Color can make a huge impact in your photos. It can emphasize your subject or it can highlight your theme.
Primary Colors (inner circle in above photo):
As you probably remember, there are three primary colors: Red. Yellow. Blue. They cannot be made by mixing other colors together.
Secondary Colors (middle ring):
When you mix two primary colors together, you get secondary colors.
Red + Yellow = Orange
Yellow + Blue = Green
Blue + Red = Purple
Tertiary Colors (outer ring):
These colors are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary one.
Harmonic Colors:
These colors are found together on the outer (tertiary) ring. For example, yellow and orange, blue and green, red and purple.
Complementary Colors:
These tertiary colors are found opposite to each other. For example, green and purple, and blue and orange. When put together, these colors really pop out at you.
Warm and Cool Colors
Warm colors (red, orange, yellow, brown) are brighter and tend to stand out more than the cool ones (blue, green, purple), and give a different feel to the picture.
Now when you plan out your photos, consider what you’re trying to achieve, and pick your colors accordingly. This is true whether you’re doing a still life or a portrait. For example, your friend in a bright red top against a green background is going to draw the viewer’s eyes to her. Have her in a yellow top and the eyes will be drawn to the whole scene instead of just her.
Your assignment is to experiment with colors in your photos, and to see what their specific impact is in the pictures.
BTW. Sorry for the hand drawn color wheel. My real one suffered a horrific accident and even the plastic surgeons couldn't save it.