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Posts Tagged ‘Monochromatic’

How to use Monochromatic Color to Convey more Emotion in your Photography

06 Aug

The post How to use Monochromatic Color to Convey more Emotion in your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Nisha Ramroop.

monochromatic-color

Monochromatic photography is often associated with black and white photography, but it is certainly not limited to just that. As the name implies, monochromatic is about one color. Thus an image that contains tones and variations of a specific color is termed monochromatic.

How to use Monochromatic Color to Convey more Emotion in your Photography

Why use monochromatic color?

1. Convey Emotion

Both color and the absence of color are viable options to convey emotion. Your choice of which to use depends on the story you are trying to tell. You may prefer black and white imagery for moodier scenes and to convey more intense emotions. Similarly, a single color used throughout your image can enhance or evoke different feelings. For example, red is commonly used to denote passion, love, and even anger, while blues invoke cooler, calmer and more subdued sensibilities.

monochromatic-color

It is important to note that different tones, tints or shades of a hue/color also change the intended emotion or its intensity, so consider the “feeling” of color. Tints and shades are a result of combining a single color with varying amounts of white (tint) or black (shade).

Sometimes, the use of too many colors simultaneously provokes different feelings and can leave your viewer confused. When faced with such a dilemma, why not try a singular color to see if it achieves a stronger connection?

How to use Monochromatic Color to Convey more Emotion in your Photography

2. Simplify cluttered scenes

Monochromatic color has the ability to simplify a scene by helping to diminish visual distractions. Again, a familiar thought processes used when processing black and white photography. Absence of color becomes a great way to highlight other compositional elements in the frame, such as texture, shape and form. Thus making monochromatic color another creative choice to explore.

How to achieve monochromatic images?

1. Shoot

In our vibrant world, is it really possible to shoot a monochromatic scene? Interestingly enough, once you start looking for monochromatic color, it presents itself. So yes, it is everywhere around you, especially in urban landscapes, building interiors and even in nature. While the first two examples are more intentional, the latter is also quite common. In nature, look for scenes that embrace tints, shades, and tones of a singular color. Naturally occurring monochromatic scenes have the potential to be strong and interesting images.

How to use Monochromatic Color to Convey more Emotion in your Photography

If you are just starting out and have not yet grasped working with color harmonies, using the variance of a single color in your frame is a great way to start. The way light interprets and changes a singular color in a scene can be mesmerizing. This calculated option goes a long way in helping you pay closer attention to (and learning about) color.

2. Process

While naturally occurring monochromatic scenes are more realistic, post-processing is often used to achieve this finish. Processing monochromatic images has existed since the days of film and is certainly not a new creative spin. In the earlier eras of photography, both warmer tones (such as sepia) and cooler tones (cyanotype) were due to specific chemicals used while developing the film.

How to use Monochromatic Color to Convey more Emotion in your Photography

Interesting fact: Sepia processing back then brought more than warmth to a photo. The chemicals involved in that process slowed down the aging of a photograph thereby enhancing its archival quality.

These days, achieving monochromatic color is much easier. The step-by-step process varies depending on the software that you use, but the principles are almost the same. In summary, the easiest way is to tone an image. This loosely translates to converting a color image to black and white/grayscale and then replacing the black with another color (also called tinting).

You can further adjust your contrasts to make your light areas lighter and your dark areas darker for that added punch.

monochromatic-color

Monochromatic Color evokes a different emotion

Check out this link on several ways to achieve this type of processing in Photoshop and here for doing so in Lightroom.

Conclusion

While black and white is the most obvious type of monochrome photography, monochromatic color is the use of any singular color throughout an image. It lends itself to emotional connections and simplifying your scene. Monochromatic color occurs in the natural world or can be achieved with post-processing. It is often a more minimalist approach that has the potential to create strong images.

Is monochromatic color something that you personally connect with? If yes, share some of your favorites in the comments below.

 

monochromatic-color-in-photography

The post How to use Monochromatic Color to Convey more Emotion in your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Nisha Ramroop.


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Got Color? No Way! The Whys of a Monochromatic Image

02 Jan

Ansel Adams, master of black and white photography, once said; “There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” So many people take pictures of just whatever… people eating, in awkward positions, with distracting things in the background, etc., Then, because that shot took a long time to make, or was hard, even though it’s a bad Continue Reading

The post Got Color? No Way! The Whys of a Monochromatic Image appeared first on Photodoto.


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LEGO Architecture Studio: Boldly Monochromatic Block Set

19 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

lego architectural white sketch

A colorless LEGO kit may sound boring at first blush, but consider the spatial advantages of letting form, line and shadow stand apart from the profusion of colors normally associated with their iconic blocks.

lego architecture studio box

LEGO Architecture Studio‘s pigment-free approach is unusual for the company and intentionally so: it is made to create an experience that is more like pencil or pen sketching in three dimensions, a thinking-through-building process without the complications of shades and hues.

lego monochromatic block set

lego architecture studio booklet

Though the all-white block series contains over 1,200 pieces uniformly absent of color, it also comes with a colorful 268-page book that shows aspiring architects (or simply interested kids) what is possible in the world of built environments.

lego color companion book

This companion volume features the work of famous designers and firms including REX Architecture, Sou Fujimoto, SOM, MAD Architects, Tham & Videgård, and Safdie Architects, covering a range of theory and practice, concepts and reality, all from a diverse group of professionals.

lego all white blocks

From FastCo: “At the end of each chapter, the lead architects will all sit around a table with Lego and play with the pieces! Only then is the reader invited to take part in a hands-on Lego workshop exploring some of the theories and concepts explored in the chapter, which can range from exercises exploring symmetry, mass, density, the use of negative space, modules, repetition, and more.”

lego no color kit

The target audience is also ambiguous – the set could be fun for kids, or ideal for teenagers who want to try their hand at architectural concepts and design before deciding on a college major or career path. In the end, perhaps adults will appreciate it the most, or at least best understand and appreciate the aesthetic understatement … then again, children often understand best that a limited palette of props leaves more to the imagination.

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[ By WebUrbanist in Gaming & Computing & Technology. ]

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Day 25: Monochromatic love

30 Oct

Day 25: Monochromatic love, originally uploaded by reinlady.

Catchy Colors Photoblog

 
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Posted in Equipment