When you seek to define a specific color, there are three properties to consider; Hue, Value, and Saturation. Hue is a name we give colors on the color wheel (red, yellow, green, blue, and so on). It’s basically the technical definition of color perception. Hues are made up of the three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) and the three secondary colors (orange, green, and violet) that appear in the color wheel or color circle.
A Simple Guide to Understanding Hue in Photography
Pure hues are made up of the three primary colors and the three secondary colors:
- Red (primary)
- Blue (primary)
- Yellow (primary)
- Orange (secondary)
- Green (secondary)
- Violet (secondary)
These pure spectrum colors appear in the color wheel and correspond to different wavelengths of white light.
A color wheel is the best way to understand the importance of hue in photo editing. You can use hue to change the colorization of your picture while editing to change it’s look and feel. When you move in a clockwise direction, the reds and oranges in your picture will start changing to colors in the clockwise direction i.e yellows, greens and on towards blues. Similarly every color will start changing it’s hue to the next ones in the wheel. Conversely, moving in the anti- clockwise direction will change the hue of the colors in the anti-clockwise order i.e reds and oranges will move towards violets and blues.
When you refer to hue, you are referring to its pure color, or the visible spectrum of basic colors that can be seen in a rainbow. When hues are combined with other color qualities, such as saturation, chroma, or intensity, then the resulting combination is known as the color’s chromaticity.
How To Change Photography Hue
By changing the hue of just one element, like your subject or background, you can sometimes shift the overall mood of your photo.
Adjusting the hue in photography allows you to shift the color values of your images, a process that can radically change the emotional impact of your photograph. Altering the hue to achieve a complementary color scheme, for instance, can create an image that is aesthetically balanced and unified. On the other hand, a triadic color scheme—which employs colors that are equally spaced on the color wheel—results in a bold, lively clash of colors that can disorient and excite the viewer.
Hue adjustments can also be used for incremental changes, which can be effective in cleaning up unintentional color casts or correcting the white balance.
When we say “color” colloquially, we’re usually talking about hue. Red, green, yellow, blue, orange, etc. are all examples of hues.
A color’s hue is determined by light frequency, with red having a lower frequency, blue a higher one, and green in the middle. Hues are often measured in degrees using a color wheel like the one we discussed in part one of this series. As you move around the wheel (or circle), you change the hue.
In the two portraits below, for instance, the photographer, David Abbs, has changed the light on his model Caterina from a purple/violet hue to an orange.
Both shots are effective, but they evoke different emotional responses—while the cool purple might be described as more calming or introspective, the warm orange against the blue background makes for a more punchy, high-energy picture.
What Is the Difference Between Hue and Color?
To begin, most people use the terms Hue and Color interchangeably. It’s very common, even with artists and designers to assume the two mean the same thing.
Generally speaking they sort of do, but technically they don’t.
The comment above sounds like one of those mind-bending riddles. In fact, the difference between them is actually very simple.
Color is the broad term that describes every tint, tone, hue or shade that the human eye can see, including white, black, and gray.
The definition of hue, on the other hand, refers only to the pure spectrum color names found on the color wheel: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and violet.
Generally speaking, every color has a dominant hue. For instance, the color “navy” has a blue hue, and according to color theory, “magenta” has a dominant hue of violet.
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