Unit Eleven : The Art of Photography Part Two
Proofing
Diving off the deep end
The colors in a photo don't always need to be true to life, it's often more important that they're true to the feelings you wish to evoke.While lesson 14 was a fairly comprehensive look at the basics of color theory, it’s time to go deeper and give the topic a more detailed look. There’s more color spaces, interaction of light, calibration, proofing, printing (which involves its own set of colors), and building a cohesive color scheme. All of those could really be a full lesson individually, but we will try to get through it all without creating a novel!
Technical Details
Color Spaces
The previous color theory lesson stuck to the RGB color space, so before we get into the different color spaces we need to take a closer look at what a color space is. And to do that, we need to take a look into how we perceive colors. While we don’t need to get into the exact science of how we see, there are a few key variables that should be known.
First, our eyes detect wavelengths of light that roughly translate to red, blue, and green. I say roughly because each cone in the eye will detect a range of wavelengths that overlap, and that there are many, many shades of those three colors (which we will talk about later) so exactness would require getting into the exact wavelengths of light and a lot of scientific discussions that get into the theoretical.
Second, our brains are fantastic at processing and simplifying received inputs on a subconscious level. Besides differentiating wavelengths of light, we can also see the effect of multiple wavelengths together.
And this gets us to color spaces:
Computers/screens work to balance the light they can produce with the limited color pixels available with the widest range of colors as is practical. This leads to various types of displays, and multiple color spaces.
A color space is simply the perceivable colors available on a monitor or screen, controlled by what colors are used for the display. Each primary is a point on the color spectrum, and the display is only capable of showing a mix of those colors. All the colors that fall outside of that mix are considered “out of gamut” and can not be shown on the device.
To expand the colors available, either a wider starting range is needed or more colors are needed. And this is where wider gamuts, such as Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RGB come into play. On a color chart, the starting colors used in those gamuts are farther apart than the standard RGB which allows for a wider range of colors to be displayed. In a similar vein, the standard for printing (CMYK) chooses different colors that allow for a wider range, as well as adding in black to expand the range of possible colors. And with professional photo printers, there may be ten or more colors used to expand the gamut even further.
“Proofing” is basically just checking your display against the intended output display. If you use a ProPhoto RGB display for maximum color accuracy but intend to display on the web where you’re limited to Standard RGB, this step allows you to check how your photo will look on the intended display.
While this isn’t the most essential step when displaying for the internet (since most people use SRGB from start to finish, so there’s no difference in display), it can become much more important when printing. Different printers use different color sets, and this can change the look of the print based only on which printer is used. Proofing your work before you print can let you make the needed adjustments to keep the print matching what you see when you edit.
Calibration
Calibrating your display is incredibly important if you plan to print, but also is useful for web display. For printing, a calibrated display is going to ensure that what you see while editing or in the preview is accurate to what is intended to be displayed. If the calibration is off, then even with a perfectly proofed photo the print isn’t going to match what you see on screen. For web displays, it’s importance comes into play because most people don’t calibrate their screens. Getting a perfect match between uncalibrated devices will be near impossible, so the goal isn’t to match someone else’s display but instead to give the most accurate coloration possible so that you don’t end up exaggerating the differences.
If the monitor you edit on is too cool and green-shifted, it may not be noticeable. But if you edit to look “natural” then on another display it may look too warm and pink. But if it’s seen on a display that’s too warm and pink-shifted, the photo will look nothing like what you intended.
There are a few downsides to calibration. The first, and main downside, is that the tools needed for proper calibration can get expensive. Displays also need re-calibrated periodically, so borrowing isn’t always a convenient option either. And to top it off, most phones and tablets don’t even allow for calibration.
There are two ways to get around this:
One is the “poor man’s calibration” or manual calibration by reference. It takes time and is usually less accurate, but will also generally get “close enough” for most uses. Essentially, all you’re doing is making a print from a lab that has a good reputation for color accuracy. You want to ensure there is no color correction selected, so the print is as accurate as possible. Once you have the print, pull up the image on screen and using your computer’s manual calibration tools you can match the displayed image to the print. (Keep in mind that you’ll want to reduce the screen brightness to somewhere between 20%-30% for best results!)
The other method is generalizing across displays. If the device you edit on can’t be calibrated or you can’t source a reliable print, you can generalize by looking at the photo across multiple displays. Does it look the same on your friend’s phone as it does on yours? Do you have a family member or friend who can pull it up on a computer and see how close it matches? What about the computers at a local library? This is a highly inaccurate method, but can show trends on your colors that may help when editing for display on other devices.
Printing
While screens use RGB, printers use CMYK or a larger gamut. Switching between these can cause issues, which is why all the technical details mentioned above can be so important. If the photo isn’t proofed correctly, or edited on a calibrated screen, it’s fairly likely that the colors you see on your screen won’t match the colors that show on the print. This can lead to color schemes, contrasts, and palettes not working as well when printed even if it looks great on screen.
I won’t go too much into the importance of printing here since this is a lesson on color theory, but without proper calibration and proofing it’s difficult to print accurately. The inks, paper used, and the gamut of the printer can all affect the color accuracy.
Practical Application
Enough about specs and printing! You’re here for how to use color in taking a better photo, and while it’s always good to know the technical aspects they aren’t going to make the shot.
When selecting colors, it's important to be intentional with the palette across the scene; From the subject and background to the small incidental details that could become distracting, and crafting a homogeneous look in the edit.Finding Colors
While the world around us is filled with color, when shooting it’s always a good idea to pay attention to what colors are around you. What are the dominant colors in the environment, and how can they be framed? What other colors are present, and will they complement or distract from your subject?
As an example, when shooting in woodlands there is a lot of green. But looking closer, the dominant color actually tends to be the reds, browns, and greys of the tree trunks with green acting as more of an accent. In some areas, particularly at the edges of clearings or in a conifer/evergreen forest, you may find a green-dominant scene but the majority of woodland or forest isn’t green. Shooting under the cover of trees can also leave a green color-cast to the white balance as the light is filtered through leaves.
For another example let’s look at a city scene. The buildings may not be uniform in color, but they usually are fairly similar and give a neutral background color to work with. But what about banners, signs, cars, or other additions to the scene? Is there a window display that will become a distraction due to clashing colors? Do the street signs stand out too much and become distracting? Where can you frame your shot so that these issues are mitigated?
Building a palette
Just like with painting, when planning a photo it will go much more smoothly if you have a palette of colors picked out ahead of time. Knowing the dominant color of the area you intend to shoot will help you plan the colors of your subject, and that will help you find which colors will become distractions in the background and what could be more complementary. Even for more “in the moment” styles like candid or street, knowing what colors will work well in the location you’re shooting will help you to find subjects that work well with your style and will help you avoid distractions in the background.
While you absolutely can find a color theme in the moment, if you plan ahead you will be able to create a more homogeneous set, match current photos to shots you’ve taken before more easily, and it will help with other aspects of planning as well (such as location, time, wardrobe if shooting portraits). This planning speeds up your shoot and will let you come away with a much higher keeper rate for the time spent shooting.
(If you need a refresher on color themes you can look back at Lesson 14)
Color Grading/Post Processing
“I’ll fix it in post” is a phrase that’s ruined plenty of otherwise decent photos. While part of the problem is photographers wildly overestimating their skills in photoshop, the bigger problem is the philosophy of using the edit as a way to fix problems in the shoot instead of a way to complement what you’ve taken. There is a huge difference between “fix it in post” and “shoot for the edit”.
So, how do we shoot for the edit?
Mainly it comes down to planning. If you know what color themes you want in your shot you can fine tune those colors in post. Do you plan on shooting in a green-heavy scene like an open field with foliage in the background? The scene doesn’t have to be reliant on heavy greens dominating the scene if you plan to lightly desaturate the green channel in post. To take it further, you can push the colors warmer or cooler, do a split-tone with a color cast (think something like the orange/teal look that gets heavily used on social media), or add vibrancy to specific colors that may need a boost to stand out.
The key is to do these edits intentionally. The orange/teal look doesn’t work well when the colors of the scene are contrasting to orange or teal, so if you want that look you would need to shoot with the intention of adding it in post. Those colors may not be heavily present in the scene, but they will be, so you would need to use colors in the scene that will complement those tones. Or for a monochrome shot (assuming single color, not black and white), you can plan to desaturate contrasting colors and add the tone you want. But if there are colors that don’t work well in the scene when you shoot it, the adjustment to monochrome may not look right. Or maybe you do shoot for black and white and then add the color for a monochrome on top of that (such as a sepia shoot, or adding a color cast).
Another key difference in the two philosophies is how comfortable you are with making those adjustments. “Fix it in post” tends to rely on trying to continue with a shot that doesn’t work, while “shoot for the edit” is a planned change in post based on what you can confidently re-create and planning the shot to match what you can do with it on the computer or in the darkroom.