Nancy Armstrong
March 2025 - Complementary Colors
About the Image(s)
I went looking for a photo with complementary colors and lo and behold found one I took of bread - the subject I missed last month. I’ll tag this one as double duty. I took it during Covid when I started playing with sourdough bread since we were stuck at home all the time. I don’t miss those days, but I think I do miss the bread.
I don’t think I planned the complementary colors at the time, but I did like the combination of the blue pot with the orange texture of the bread.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted
Nancy this is very appetizing. As I noted with Bunny's image - the blue and orange combination speaks to me. I like the sharpness of the bread relative to the softer tone of the blue pot and cover. I really like the pot cover to the right. As I typically say - I might crop tighter. Posted: 03/07/2025 19:41:17
If I were to do something to this photo to keep my eye on the bread, instead of cropping more, I'd darken the lighter areas on the pan and counter and remove the white spots on the counter. I like the feeling of this pan of bread sitting on the counter. Posted: 03/09/2025 12:51:50
Thanks Lisa. I completely agree about the blue and orange combination. I did a little editing based on suggestions, see the photo in my response to Bunny. Posted: 03/15/2025 17:25:36
The pretty blue cookware is such a pleasing background for the bread, and now I've learned why...complementary colors! My eye stays mainly on the bread and its texture and color. The photo makes the bread look invitingly delicious. And so, there you have it: 2 month's worth of Comments for this photo! Posted: 03/09/2025 12:48:36
Carole thanks for the suggestions! I completely agree with taking out the white spots on the countertop.. I didn't crop because I felt the space around the edges would have felt too cramped. I tried to introduce more of an orange tint to the inside of the pot, but I'm not thrilled with the results.i posted my updated photo in my response to Bunny. Posted: 03/15/2025 17:35:04
Hi Nancy,
Did you bake the bread? It looks very yummy and crusty, just the way I like it!
When I took a color workshop, I learned that the strongest complements don't have any color components in common. So blue, from a Red-Green-Blue perspective has Blue but no red and green and it's complement orange has Red-Green and no blue. The various proportions of Red and Green yield various shades of orange.
The bread actually has a blue component to it (use the eye dropper in Photoshop), as does the inside of the pan. You might consider replacing the inside color of the pan and use it as a complement. (Changing the bread color would make it look strange.) To my eye, that might make a stronger complementary color image. What do you think? Posted: 03/09/2025 14:58:32
Did you bake the bread? It looks very yummy and crusty, just the way I like it!
When I took a color workshop, I learned that the strongest complements don't have any color components in common. So blue, from a Red-Green-Blue perspective has Blue but no red and green and it's complement orange has Red-Green and no blue. The various proportions of Red and Green yield various shades of orange.
The bread actually has a blue component to it (use the eye dropper in Photoshop), as does the inside of the pan. You might consider replacing the inside color of the pan and use it as a complement. (Changing the bread color would make it look strange.) To my eye, that might make a stronger complementary color image. What do you think? Posted: 03/09/2025 14:58:32
Thanks Bunny. I can see where you are coming from on the orange color, but I don't want the inside of the pot to overwhelm the bread. I tried introducing a much lighter shade of the orange into the inside of the pot, but on the fence about how I feel about the results. Maybe I'll feel differently tomorrow; I'm amazed at how often my opinion changes about a particular photo the next day! Posted: 03/15/2025 17:51:22
I didn't know these details about the color wheel and what the colors contain. I'll try the eye dropper in Photoshop and become even more enlightened about this topic. Thanks for leading us on to more and more info. Posted: 03/26/2025 19:29:46