How Color Creates Emotion

“Colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.” -Pablo Picasso

Every feature film, many television dramas and most high-end commercials take a trip through a colorist before release. Hollywood discovered how to use color long before color film became available. As early as the 1910s, some film stocks were tinted red, blue, yellow or other shades, and toning became popular as well.

As co-owner of a Los Angeles production company and award-winning video editor for 10 years, I developed an understanding of the power and use of color in still and motion photography. Colors have been found to relate to and convey emotions. Blues can be seen as cold, or they can be peaceful and calming as they remind us of nighttime. Earth tones of browns and greens remind us of nature, and convey tranquility and harmony. Reds and oranges are exciting and energetic. Even black, white and shades of gray can be associated with certain feelings.

Most of my images will have a dominant color or tone, and that is deliberate. It often starts with the shot I select, enhanced in post-production, or a creative treatment or undertone that I’ll apply in post. The color choices are deliberate. They help unify the image, hopefully convey the emotion I want to convey, and enhance the subject of the photograph.

The effect is best kept subtle. Pushing the vibrance or saturation sliders to the max is not my idea of color grading or color finishing, as it is called in motion image editing. When more overt manipulation is done, it should be done for a reason.

The range of techniques in color finishing is tremendous. I use these to enhance my images and convey not just what I captured in camera, but what I felt as I snapped the shutter.