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: Modular Pages Go Together Fast
A modular design system can help you retain your sanity in the face of last-minu...
Before&After: Make a Theme to Tie Your Design Together
A butterfly graphic creates a focal point, color, and continuity and turns a gra...
Before&After: Gestalt Theory: Equilibrium
Equilibrium gives your design elements rest, stability, and permanence.
