Hidden Colors by Gry Garness

We all know what color is, but few like Gry Garness truly understand color

Mouseover the image above to see the original photo

Color is a sensation that occurs in the brain in response to stimulation of the color receptors in the eyes.

But the experience of color varies from person to person and from image to image.

For example, check out this image on the left.

You probably think the woman on the left has a pale pink dress.

It actually is the only part of the image that is neutral black & white. Mouseover the image to see the original image.

Why would you need to learn so much about color?

As photographers, can’t we just take nice colorful photos and not worry too much?

We could, but that’s exactly how an amateur goes about taking a snapshot. Having an in-depth knowledge of color is what separates the professionals from the amateurs. Let Gry Garness teach you.

A comprehensive study of color will greatly enhance the work you produce. It will improve the dynamics of image storytelling, meaning and emotional response. It will also benefit portfolios and composition.

You could easily change the color of an object in Photoshop, but you risk crossing the boundary of believability. As most of us have seen, there are many examples of cringe-inducing color manipulations on the internet.

While there’s nothing wrong about breaking rules or creating disharmony, you have to learn the rules before you can break them. Thankfully, those rules are not hard to grasp, and this book introduces some essential color theory that will help you take your photography to the next level.

Gry Garness’s Hidden Colors e-book is an interactive guide that will make color theory fun and relevant for photographers. Gry is one of the foremost authorities on retouching, and she believes that learning about color is more important than any other retouching technique you can learn.

This e-book is not about color grading trickery. The secret of color grading lies beyond the subject colors – it’s in the hidden colors that your brain spontaneously responds with. The book demonstrates how using the right colors can create beautiful pictures, while bad colors can wreak havoc on your photos.

An intimate study of individual colors

One of the highlights for me in this e-book was the detailed section on individual colors. In this section you’ll learn about color combos, meanings, and how the color affects the image.

What does a red with black combo symbolize? How about blue and green? What kind of effect does green have on an image? What does yellow represent?

In this e-book you will learn:

• The secret to seeing the “hidden colors” in every photo
• How does one color appear in contrast with another color
• Achieving great colors on the skin
• Planning your image with color in mind
• Factors that affect your perception of color
• A deeper understanding of blacks and whites
• A study on each color and their associations
• Theories on creating color harmony that will allow for the most visual impact on your photos