Before&After: How to Cool a Hot Photo
How do we cool this photo? The answer is found on the color wheel.
The color wheel is an artificial device that’s good but not perfect— colors in nature aren’t so evenly distributed—whose purpose is to show color relationships. Also on the wheel are values (dark-light) and temperature. This 12-page article from Before&After Magazine answers the question: “How do we cool this heat in this photograph?” The answer is found on the color wheel between ice blue and yellow, in the turquoise blues and verdant greens of springtime.

Our photo is full of colors in the orange range, and very warm. Orange’s opposite—or complement—is blue, the coldest color. Let’s start there.

© John McWade/Before&After Magazine, courtesy of Gaye Anne McWade.
Commenting is easier and faster when you're logged in!
Recommended for you
Before&After Design Tip: Use Artwork to Create a Personal Connection
Learn how an inviting portrait can lend personal appeal to a design.
Before&After Design Tip: Use Cropping as a Design Tool
How to get the effect you want by changing the size, angle, and cropping of a ph...
