A Photojournalist’s Field Guide: In the trenches with combat photographer Stacy Pearsall

Coloring Your Characters

Photographers can bring any color forward or push it back, depending on what other spatial tricks they use. An object with a complicated contour is more interesting and appears to be heavier than one with a simple contour. A small complex object can balance a large, simple object. Hues that are lighter at maximum saturation such as yellows, oranges, and reds appear larger than those that are darker at maximum saturation like blues and purples. When a color expands visually, it may also seem closer to the viewer than those that seem to contract, leading to the common statement that warm colors appear closer and cool colors fall back.

Value

A color’s value is the lightness and darkness of a color. For example, imagine a ...