Experimenting With Coloured Light

Experimenting with Coloured Light

This week due to the poor weather conditions I decided to experiment with colour changing lights to see if i could create an interesting effect.  Whilst studying Man & Nature, I have found that sunlight can have a huge effect on a photograph and the use of light within a composition can create great mood within a shot and also very dramatic results can be achieved when using silhouettes and white backgrounds.  In the same way, vivid colour can also be used to enhance a photograph and draw the eye to an area of the composition and similarly, colour can be removed to create highly details monochrome images.  I decided to explore colour as a technique a little further.

Artist Photographs

My first two artists images have been inspired by the Harris Shutter effect, whereby a strip device with three color filters is used to create striking color photographs with the different primary color in layers.  Even though my images are created slightly differently, I thought the overall effect was very similar which I managed to achieve. The above image shows how colour can be used successfully to enhance an image.  The fun colourful birds in the photograph add an additional dimension to a very traditional cityscape image and add an element of movement to the shot.  I like the way the artist ensures that a large proportion oft he image is sky to enable to coloured birds to be emphasised even further.

 

 The above second image, again draws on the Harris shutter effect, and again uses colour in a clever way to enhance an image.  I loved the way that although the original photograph is simple in subject, the use of colour creates a very striking final photograph. I love the way that the vivid bold blocks of colour used in the surfer silhouettes, contrast really well with the very dull grey sea used as the backdrop. This sea, however, is given a lift by the wave crests being given colourful highlights which gives the final shot drama and a modern twist.

The above final artist photograph was taken by Andrew Gibson who is an amateur photographer and freelance author who enjoys experimenting with photographic techniques and writing about the technical and creative aspects of photography. Gibson shows a different way of using coloured light to enhance a photograph by using it to paint colours onto a landscape.  Gibson uses this technique to enhance landscapes taken at twilight.  Most landscapes are generally  lit by ambient light, taking advantage of the beautiful quality of the natural light in the evening. Andrew, however, uses light painting to highlight parts of a scene, incorporating torchlight and coloured filters into his work to create stunning visual effects.

My Photographs

 My first image above, was taken whilst I tried to emulate a similar style to the Harris shutter effect at home in our patio.  I used two different coloured lights, a small torch and a subject with a strong silhouette to try and recreate a visually striking photograph.  I liked the above image as the green and red lighting created an almost overlapped effect with both colours providing depth and interest to the black shapes cast on the wall by the plant shadows.  The torchlight helped in providing an uplight in order to create these shadows and I think that this white light also helped to brighten the image and give more strength to the shadows created.


My Second Image again is taken within my patio using similar equipment.  this time, however, I decided to soften the coloured lighting tomes and concentrate of giving a coloured hue to my photograph.  I again tried to use a strong focal shape as my subject and use the coloured light to create shadows, brighten the shot and give the photograph added interest.

For my third and final image, above, I decided to concentrate on a singular colour and see how one primary colour could be used in order to produce an interesting photograph. I used a colour changing LED light positioned in a typical household setting to see how colour could enhance an image.
The single blue bulb worked really well, giving various shades of blue in all areas of the frame and it gave the furniture in the image a dark silhouette and the room had a lovely blue glow.  I positioned the bulb behind the wine glass which stopped too much glare being produced and also gave a good lit focal point to the shot. I also liked the shadows cast on the walls from the lamps which gave added interest.

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