Why colour matters in photography: from traditional colour theory to creative techniques

A golden sunset over a romantic landscape, a splash of red lipstick, a vibrant display of feathers – we can all draw meaning from colour in a scene. Together with lighting, colour is one of the most important and powerful elements of any photograph or video. When skilfully used, it can evoke emotion and energy, reflect mood, and give a narrative to images.

But there's more to colour than simply choosing a bright outfit or backdrop. How can it be used in harmony or contrast to tell a story? And how do camera techniques and settings help to capture subjects accurately? Here, we draw on the expertise of three pro photographers who reveal why colour choices are always about the story.

British studio portrait photographer James Musselwhite is inventive and bold with colour and has won several awards for his approach. "I often build on an image by adding colour, to draw the eye around the portrait," he says. "I love how quickly the language in a portrait can change when I add colour."

London-based fashion and beauty photographer Jade Keshia Gordon is no stranger to adding vivid hues, especially when working with make-up brands. "When shooting skincare, the mood board tends to have the same colour palettes – beige, nudes and whites," she says. "I encourage clients to incorporate colour as you really see the difference in the final images."

The work of Portuguese wedding and documentary photographer Marisa Martins is defined by her use of natural light and authentic, flattering tones – an aesthetic that her clients value. "I always think about the colours before I push the button," she says. "I'm absolutely sure only Canon colour science respects the variations I observe in people's skin tones."

These professionals rely on the colour accuracy built into Canon's cameras and printers. Here's how Canon's colour science and technology has played a key part in shaping their individual styles.

On a traditional colour wheel, the complementary colours opposite each other, such as red and green, can be used together for energy and impact, while the tones next to each other, known as analogous colours, have a more muted, calming effect.

James uses complementary colours when he wants to make a subject stand out from the set. "A model with a broadly blue outfit would be set alongside an orange backdrop and then we'd add orange gels as kicker lights to separate the subjects from the backgrounds," he explains. "We have gels of a slightly weaker density that we can use on our main light to bring a bit of colour into our subjects, and I'm always experimenting with flare from our backlights to add drama into portraits."

An analogous scheme with lots of similar colours is better for bringing several elements together without any of them competing. "Once I'm done, I'll harmonise a blue outfit with pink and purple gels. It's fairly free-flowing and the important thing is to allow room for failure."

Canon's Colour Matrix technology can analyse the lighting conditions and colour temperature of a scene and then adjust the camera's colour settings to ensure faithful reproduction. Jade prides herself on capturing light and dark skin tones as accurately as possible, and she finds her Canon EOS R5 to be so effective at doing this that she doesn't need to set a manual white balance. "I tend to use Canon's 'daylight' setting for the majority of my work, but when London becomes gloomy and I want that extra warmth, I set it to 'shade'," she says. "I may also use a gold reflector, which creates a warm tone on the skin, again changing the colour intended."

Thanks to Canon's DIGIC image processor, the latest Canon cameras can process large amounts of image data at high speeds to produce natural colours and gradations. James has come to rely on the tones and colour depth recorded by his mirrorless camera. "My Canon EOS R6 has a really good dynamic range, in RAW but also in JPEG capture," he says. "On-site and on location it's really helpful to get images sent to my phone for sharing, and the colours are always bright and vibrant."

Picture Styles have been a feature of Canon EOS cameras since 2004, and they allow photographers to apply preset saturation and tone levels to a shot with one menu click. Jade first tweaked these parameters on her EOS 5D Mark IV and now finds it easy to choose a colour profile that matches her vision, even after moving to the EOS R5. "I tend to use a mix between standard or portrait, but I've changed the contrast and sharpness on both to be more in tune with my workflow," she says.

The Colour Space option in the camera's menu allows photographers to choose between sRGB – best for files that are going to be viewed on a screen – and RGB, which is best for printing as printers are configured to handle it, converting it to CMYK for output.

In-camera colour science is important, but the tools in Canon printers are an important final step for producing standout prints. "I usually pair my EOS R6 with my Canon PIXMA G650 to print photos for myself and to help me assemble stories," says Marisa. Although still at an early stage in her self-printing journey, she is keen to master soft proofing and colour management using Canon's Professional Print & Layout software, which is free with large-format fine art printers like the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. "Only with Canon can I find alignment between the tool and the eye," she says.

Ultimately, colour in photography is about expression, experimentation and understanding the narrative you want to create while having the best tools to help you do that.

"Everyone understands what colour means to them," concludes James. "It is a universal language of mood in photography and art and allows as many people as possible to enjoy and understand your work."