Color and Emotion in Photography by Anton Sheker

Color is often overlooked in photography. The colors in a photo can greatly affect the impact or the emotional value of the user. Have you ever come across a photograph with funky color combination with loud backgrounds? Have you ever noticed that if the colors aren't complimentary they can give you an eye twisting headache?

Different colors invoke different emotional values and each value depends in which part of the world you are in. Some colors have a positive effect and some can convey some negative emotions. Here are Colors and their perceived emotional value for your reference.

Red:
Positive: Sense of power, strength, action, passion, sexuality
Negative: Anger, forcefulness, impulsiveness, impatience, intimidation, conquest, violence and revenge

Yellow:
Positive: Caution, brightness, intelligence, joy, organization, Spring time
Negative: Criticism, laziness, or cynicism

Blue:
Positive: Tranquility, love, acceptance, patience, understanding, cooperation, comfort, loyalty and security
Negative: Fear, coldness, passivity and depression

Orange:
Positive: Steadfastness, courage, confidence, friendliness, and cheerfulness, warmth, excitement and energy
Negative: Ignorance, inferiority, sluggishness and superiority

Purple:
Positive: Royalty, sophistication, religion
Negative: Bruised or foreboding

Green:
Positive: Money, health, food, nature, hope, growth, freshness, soothing, sharing, and responsiveness
Negative: Envy, greed, constriction, guilt, jealousy and disorder

Black:
Positive: Dramatic, classy, committed, serious
Negative: Evil, death, ignorance, coldness

White:
Positive: Pure, fresh, easy, cleanliness or goodness
Negative: Blind, winter, cold, distant

A Photo should tell us a story and they should communicate what the photographer wants to tell us. Logic and emotion play a big role in our understanding of a photograph but eventually emotion will win over the logic. Most of the time, we are purposefully trying to invoke a specific emotional response that will increase the enjoyment of our photos. So if given a chance… pick your colors carefully.

Anton Sheker is a professional photographer based in Philippines. Owns and operates Philippine Online Photo Gallery http://www.photo.net.ph and founder member of http://www.worldphotodirectory.com - a free professional photographer resource guide and directory

For more photography articles visit his site online at http://www.photo.net.ph/blogalicious