Your New Secret Weapon: A Guide to Complementary Colors in Photography

When it comes to photographic technique, we all love to get caught up in the mechanics. What type of lens should I use for sports photography? How do I balance the exposure triangle? And what the heck is an aspect ratio? All mechanical questions with (for the most part) concrete, mechanical answers. But getting those answers doesn’t necessarily mean you will consistently produce great work. Sometimes it pays to step back and work with the one bit of photographic equipment we all got for free: our eyes.

We usually know right away when a color (or color scheme) is or isn’t working. The challenge is learning to identify what is causing it to behave that way. Enter an artist’s best friend: color theory. In this guide we’ll cover some basics of color theory, focusing specifically on one very powerful color combination that many don’t even know about: complementary colors. We’ll talk about what exactly those are, how to find them, and when and how you can use them to take your images up a notch — without spending a dime on new equipment!

Let’s Talk About Color

Have you ever heard two people arguing about whether white is the absence of color or the combination of all colors? Well, both of them were right! Or possibly, they were both wrong. It all depends on which…