Photo How To

The Color Wheel is a simple but oft-ignored tool that that enables photographers to visualize the interplay between various tones and how be they can be combined to increase the impact of an image. If you don't understand this important concept and how it works, today's video will get you up to speed.

In less than five minutes Instructor Anthony Crothers explains how this tool enables you create a unique style of your own by employing color combinations that set your work apart. You'll learn how to create harmonious effects, capture photos with more depth and dimension, and imbue your images with a wide range of emotions from power and energy to calm, peace and serenity.

As you'll see, the Color Wheel is comprised of primary, secondary, and tertiary colors that can be manipulated to tell a story and create dramatic high-contrast images and other attention-grabbing effects. He illustrates the power of this approach with several different types of photos.

Crothers explains the principle like this: "Most of us use color in our photography without too much thought, but by thinking about what shades you use and how you match colors together you'll see a massive improvement in your images." In fact, he insists that the simple Color Wheel is the most useful tool for experimenting with various tonal palettes.

He explains that "the primary colors (red, blue and yellow) are evenly spced around the graphic circle, with the secondary colors (green, orange and violet) falling in between." Then there are the intermediate tones known as tertiary colors; namely shades between primary and secondary colors.

He notes that secondary colors are made by mixing primary colors together, and tertiary colors by mixing primary and secondary colors. So what are the practical applications of all this theory and how can you put it to work to create compelling images of whatever you shoot.

Crothers provides such a succinct explanation in the last three minutes of the lesson that we won't bother to summarizing it here. Suffice to say that there are various scenarios in which the Color Wheel is so helpful that it should become your new best friend.

After watching this episode head over to Crothers' instructional YouTube channel, where you can find other game-changing tips and techniques that you may have missed in the past.

We also recommend watching the tutorial we posted earlier from another top expert who demonstrates how to bring dull landscapes photographs to life with a transformative Lightroom Color Range Mask technique