Complementing Your Photos With Color

Complementing Your Photos With Color
Choosing the perfect color scrapbook paper to compliment your photos can be a daunting task at times! When you understand a little about color it will help make your choice simpler.

To choose a color that will complement your photos the first trick is figuring out the focal color of your photos. A trick that I like to use is to lay the photos out, squint your eyes and see what color pops out the most. That will be your focal color.

You can also hold your photos up against different shades of colored paper to help you decide which colors are most appealing. With multiple photos you will want to select one photo for the main emphasis, and base all your color decisions on that photo.

If you do not trust your instincts when it comes to choosing colors you can turn to the color wheel! Knowing how to use a color wheel can be useful for helping take the guesswork out of producing pleasing scrapbook pages. A color wheel is divided into warm and cool colors. The position on the color wheel shows its relationship to other colors.

Monochromatic means one color. A monochromatic layout can use several shades and tones. Monochromatic layouts provide a nice background for bright, multicolored pictures.

Analogous color is choosing three to five colors all next to each other on a color wheel. This type of layout is easy to put together with colors of the same intensity.

Complementary color schemes use two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel. You will have a warm color and a cool color. Examples include blue and orange or red and green. Complementary colors usually work well with photos of holidays, birthdays, children playing and school.

Sometimes you will want to choose your colors based on the season. Pastel colors are wonderful for spring and Easter. Bright colors such as teal, orange, blue, green, yellow remind us of summer. Earth tone colors remind us of fall. Jewel tones, deep blue, black and white remind us of winter.

Choosing the correct colors to complement your photos will create stunning layouts. Limit your colors so that you do not overwhelm your photos. A good rule of thumb is two to three colors per a two page spread.








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This content was written by Michelle McVaney. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Michelle McVaney for details.