ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the artistic use of color in photography rests on the complex science, technology, engineering, and math involved in defining and creating color in photographic images. It discusses that the physical attributes of colors (colorants) can be technically measured and mapped. Color is a visual experience dependent on light. Color can be measured in a number of different ways; the most sophisticated being psychophysical measurements such as those used in the CIE system. In addition to differences in the various technical systems for designating and reproducing color, a variety of other factors also influence the color perception. When complementary colors are part of the design, each has the effect of making the other appear more saturated, which makes the composition more dramatic. The word color is used in two quite different ways: First, color is a perception dependent on the eyes as a receiver and the brain as an interpreter. Second, color is an objective physical phenomenon.
