Colour in street photography

Colour is one of the most difficult composition elements in street photography.

Pink lady

In Photography there is a saying "if it does not add to the composition, it takes away from the composition". This is even more true for colour. A bright colour in a corner of a photo could draw the attention of the viewer and let them miss the import message in the photo.

This is most likely the biggest reason that modern photographers still "prefer" to photograph street photography in monochrome - it simplifies the scene and remove any unnessesary colour distractions.

But, that being said, when you choose your scene based on the colour elements in the photo, it could really add that extra attraction to the photo.

In the photo above (Pink Lady) it is all about the colour.

This was what initially attracted me to the scene.

Let your eyes wonder about the photo, notice all the spalshes of pink. The lady is busy crochet in pink, above her head hangs a pink handkerchief, the scooter is white and pink, even the numberplate is a shade of pink. And then on the green tricycle is some hand painted characters in pink amongst the white stensiled characters.

Indeed a lady that loves pink!

A Splash of Yellow

For this scene a had to hang around a bit. I saw the three yellow cones and liked their reflection on the wet road, but decided to wait a bit for something else to complete the scene. I did not have to wait too long before the lady wih the yellow umbrella completed the scene for me.

This is my weekly street photography entry.