Chiaroscuro refers to the use of strong contrasts between light and dark to create a three-dimensional effect. It was pioneered by the painter Caravaggio and involves illuminating dark scenes with shafts of light. The level of light or darkness used in an image, whether it favors shadows or highlights, can dictate the mood conveyed as either low key or high key. Color plays an important role in composition, with hue, saturation, and brightness determining each color, and relationships between different colors like complements and harmonies evoking emotional responses.

1. Composing with light and color

2. Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro-attributed to the Italian painter Caravaggio Literally means light/dark Refers to the dramatic modeling of subjects in painting by shafts of light illuminating dark scenes It controls the sense of modeling in an image and so it controls the 3d quality of the work

5. Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro is a high contrast type of lighting Generally you are exposing for the highlights and allowing the shadows to go comparatively dark

6. Key Brightness can dictate the mood of the photo When the image is dark, favoring shadow tones, it is considered low key When the image is brighter, it is considered high key It is difficult to show high key in color images High key black and white can be luminous and graphic, but high key color often looks washed out and underexposed

7. Original

8. High and Low key

9. Original scene

10. High and Low key

14. Ambiguity

15. Caustics

18. Reinforcing pattern

19. Color in Composition Hue, saturation, and brightness make up a color Hue is the name of the color (blue, red…) Saturation is the intensity of the hue Brightness is determines how dark or light the hue is

21. Color Primary colors are red, blue, and yellow But this doesn ’t correspond with our RGB for film and digital images Red, blue and yellow refer to light reflecting off of paint from paper or canvas Our RGB refers to transmitted light For our purposes we will use the painting primaries

23. Primary Colors

24. RED Red is considered the strongest color It tends to advance toward the viewer It can be seen as vital, earthy, hot, passion, aggression, danger

25. Red

26. YELLOW Yellow is the brightest color It can be seen as vigorous, sharp, insistent, aggressive, cheerful It has obvious association with the sun and light sources Against a dark background it can seem to radiate light

28. BLUE Blue recedes more than yellow Seems to be relatively dark, quiet, and cool, wet, airy Refers strongly to sky and water

30. Secondary Colors

31. GREEN The color of nature Suggest growth and progress Yellow-green is associated with spring and youth Green can also show decomposition and sickness

34. VIOLET The illusive color Has connotations of mystery The similar color of purple has connotations of religion and regality

35. Violet

37. ORANGE Warm, strong, brilliant, powerful It is the color of sunset and fire Associated with celebration and heat

40. Color Relationships Colors need to be treated in relationship to each other These relationships can evoke emotional reactions How colors ought to be paired is a question of the ages Harmony is a pleasing, acceptable relationship

41. HARMONY Complementary harmony Hues from across each other on the color wheel Harmony of Similarity Hues from the same section of the color wheel

42. Orange-blue

43. Pink-green

44. Warm-cool

45. Green-orange

46. Red-green

47. Color accent

48. Color accent

49. Muted Colors Strong colors are relatively rare in the natural world They occur in isolated areas (flowers…) With digital photography we can manage saturation of our colors very easily

50. Orientalist palette

51. Muted color

52. Mossy greens

53. Metallics

54. Interference colors

55. Texture and form