Since the Lens-Artists Challenge started in 2018, we have had several themes involving colors: warm colors, cool colors, monochromes, colors of autumn, etc. Are we ready to have more fun with colors? Let’s get our crayons and see how we can paint with our cameras and get photos that pop. All you need is to be familiar with complementary colors.
Complementary colors are those that sit opposite each other on a color wheel. Using them in your photography creates the best color contrast, and your images pop. For example, red and green, magenta and green, yellow and violet, orange and blue, and so on. The colors do not need to be precisely diametrical opposites. Just like the color wheel transitions from one shade to another, you can use nearly opposite colors to make your images stand out. Naturally, the best results will be with exact opposites.
I will give you a few examples I have found in nature. You may see more in different areas.
The dark orange tones in Caprock Canyons State Park strongly contrast with the green vegetation in the area.
Here are three others. Feel free to click on the images to see them in full size. Do the colors pop?
Last week, Ritva got us to shoot from above. I enjoyed seeing your images and creative juices present in those beautiful photos. This week, I ask that you share images with complementary colors that create interest and make your photos stand out. It may be second nature to you, but feel free to use the color wheel above to see if the colors in your images are complementary. Don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag when creating your post so we can easily find it in the Reader.
Next week, Tina returns with her first new challenge for the year. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in to find out another exciting challenge. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history.
Those are the stories behind the shots. If you liked these photos, you might also be interested in other posts featuring Caprock Canyons SP, Four O’Clock flower, Landscapes, Lens-Artists, Mealy Blue Sage, Monochrome, Prairie verbena, Red Admiral, Wildflowers, and Wildlife. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.
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Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Great post Egídio, love the landscape, beautiful. Nature has its way of making flowers and nature pop.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Ritva. We don’t have to look far to see what nature is giving us.
JohnRH
Ooooh, you’re going to make me THINK! Great theme, great photos, exploring COMPLEMENTS. I’m sure you will get lots of COMPLIMENTS!
Egidio Leitao
John, first of all, I compliment you on pointing out the difference between those two words. Some people (or auto-correct) cannot tell the difference. Don’t think too hard about the challenge.
JohnRH
Me, my, mine: https://fairplay740.wordpress.com/2025/01/25/lens-artists-challenge-333-complementary-colors/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, John. I left a note on your post.
Anne Sandler
What a great and essential theme Egidio! Colors are so much a part of our composing a photo. I’m going to dive into the archives and get back to you later today.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback, Anne. I look forward to seeing your discoveries.
PR
Beautiful! Nature is the greatest artist 😀..
Egidio Leitao
PR, you said it best! I totally agree. Thanks.
Rupali
Wonderful theme and your explanation, Egidio. Also beautiful images.
Egidio Leitao
Rupali, many thanks for your compliment. I appreciate that.
Rupali
Thanks for the colour chart.
Egidio Leitao
You are welcome, Rupali.
Lens-Artists Challenge – Complementary Colours – photographias
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restlessjo
They do indeed ‘pop’, Egidio. Nature’s perfection.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for your feedback, Jo.
Terri Webster Schrandt
Photographing in complementary colors is a great challenge this week, Egidio! I love the orange and blue of the canyon, as well as the gorgeous florals. I’m sure this will keep you busy all week 😉
I’ll join you tomorrow with my collection of birds for my Sunday Stills challenge. Hope you can join me, too!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you so much for this wonderful feedback, Terri.
Wandering Dawgs
Egidio, thank you for challenging us with a great theme. I love your examples from nature. The ping four o’clock flower with the green leaves in the background is my favorite.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Beth, for this feedback. I was so surprised the first time I saw the four o’clock flowers. They stood out with that color contrast.
Marina
Great challenge and your photos are beautiful.
Mine is here: https://inprimopianophoto.wordpress.com/2025/01/25/complementary/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the compliment, Marina. I left a note in your post.
Vicki
Love your examples and the challenge this week.
Egidio Leitao
Vicki, thank you for the feedback. The challenge is a bit technical, but I think there’ll be excellent images.
Alison
Beautiful photo of the butterfly
Egidio Leitao
Thank you for the compliment.
norasphotos4u
I love the butterfly and purple flowers with yellow background
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Nora. That seems to be a favorite so far. I appreciate your feedback.
Marianne
This was a fun challenge!
https://anthropologist.wordpress.com/2025/01/25/lens-artists-challenge-333-complementary-colors/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for your feedback, Marianne. I appreciate that. I left my comment in your post, too.
Dawn M. Miller
Wonderful examples!
That canyon image is exquisite!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Dawn. I love hiking in that park. Glad you liked the canyon photo.
philosophy through photography
Beautiful Crayons and lovely flowers with perfect background complimentary colours!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you very much. Glad you like them.
philosophy through photography
You are welcome, my friend.
Ana
I love the challenge. A very interesting topic, I’ll see what I can prepare.
Egidio Leitao
So glad you liked it, Ana. I look forward to your post.
Stupidity Hole
That Caprock Canyons photo is quite nice.
Everything in it is balanced well, and it also doesn’t feel as large as I imagine it is, which is something I find curious.
Here’s mine for this one:
https://stupidityhole.com/2025/01/26/sun-sets-2024/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the comment. The canyon is not very large, but those rock formations stand out. It’s a nice hike. Thanks for sending your link, too. I left a note there. Your complementary color image is stunning!
Leanne Cole
Interesting post Edigio, had me stumped a bit.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Leanne. I’m sure you will amaze us with your response.
eklastic
Wonderful photos, Egido. I particularly like the first one with the ochre rocks against the green shrubery. I’ve been playing around a bit and taken a different approach: https://picturesimperfectblog.com/2025/01/26/complimentary-art/
Egidio Leitao
Thank you for your compliments. I left a comment in your post. That was a wonderful response.
eklastic
Obrigado.
Egidio Leitao
De nada. 🙂
PR
So finally, here’s my entry 🙂 – https://flightsofthesoul.wordpress.com/2025/01/26/lens-artists-333-complementary-colors/
Egidio Leitao
PR, what a great response you provided! I’ll leave my comments on your post.
PR
Thanks very much 🙂..
Sofia Alves
Inspirational post, Egídio. Your nature photos are always so vibrant and full of life. I love them.
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Sofia. Also thanks for your fantastic post!
Marie
Great photos. I can see the text in the Reader view but on the actual post the block text fades into the blue background and is hard to see. I will have to find it in my reader feed.
Marie
And strangely it just changed to yellow. And I can read it. Is the background running through colors? Just ignore comment if I am just tired. 🙂
Egidio Leitao
Marie, thank you for the comments. I don’t know what was happening when you mentioned a blue background. The light yellow background is what I used on the blog. I’m glad the problem went away.
Toonsarah
Thank you for this Egidio – it’s a concept I knew about vaguely but hadn’t properly explored or considered in terms of photography! Your colours do certainly pop 🙂
Interestingly I realised part way through preparing my response that the colour wheel I found looked a little different to yours, but the principle still worked and I hope I came up with some suitable images: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/gallery-colours-that-complement/
Toonsarah
I forgot to say, my favourite of your shots is the Prairie Verbena & Yellow Sneezeweed – I love the shallow depth of field and the way you’ve framed it. And what a great name for a plant!
Egidio Leitao
Sarah, thank you for the compliment. It’s much appreciated. I loved your post and left my comments there. As for the yellow sneezeweed flower, it’s such an appropriate name. 🙂
Terri Webster Schrandt
Happy Sunday, Egidio! I managed to add a few complementary colors to some bird pics this week. Here’s mine:
https://secondwindleisure.com/2025/01/26/sunday-stills-watching-and-feeding-the-birds/
Egidio Leitao
Terri, thanks for the note and link. I left my comments in your post. I loved those photos.
tgeriatrix
https://geriatrixfotogallerie.wordpress.com/2025/01/26/complementary-colors/
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the link. I left my comment in your post.
lens-artists photo challenge – complementary color – photo robert blog 3
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robert heft
hello egidio,
a wonderful theme you have chosen for us, the pictures each have something special about them and i really like that about them.
here is my contribution to the challenge, https://wp.me/pfnz9O-Bh.
many greetings robert
Egidio Leitao
Robert, thanks for your kind words. Also, thanks for joining the challenge. I’ll post my comment on your post.
Tranature - quiet moments in nature
A beautiful series of complementary colours Egidio! My contribution for this week’s lovely challenge is here: https://tranature.com/2025/01/26/silent-sunday-one-day-in-findochty/
Tina Schell
Well Egidio, you’ve certainly gotten some wonderful feedback thus far, and deservedly so!! I loved both your challenge and your post. I especially liked that you included the color wheel as your opening image. And of course your photography is outstanding as always. Looking forward to some terrific responses.
Egidio Leitao
Tina, thank you for your kind words. I appreciate the feedback.
Brad
What a fun and colorful challenge Egidio! Your nature photos are beautiful examples of complimentary colors. The first one of the canyon is gorgeous made better by the blue sky as strong compliment to the rust canyons.
Egidio Leitao
Brad, I’m thankful for your kind words and feedback. Hope you’re well.
thesimlux
Beautiful palettes of colors! 😊
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for your compliment. I appreciate that.
klara
fun challenge. lovely images – nature at its best.
https://lessywannagohome.blogspot.com/2025/01/complementary-colors.html
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback. I left a comment on your page, too. Great entry there!
I. J. Khanewala
Nice challenge with some lovely illustrations. Flowers come out very nicely with these contrasts, but your landscape also shows others ways to use the idea.
My efforts here: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/2025/01/27/nature-artifice/
Egidio Leitao
Thank you kindly, I.J. I very much appreciate this feedback. I commented on your post, too.
Sue
Very good, Egidio, some great examples! My post will be later…
Egidio Leitao
Thanks so much, Sue. I appreciate the feedback and will look forward to your response.
photobyjohnbo
Wow! I’m the 75th commenter on your post… is there a prize? >grin< What a fun challenge! So colorful. I’m a bit behind in responses to this challenge, but I’ve got my response ready to publish on Thursday.
Egidio Leitao
Well, John, that number includes my responses. It’s still pretty good. I’m enjoying seeing how the post resonates with each person. As for the prize, we’ll have to wait for the 75th responder. 🙂
photobyjohnbo
I thought about your responses only after I sent my comment! 😀
I await your prize announcement!