Janis Joplin’s Porsche – Color Contrast Tips

Someone asked me the other day, “How can you get great contrast in a color photograph?” My answer was (and still is), “Sunny day and bright, fully saturated contrasting colors.” Short of that, you’re going to have to do a lot of work with a photo editing computer program.

It’s quite easy to get great contrast in a black and white photograph, provided the image is made up of mostly black blacks and white whites (not innumerable shades of grey between). Upping the contrast is generally very easy to do with photo editing software, your main concerns being 1) loss of shadow detail and 2) burning out the highlights. Color is a bit more difficult, what with there being all those, uh, colors. When you stop and think about it, its kind of unusual to see much naturally occurring contrasting color. Perhaps this is why we find deciduous leaves so much more interesting in the Fall than at other times of the year!

Personally, I find it difficult to create a colorful, contrasty image. I don’t want to be sitting at the computer making it better, or rather, making it look like I envisioned the image should have appeared initially. Therefore, I shoot mostly BW. However, when the rare color opportunity arises, I will dive on it.

Well, this past summer I found myself at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan and caught the exhibit Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era. As part of the exhibition, Janis Joplin’s Porsche (a 1965 model 356c) sat out in the sunny courtyard. You could walk around it, but not photograph it. The guard suggested I shoot it from above, where you could look down at it from the sidewalk in front of the museum entrance. Though I generally believe it’s far easier to get forgiveness than permission, I went outside and shot from above! Another reason to carry a zoom lens.

The photo was taken with a Canon Rebel XT with a Canon 28-135 mm lens. A 135mm focal length is not super long, but it was just right for this application (paired with a 28mm wide angle, it provides a good general-purpose lens package).

Though the graphic appears to have been designed by Peter Max, it was actually done by one of Janis’ roadies! (That’s the likeness of Janis and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, you see near the car’s tire.) Once the contrasting colors grab our attention, the detail of his graphics engage and hold our interest. A good lesson for all color photography, as far as I’m concerned. To learn more about contrasting colors, click here!

Category: Composition Tips, Featured, Photo of the Week