How to make vibrant color photography

Table of Contents

Vibrant color photography is all about the time of the day you shoot – because color is all about light.

Color photography is about shapes, hues, reflections, and more. 

Make your photography stand out with a few a these simple tips and tricks.

Fun exercises to take your vibrant color photography to another level

red balloon hanging on a gray double door
Search for the color red

Look for Color

Week 1: Search for the color red.

red peppers on the foreground and other gray packages in the background color photography at a food market
Photograph at a street market

This exercise will help you learn how to search for a specific color and frame it so that it has an important place in your photograph.

What to photograph

Photograph scenes that have red. It can be red peppers, a wall, a person walking down the street wearing a red shirt, or a street sign. Focus on that color only.

A red wall.

Balloons.

People on the street.

Street signs, cars, buses and bikes.

Red rose with green leaves in front of a dark brown tree trunk, light green grass in the background
Get close to your subject!

Flowers at a park.

A red table or something red on a table.

Tips for searching for the color red assignment:

red wrapping
Photograph everything red!
  • Get as close as you can to your subject and photograph, focusing on the color.
  • Photograph from a distance, but make sure that the color is standing out.
  • Leave out all the excess information and focus on how the lines and shapes connect with color.
  • Bring your camera EVEN CLOSER to the subject, and your image will look more abstract, about color and shapes!

At the end of the week you will have learned how to search quickly for a colo and how to emphasize it in your photo frames.

Week 2: Photograph with the intent to emphasize more than one color.

These exercises will help you learn how to look at a scene and search for colors so that your image will be more interesting.

red wall green table
Enhance your color photographs: Get close and personal

Photograph three colors in one scene

Lower your camera to get a better frame of your subject.  Make sure to add several colors. Take your time. If the first shot didn’t work out, make another photo. 

part of a person holding red shopping bag, green on bus, yellow on bus
Photograph three colors in one scene

Step back from your scene and see if you can have the same impact.  

Shooting from a distance doesn’t always work but never leave a scene without shooting from different angles, heights and distances.

Photograph indoors

Look for interesting interiors with vibrant colors. 

interior with counter top, red placemats , yellow knapkings, blue /green wall
Interior with vibrant colors

Week 3:

Do the same exercise you did in week one but search for the color blue and on week 4 search for the color green.

Woman wearing a blue jacket and a red scarf writing on a typewriter
Photograph blue and red

At the end of week 4 you will understand how color can make your landscapes, citiscapes and portraits more interesting.

Red door and street art
Red door, yellow framing and street art on the white wall.

Color photography tips

Include architectural photography and look for shadows. 

Green wall and shadows
Architectural photography and shadows

Color doesn’t have to be bright, look for more subdued tones and search for different types of color combinations.

orange wall, yellowish table and green
Look for different color combinations

When you finish all your vibrant color photography assignments

Compare your pictures to your older ones, and you will notice quite a difference! This exercise will help you with your compositions and how to see things differently.

Beach scenes

Links for you

More about color and photography

Photographer William Eggleston changed how we photograph in color.

I had private painting classes when I traveled to Edinburgh and learned a lot about color from my teacher!

My art teacher:

Instagram David Schofield

Site David Schofield Art

This article was rewritten and updated on July 2024

Marguerite Beaty, Blogger, Photographer & Artist

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