Vibrant shots can showcase the power of Color in photography. Photographypla.net has curated 20 photos from the creative commons that call on color to be the star of the show. We hope these images inspire your work.

Color is a photographer’s best friend. We can use it in all sorts of ways to make our photos more powerful. Color can also be used as a storytelling tool, a way to trigger certain emotions, and a whole bunch of other admirable attributes.

Browse through the photos and take time to think about how the photographers all used color in their composition. Then start thinking of ways you can start incorporating color into your own shots.

1. Vibrant Shots Use Color to Draw Attention to Your Subject

Using color correctly draws attention to your subject, and therefore creates a powerful visual effect. Plus, it is pleasing to the eye. Use a color wheel to find complementary Colors across from each other. For example, if you want to find a color that works well with purple, find the color on the color wheel, then look for the color directly opposite. You will find colors ranging from yellow to orange depending on your shade of purple.

2. Vibrant Shots with a Strong Color Background Bring Dimension

Bright colorful backgrounds make a great backdrop for your photos including colorful walls and buildings. Adding a person to the photo can add dimension to the image. A human subject gives the scene a sense of scale. Plus, it adds an element of human interest to engage viewers.

3. Neutral Scenes Allow for Strong Color Pop

Keep an eye out for neutral scenes that have a pop of color in them. A pop of color is a bright splash of color that stands out against the other colors in a scene. It draws the viewer’s eye and is a great addition to the composition. Colors such as yellow and red are both powerful colors in a shot.

4. Understand the Interplay Between Dominant and Receding Colors

It is important to understand dominant and receding colors. In photography, the dominant colors are the warm colors such as red, yellow, and orange. The colors are classified as dominant because we see them before we see cooler colors. The cooler colors are called receding colors and include blue, green and purple.

When dominant colors are present, the receding colors fade into the background. In the image above, for example, the moth grabs your attention, but it’s only fractionally later that you notice the flower. Create visual depth in an image by using dominant and receding color combinations. The more saturated a color is, the more dominating it becomes.

5. Abstract Images Result in Vibrant Shots with Strong Visual Appeal

An abstract image has just a few visual components. Color, shape, and texture are the highly effective elements of an abstract image. These create a colorful, abstract image with a strong visual appeal. Look for blocks of color that form strong shapes. Also, include colorful, empty or negative space when possible. Colors and quality of the light are the main elements in a striking abstract image.

6. Get Vibrant Shots with the Wow Factor by Eliminating Hue Competition

Taking photos in color is easy, but taking color photographs with a wow-factor requires a little thought. Be aware just how powerful color can be in an image and use it to your advantage. Too many different bold colors will produce confusion. Ensure the hues you are using in your photo do not compete for attention, but instead, contribute to a well-balanced composition.

7. Avoid Confusion by Sticking to One Hue

Colorful scenes inspire photographers to grab their cameras. Unfortunately, these are the least likely to result in striking images if the composition is off. Too many vivid and bright colors will compete for the attention of the viewer. It also makes it difficult to find a focus point. One way of giving your color photo an eye-catching quality is to select a scene that is dominated by one hue. In order to do this, carefully choose your viewpoint and the way the image is framed. The result will be even more spectacular if the other colors in the image are either subdued or create a pleasing contrast.

8. Contrasting Colors are a Sure Way to get Vibrant Shots

Make good use of contrasting colors. The most striking effect results when just two colors from complementary areas of the color spectrum are included in the image. Learn how to use your color wheel to help you understand the relationship between complementary and contrasting colors. As a general rule, the simplest combinations are the strongest, and the more saturated the colors, the more eye-catching the results.

9. Keep It Simple for Bold Vibrant Shots

If there’s a good general rule to follow in photography it is to keep it simple. This is especially true when working in color. An image that includes only the essential elements of the scene will have more impact than a complex image with too much detail. Always identify the element in the scene that appeals most strongly to you within the subject. Then consider which of the surrounding details you need to include.

10. Use Color to Capture Mood

One of the most elusive qualities to capture in a photo is the mood. Always consider how the viewer responds emotionally to color. Blues and greens evoke a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere. On the other hand, orange and yellow create an upbeat, happy feeling. Bright, saturated colors suggest vigor and energy.  Dark, muted colors suggest a more somber and introspective response.

11. Lens Filters Can Bring Out the Best in Your Vibrant Shots

Make the most of the color in your images with filters. There are various colored filters on the market to give an edge to your images. Fit a polarizer to the lens to enhance blue skies and make clouds stand out. You can also use filters to cut down on reflections in glass and water.

12.Ensure Accurate Colors by Adjusting Your White Balance

If color plays an important role composition, take the time to ensure that the colors are accurate by taking control of the white balance setting. When the white balance is set to automatic, the camera measures the color temperature of the light. As a result, it sets the white balance to produce a neutral result. The trouble is, you don’t always want a neutral color balance. You may want your scenery to have a golden glow when you photograph it at sunset. In this case, set the white balance to daylight or cloudy for a warmer feel.

13. Boost Saturation by Adjusting the Saturation Slider

If your images aren’t as eye-pleasing as you hoped, boost the color in a digital darkroom. Whether you want a specific color to leap out or blend in, the hue/saturation tool in Photoshop or Lightroom will help you to get the effect you want. You often don’t need much. Simply increase the saturation slider until the image looks good. Be conservative. Avoid excessive editing which leads to image degradation in the form of noise and posterization. As a result, the color transition appears in abrupt steps rather than a smooth flow from one tone to another.

14. Calibrate Your Monitor to Improve Print Results for Vibrant Shots

All computer monitors display variations in color, contrast, and brightness. Properly calibrate your monitor so the colors you see on your screen are the colors you get when printing your photo. Some monitors come with integrated calibration systems. However, if your monitor doesn’t have one, consider investing in a calibration tool.

15. Get the Right Exposure for Your Shoot to Ensure Vibrant Shots

Ensure that you have the right exposure when shooting. Start by focusing on something green. Next, underexpose by two-thirds before shooting. You cannot photograph vivid colors unless you first have the exposure right.

16. Adjust Saturation Manually on Your Digital SLR Camera

Another way to photograph vivid colors is with the manual settings on your digital SLR camera. The setting is called saturation. This technique is used by experienced photographers. However, it is often overlooked by photographers that are new or using a DSLR camera for the first time.

17. Learn About the Saturation Settings for Your Camera Online

Digital SLR cameras allow photographers to change the default color saturation of their photo. Setting the color saturation to a higher number results in vivid colors. Whether your DSLR camera is a Canon, Nikon, Sony or whatever, they all have a saturation camera adjustment. All brands and versions may vary. The easiest way to find the saturation adjustment is to do a Google search for your specific camera or look in your user manual.

18. Use Our Tutorial on the Color Balance Adjustment Layer in Photoshop

The Color Balance adjustment layer in Photoshop gives users the ability to make adjustments to the coloring of their images. It presents the three color channels and their complementary colors and users can adjust the balance of these pairs to change the appearance of a photo. You can learn more about this with our free color balance adjustment layer course — part of our Photoshop series Photo Editing 101 by Ian Pullen.

19. Free Lightroom Preset Will Help Your Colors Pop

You can also download our free Lightroom preset that can be used to make colors pop in your photos. If the colors in your photo are dull or it needs some extra life, this preset can be the answer. The preset is called “Boost” and it is a free sample from our set of 15 Color Pop Lightroom Presets. The preset works in Lightroom 4, 5, 6, and CC with both RAW files and .jpg files. See sample before and after images below.

20. Learning How to Make Colors Pop is Fun and Rewarding

In summary, color is used in many ways to make an image stand out. Experiment and have some fun learning how to make the colors pop.

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