Using Bold vs. Subdued Colors in Your Photography

Published: Tue, 06/05/18

Hi ,

Do you have a specific "look" or "color style" that you apply to your images? Do you every experiment with different types of color palettes in your photography?

Of course, the easiest way to vary the look of your imagery when shooting with the X Series cameras is to use different Film Simulations, which, as you probably know, are patterned after some very classic and well crafted color palettes.

Some of them, like Velvia and ASTIA are geared towards bright, saturated colors and rich shadows. Others, like Classic Chrome and the ProNeg sims are designed to give a more muted look to your imagery. You can also adjust and accentuate your colors when you process your images on the computer.

With that in mind, I'll pose a couple of questions: What's the right way to portrait a subject? How do you know whether to use a highly saturated color palette, or one that's more subdued?

As with any kind of creative process, it all depends on the specific message or emotion you're trying to impart with your imagery, and what kind of story you're trying to tell.

As I hope you've guessed, there is no "right way," but the color approach you use can produce very different visual effects.

Using rich, saturated colors can can help create a "larger than life" look in your imagery, while using softer, more muted colors can play into the "less is more" aspect of photography and composition.

Both of these visual responses are very closely tied to the way we as human beings see and respond to photography and art. I discuss this topic in more detail in my recent blog post called Using Bold vs. Subdued Colors in Your Photography.

Hopefully it will give you some new insight you can use in your own compositions.

FUJIFILM X SERIES UNLIMITED!

As you know, the paperback version of X SERIES UNLIMITED hit shelves earlier this month. Rocky Nook did an amazing job on the book, and I know that a number of you guys have picked up copies, so for that, I just wanted to say thank you for your support.

We already have 7 reviews up on Amazon, 6 of them 5-star, so if you left one of the reviews, thanks for that as well!

If you purchased the book and haven't written a review, would you please consider leaving your own review on Amazon? I would really appreciate it. :)

I hope you're enjoying the first week of June and having fun with your camera, !

Current FUJIFILM Camera & Lens Rebates

The current FUJIFILM camera and lens rebates are still going on. Save up to $200 on camera bodies including the X-T2, X-T20 and X-Pro 2, and save up to $150 on X Series lenses, like the XF50-140mm, XF100-400mm, XF90mm, XF16mm, XF10-24mm, XF18-135 and more.

In addition, you can save $1,000 on GFX body and lens kits if you choose the 63mm or 32-64mm GF lenses.

These rebates are found at B&H Photo and Amazon.

Take care and happy shooting!

Dan Bailey

dan@danbaileyphoto.com