Lessons
Class Introduction
04:34 2Introduction and Importance of Color Theory
23:32 3Basic Color Theory Adjustments in ACR and Lightroom
09:09 4Manipulating Color Properties in Photoshop
08:48 5Color Theory and the Curves Adjustment Layer
09:15 6Using Color Theory to Affect Mood with Effects
16:02 7Advanced Selections for Color Theory
10:28Lesson Info
Class Introduction
Thank you. So, how many people in here, raise of hands, are photographers? Okay, awesome, I'm in the right place. How many of you are artists? Okay, so I gotta good show of hands on that one. Usually I don't a very good show of hands on that one because it typically, what we find, is that photographers don't really consider themselves as artists, in this industry. Believe it or not. I teach a lot of people, and that comes up a lot in emails: "Blake, I'm not an artist. I can't do what you do." But, you are an artist because you're a photographer. Your medium just so happens to be a camera. That's what you've chosen as your artistry. So, really what it comes down to is that artists are just creative problem solvers. So if you've ever done anything with gaft tape, how many of us photographers have done that? Duct tape? I know all of us have done something creative with duct tape. You should see half my house. Don't ask my wife. (laughs) so what happens is you solve problems creatively and...
that's what makes you and artist. If you're thinking to yourself that "this whole Color Theory thing is not my cup of tea because I'm not an artist", then as a photographer you need this even more. Color Theory is something I'm very passionate about. Its something that was a big move for me when I came into photography, to understand why my photos were horrible. It was like, "why can't I make these things look good?" and a lot of it was I wasn't embracing who I was as an artist. I wasn't embracing the color concepts that I had drilled into myself as a painter. Almost as if when I transitioned from a painter to a photographer, I threw it all away. Why would you do that? That's some powerful information there. Color Theory is kind of like sarcasm, okay? (audience laughs) sarcasm is one of those things that if you've never heard it before, you're gonna be like "why is that guy so mean to you?" You know, and then the more you're around it the more you're like "okay, I get what he's doing. But I don't understand it yet." and then the more you're around it, the more you start to understand it. And you're like "okay", and then you start doing it, right? Color Theory is the same way. Before you don't know you don't know much about this, you look at it and say "this is such a foreign concept to me, what is this Color Theory thing in relationship to photographers, as opposed to painters?" But then once you're around it enough and you surround yourself with it deliberately, you then begin to understand it. You begin to accept it so that you can understand it, and then use it yourself. So this picture is really interesting. Its a painting that I did, it was a series I did, that I actually considered a failure for myself. Whether you like the composition or not. It wasn't really the study for me. The study with this painting for me was, I was doing it diptych, and a diptych is two pieces that are similar in nature that work together in the painting world. The image that you see on the left hand side is the image that I was painting, that I wanted to paint. And on the right hand side was the image that I wanted to emulate. Its the exact same painting, just flipped. And I tried to reverse all the colors in my head based off of what I knew about color. It was a really strong study that I could do to try to understand how colors interacted and to see if I even knew what the reverse of these colors were. And you'll understand this as we talk about Color Theory. So then my test was, "okay after I've done this I'm gonna take this one into Photoshop, and I'm gonna invert it to see if I've made this one. And then I'm gonna take this one and invert it to see if I made this one." and I was so upset with myself because it didn't work. I pulled it into Photoshop, and this looked nothing like this, and this looked nothing like this. And I actually gave these pieces away. I was like "I'm done, I don't even want them anymore." I gave them away. But there was something I didn't understand about how Color Theory works in the digital world, as to how Color Theory works in the painters' world. So they are very separate, but they are very equal. And you have to understand and know both to be able to operate within both. What you're gonna find out at the end of this is that this wasn't a complete failure. It might look like it, but it wasn't. What we're gonna talk about here in this specific lesson of this is: Why is Color Theory important? Colors and Emotions, How do we use Color Theory? And Color Relationships.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Bonus Materials
Ratings and Reviews
Sabrina Lungen
Amazing class!!! Lots of useful information, very clear and precise in a short course. One of the most useful courses I have ever seen. The teacher also is very dynamic, fresh and clear. This course has encourage me in believing in my own intuition and also opened my possibilities to create photography with more confidence. Thank you!!
user-def74a
Great class! I wish it was longer, because Blake has such fantastic information to share, and his enthusiasm is inspiring. Very much worth the time, although it is best if you have some basic knowledge of Photoshop.
Cheryl Tarr
Blake shares some very interesting concepts and tricks which I hope to learn how to use. As a beginner who is still struggling with Photoshop, it went too fast but it is a short class where he covered a lot of ground. I will need some more basic understanding of Photoshop and then I want to watch this again to get a better grip on the tricks he showed. I can see where learning the material in this class will improve my processing workflow and help me bring to fruition the vision I have in my head for where I want an image to end up. Thank you!
Student Work
Related Classes
Fundamentals