Color Pop... Yay or Nay?

[ChrisAdval]

I'm not a fan of it at all, nor it mixes well with my current style, but I'd like to hear and see (from poll results) what you guys think of it... its very well known in the professional world using "selective coloring" post processing diminishes the value of the photo dramatically and I agree it does... but in fine art who cares of course, fine art is pure subjective and not set by an industry standard whatsoever.

For those who don't know what is "Selective Coloring" it's also known as "color spot," and it means to make the whole photo black and white and picking an object to color into the photo using a post processing software.

EDIT: Its not "color pop" I've been mistaken using that term, its "selective coloring" (or selective color).

[BuddhaPi]

Actually I think you are referring to "selective color", I guess "Color Pop" works to, but I've never heard that term.. effective in some cases, mostly overused and an old trend...that'll be 2 cents please

[Hill Country Hack]

I don't prefer it

[Matthias099]

I'll have to go with 'sometimes'. I used it to set apart a piece of machinery from other 'stuff' in industrial photography. But in normal or artistic photography I prefer not to.

My 2 cents.

[SusanH1970]

Agreed that "color pop" is a whole different thing than what you're talking about - selective color. "Color pop" is when you bring out the natural colors in an otherwise dull photo. "Selective color" is when you bring the color back to a specific area/areas of an otherwise BW shot.

That being said, IMHO selective color works very, very seldom. It's a trend that was popular a while back, got way overdone, and never really worked well on most images. I'd rather see a beautifully done BW with NO selective color, or an entirely color image done right.

Just my humble .02.

[ravncat]

Of course we were taught in color printmaking that color POP was something that happened when you managed to properly balance the colors so that you actually had neutral highlights and shadows.

Though I suspect color pop really means popping the saturation in some manner.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by ravncat

Of course we were taught in color printmaking that color POP was something that happened when you managed to properly balance the colors so that you actually had neutral highlights and shadows.

Though I suspect color pop really means popping the saturation in some manner.

This is what I mean by doing a "color pop", FWIW.

Portait - SOOC and Edit

[ChrisAdval]

thanks guys for the clarification on that, I've heard many different terms and heard "color pop" used first than the others referring to using black and white photo and coloring one object.

[karen_s]

Mark me as 98% nay. I do see a use for it, but mainly in the area of graphic design and marketing. The Live Strong campaign used it quite effectively but outside of that example, I am hard pressed to find another. As for it's use in general photography, I don't much like it. I can't help but agree with SusanH about it's over use and poor application. It seems like a crutch to make and average shot, well, just a little more average.

That said, many people do like it and it does sell. I went to a local art festival with a couple of non art friends and they just raved about the "tent with the black and white pictures with one thing colored." They really liked the work and said there is always a line to buy it. I walked by the tent too but my thoughts were quite different. His shots were very nice and well composed but the spot coloring kinda turned me off. People see things differently and that's just the way life is.

I try not to knock the technique too much and I never say never, but I seriously doubt I will ever use it other than in experimentation.

[ceremus]

Originally Posted by SusanH1970

Agreed that "color pop" is a whole different thing than what you're talking about - selective color. "Color pop" is when you bring out the natural colors in an otherwise dull photo. "Selective color" is when you bring the color back to a specific area/areas of an otherwise BW shot.

That being said, IMHO selective color works very, very seldom. It's a trend that was popular a while back, got way overdone, and never really worked well on most images. I'd rather see a beautifully done BW with NO selective color, or an entirely color image done right.

Just my humble .02.

+1
I've seen a few examples where selective coloring worked OK, but in general it it's a trend that got too popular that didn't make most photos better in the first place.