Digital Photography Basics - How to Choose a Color Number

Digital Photography Basics - How to Choose a Color Number

Color number is a system used in photography to identify color. In digital photography, it helps to specify the color in photos using a number of reference numbers (codes). They are printed on the card, which captures the image and can be read by the camera. These numbers also serve as a reference point for grading and sorting of photos.

First Digit The first digit of the color number identifies the actual color in a particular hue level of gloss. The numbers are separated into three general finishes; flat, semi-gloss and gloss. For convenience in judging color match the color number closest to that needed to be measured. For printing purposes, the "C" value or chroma value should always be greater than zero.

Green: The color numbers for photographing greenery and grass are usually in the range of five to seven. When shooting scenes outdoors, the color numbers are set in either magenta or cyan. These are the standard color values for outdoor scenes. A wide range of green shades is available but they will look most natural in magenta or cyan.

Red: The color hex for photographing reds are in the range of three to seven. The most common way to identify the color red is to set your camera's meter reader to the mode that displays numbers in the lower right corner. The second digit of this three-digit range represents the intensity of red. The standard way to measure the intensity of red is to place the camera on the red zone with the lens pointing towards it and then wait a few seconds. In this case, you will see six numbers, the last of which represents the intensity of red.

Orange: The standard way to shoot an orange is to set the meter reader to the metering mode that displays numbers in the lower right corner. For those cameras that support the hexadecimal format, this means determining the value for the red, blue, and green channels and using these as the color values for the image. For those that do not support the hexadecimal format, simply use the desired color number for the oranges and use any other channel as the reference point. Using any channel other than the primary color results in an unreconstructed orange.

Gloss: A gloss photograph is one in which the colors of an object are not lost in the translation from grayscale to the final display. It is typically applied to the top and bottom of the image and can be done on most colors in photography as long as there is sufficient contrast between light and dark areas. The hexadecimal format is the most common method for printing a gloss photograph because it produces a quality result. A high DPI setting is recommended when printing a gloss photo, as the resulting images will be sharp with vibrant color.