. What is the theme of your picture (life? death? freedom?).  Let the colors represent your theme appropriately, and use as much of your environment as possible to draw attention to your subject.