F/stops and Colors
- Thread starter M.Hinch
- Start date
Joseph Bautsch
New member
The only thing the f/stop does is to control the amount of light that reaches the sensor, so I rather doubt it has any effect on color. Light is actually measured in kelvin degrees of temperature. Different colors each have their own kelvin temperature. I don't know that changing the f/stop would have any effect on the temperature.
JoeLewisPhotography
Senior Member
I think this is a case of over/under exposures...some colors appear washed out (over) while some seem dark (under). There is a fine line of "perfect exposure" between over and under, therefore you can very easily see different variations in color between images if you are not spot on every single time.
Joseph Bautsch
New member
I am far from an expert on this subject. The way I understand it an object is a particular color because it reflects all others. A red object is red because it reflects all colors but red.
It would absorb all other colors BUT red. What is reflected is what we see, the rest is absorbed
Joseph Bautsch
New member
OK, I knew it worked something like that. I just got it backward. Thanks for correcting the error.
Joseph Bautsch
New member
Changing the f/stop only determines the exposure of the shot, making it darker or lighter. It dosen't change the white balance. Color in a shot is changed by adjusting the white balance in the camera, not the f/stop. F/stop is not used to do that because it has no effect on the color or white balance. Adding different color filters changes the white balance altering the colors that are recorded. Black and white is just that, black and white there is no color other than the gray tonal range from black to white. Using different colored filters with B&W film may change the tonal range of the B&W shot but it's still B&W. Most professionals who teach photography teach the triangle of exposure. To get the correct exposure or the exposure you want you have to make three settings on the camera, f/stop, shutter speed, and white balance. That's because each are independent of each other and are the necessary elements of correct exposure.
Browncoat
Senior Member
Very interesting discussion! Last semester, I took a course called "Color Theory" and here's the best way I can explain it:
Color and photography share similar principals in that they are both based on interpretations of light. Colors come from the spectrum of light, with each color producing its own unique wavelength signature. Receptors in the human eye are not capable of processing all of these wavelengths, and as such, cannot see all colors visibly (ultraviolet and infrared for example). Because the human eye is not standard (meaning everyone has a different set of eyes) not everyone will "see" the same colors.
The wavelength (color) that is produced is the result of a few different factors, including a subject's absorption and reflection properties. This means that a similar color will appear differently on different objects. The exact same wavelength frequency that produces red will look very different on a wooden barn versus an automobile for example.
Color theory works with HSL: Hue/Saturation/Lightness (RGB sliders in Photoshop can be changed over to HSL).
Here is an interesting color experiment from this class:
One color as two:
Notice how the red color "A" appears to be different when placed against these backgrounds? The same with color "B". This experiments shows that our eyes make a color's overall distinction in comparison to its surroundings.
Two colors as one:
The opposite is also true. Colors "C" and "D" are different, but appear to be the same here. So do "E" and "F".
Color and photography share similar principals in that they are both based on interpretations of light. Colors come from the spectrum of light, with each color producing its own unique wavelength signature. Receptors in the human eye are not capable of processing all of these wavelengths, and as such, cannot see all colors visibly (ultraviolet and infrared for example). Because the human eye is not standard (meaning everyone has a different set of eyes) not everyone will "see" the same colors.
The wavelength (color) that is produced is the result of a few different factors, including a subject's absorption and reflection properties. This means that a similar color will appear differently on different objects. The exact same wavelength frequency that produces red will look very different on a wooden barn versus an automobile for example.
Color theory works with HSL: Hue/Saturation/Lightness (RGB sliders in Photoshop can be changed over to HSL).
- Hue: a color's direction on the color wheel from white. Hues are the color's name, such as green, red, yellow, etc.
- Saturation: a color's intensity. Bright red is considered more saturated.
- Lightness: refers to the amount of black or white in a color. Maroon adds black to the red hue, while pink adds white.
Here is an interesting color experiment from this class:
One color as two:
Notice how the red color "A" appears to be different when placed against these backgrounds? The same with color "B". This experiments shows that our eyes make a color's overall distinction in comparison to its surroundings.
Two colors as one:
The opposite is also true. Colors "C" and "D" are different, but appear to be the same here. So do "E" and "F".
ohkphoto
Snow White
Fascinating subject and interesting exercise, Anthony.
It inspired me to pull a book off my shelf that I hadn't finished reading but remember that this author talked a lot about color and light (not as detailed as explanation above)
"Inner Game of Outdoor Photography" by Galen Rowell. I highly recommend it. When you look at his photos, you can see he obviously understood the connections between color, light, what the camera sees, what the photographer sees, and what the viewer sees. Plus, he shares so much wisdom about the art of photography . . . he died before he made it to the digital age, but this book is still very relevant. The tools may have changed, but not the art of good photography.
It inspired me to pull a book off my shelf that I hadn't finished reading but remember that this author talked a lot about color and light (not as detailed as explanation above)
"Inner Game of Outdoor Photography" by Galen Rowell. I highly recommend it. When you look at his photos, you can see he obviously understood the connections between color, light, what the camera sees, what the photographer sees, and what the viewer sees. Plus, he shares so much wisdom about the art of photography . . . he died before he made it to the digital age, but this book is still very relevant. The tools may have changed, but not the art of good photography.
AxeMan - Rick S.
Senior Member
I was a printing ink color matcher for 25 years. I don’t know how relevant this is to this thread but I would like to point out that there has been discussion for years on what colors your eyes see best. This is what I was taught in the printing industry.
We all know the three primary colors that make up all colors are: Red, Blue, and Yellow. Based on the color wheel of the three primary colors. Your eyes see the color Red the best or any color made from Red more then any other color. Followed by the color Blue that our eyes find appealing. And finally the color Yellow which we have a harder time seeing any suttle changes.
I find this interesting because Anthony’s examples that he posted used the color red. Four out of the six base colors used are made from red. two from blue and no yellows.
Again, don’t know what this has to do with f/stops and colors, but I thought I point this out. Maybe this something you might want to remember when composing a shot when one of the three primary colors are more dominating then any other color.
We all know the three primary colors that make up all colors are: Red, Blue, and Yellow. Based on the color wheel of the three primary colors. Your eyes see the color Red the best or any color made from Red more then any other color. Followed by the color Blue that our eyes find appealing. And finally the color Yellow which we have a harder time seeing any suttle changes.
I find this interesting because Anthony’s examples that he posted used the color red. Four out of the six base colors used are made from red. two from blue and no yellows.
Again, don’t know what this has to do with f/stops and colors, but I thought I point this out. Maybe this something you might want to remember when composing a shot when one of the three primary colors are more dominating then any other color.
Honestly, Officer, I didn't see the red light!
Joseph Bautsch
New member
I agree with what Anthony says. Changing the f/stop changes the perception of color between colors but you are only changing the shade of the color from light to dark or dark to light by changing the overall exposure. That does not change the colors. They still come from the same part of the color spectrum they started out with. It's still the same color red whether the exposure makes it a darker or a lighter shade. There is no shift in the color spectrum, the blues do not shift toward the reds and the reds do not shift toward the blues. If a scene you are shooting is too blue, to correct it you do not change f/stops. You have to change the color spectrum of the scene by going into the cameras white balance and adding more orange/red.
The only way that I see the aperture affecting the color is by diffraction at small apertures. This diffraction would not alter the hue of the color, but rather the intensity or saturation. Different wavelengths (colors) of light will diffract at different rates depending upon the size of the opening (aperture) they must pass through.
Joseph Bautsch
New member
LensWork, you are correct. A small aperture, usually f/22 or smaller can cause the the light to beak down to it's basic elements of red, blue, and green. Under certain conditions this can cause a multi color halo around the subject. It's not a shift in the color spectrum just a pulling apart of that part of the spectrum. More often than causing CA the small f/stop openings cause a deterioration of focus. CA is a greater problem in lens designs.
mogiskito
New member
F-stop does have an impact on coloring. The more light being let in, the deeper and richer the color
Blue439
New member
I would say that every lens has a sweet spot, an f-stop value (or a series of such values) at which it performs best optically. This best optical performance chiefly concerns sharpness, color aberrations and resistance to flare, but it may also has an influence on color rendition. Of course, this is a question of lens type by lens type, not in general. For example, this particular lens will have a sweet spot at ƒ/5.6 to 8, and that will be true for all copies of that same lens, but not true for another type of lens.
What is also for sure is that such best performance will not be at the very small values mentioned by the original poster years ago: values such as ƒ/14 or 22 are not going to bring out the best in a lens, as diffraction would have set in to degrade optical performance.
I also beg to differ with Mogiskito above: when they say “The more light being let in, the deeper and richer the color”, one may be lead to believe (as I am) that colors will be best rendered when the lens is wide open. This is almost never true, the maximum aperture is not where a lens performs best, color-wise or otherwise, and very far from that. Only very expensive modern lenses achieve that, one good recent example is Nikon’s 135mm ƒ/1.8 S Plena which has surprised all reviewers with its image quality wide open. Other lenses need to be stopped down to their specific sweet spot, as I explain above. Sweet spots can very often be found by looking up “MTF charts” on the internet for a specific lens type.
What is also for sure is that such best performance will not be at the very small values mentioned by the original poster years ago: values such as ƒ/14 or 22 are not going to bring out the best in a lens, as diffraction would have set in to degrade optical performance.
I also beg to differ with Mogiskito above: when they say “The more light being let in, the deeper and richer the color”, one may be lead to believe (as I am) that colors will be best rendered when the lens is wide open. This is almost never true, the maximum aperture is not where a lens performs best, color-wise or otherwise, and very far from that. Only very expensive modern lenses achieve that, one good recent example is Nikon’s 135mm ƒ/1.8 S Plena which has surprised all reviewers with its image quality wide open. Other lenses need to be stopped down to their specific sweet spot, as I explain above. Sweet spots can very often be found by looking up “MTF charts” on the internet for a specific lens type.