Color Filters

In black and white photography the colors of a subject will not always show up the way they do to our eye. Blue and Green are very close to the same shade of gray. A red flower against a green background will not stand out because both will be the same shade of gray.

Read the section on color filters under the creative control section under the Camera in the Tech Help portion of this web site. There you will learn that a colored filter will LIGHTEN its own color and DARKEN its opposite.

For this assignment you are to experiment with filters and make a display such as this one to demonstrate the effect. To do this with control you must start with a photo of your subject with NO filter at all. Here you will notice that the red can and blue cover on the book are similar in color.

For your second shot use a yellow or green filter. Your camera light meter will automatically adjust for the reduction in light and set your exposure. Notice the slight lightening of the red can and slight darkening of the blue book. Many photographers look at the yellow filter as one to keep on the camera at all times. It makes things look more normal.

For your third shot use a RED filter. This is the most dramatic of the filters. It will make clouds in the sky stand out nicely. Here you see that it makes the blue book almost black and the red can look so light the type almost goes away.  On the K1000 camera we experience a problem with exposure. The light meter should compensate for the loss of light, but it does not seem to be very sensitive to the red. Many photographers in class get the under exposed results seen here. To compensate bracket you exposure by taking one at what the meter suggests and one or two over and under normal.

Suggestions might be also to label your photo in some way like this student did so that you can tell in the print which one is which.  This student used objects found in the lab, but you can go out on campus to look for COLORFUL subjects as long as they have red, yellow, blue, green and other colors in obvious amounts and shapes to be noticed like this shot.