Can You Be a Photographer If You’re Colorblind?

“Why does that dog look green?” From that startling comment, my parents discovered that I was red-green colorblind. But is it possible to be a colorblind photographer? We examine this interesting dilemma.

If You Are Colorblind, Do You Only See Black and White?

Some people think that if someone is colorblind, they see only black and white. However, that is an extremely rare occurrence.

There are numerous kinds of colorblindness. I am red-green colorblind, also known as deuteranopia. Approximately 8% of males are affected by deuteranopia, so it’s not unusual. And there are not only different kinds of colorblindness, but also different degrees. Mine is relatively strong.

I can easily differentiate between bold colors of red and green. Traffic lights are no issue at all. Grass is green. Fire trucks are red.

However, when you throw in subtle hues of reds and greens, as well as related colors such as oranges and browns, I’m usually sunk. This is why I expressed confusion when I thought a dog looked green.

When people discuss cyan, teal, turquoise, chartreuse, or aquamarine, those names hold little meaning to me.

If someone told me a color was teal instead of blue, I would not be able to know for sure if it were. I have little concept of what taupe or chartreuse are. Pale pinks and light gray, subtle shades of blue and purple, bright greens and yellows, or dark greens and gray—these are confusing to me.

However, there are some people who have deuteranopia and cannot distinguish between the colors on a stoplight. That is considerably more severe than what I have. So again, there are different degrees as well as different kinds of colorblindness.

Can You Still Be a Photographer If You’re Colorblind?

I will examine this question from my own perspective, offering strategies that I hope will help you. These strategies will likely work for many people with colorblindness, including deuteranopia. And hopefully, others will better understand what we see, how we cope, and even how we can be helped.

Shooting Photos When You Can’t Always Trust Color

Taking photos is relatively simple. However, I sometimes light my subjects with different colors. Sometimes, I’ve attempted to select blue, only to find that I’ve selected teal. If I select a color like green and I want to be absolutely sure, I will increase the saturation and hold the light against a relatively neutral surface. The same with colors such as pink, which might look different, especially if held against a non-neutral surface such as the sandy desert or my hand.

The Challenges of Editing Photos With Colorblindness

Post-processing colors is one of many reasons why I don't want to work as a wedding photographer (there are other reasons as well, so no thank you, three weddings were enough for me!). If someone has specific clothing and I don’t nail the exact color, that’s not so good.

The same goes for product photography or photographing people's paintings. I would struggle if the client wanted to have the colors match their packaging or painting.

Regardless, I do want accurate color. Consequently, I try to set a proper white balance when photographing, despite already shooting in Raw. I find nailing the white balance really helps me later. It also enables me to see the histogram out in the field. In addition, tuning my lighting to the camera's manually set white balance is extremely effective.

My Tricks for Figuring Out What Color I’m Actually Seeing

When I begin editing, I simply don’t mess with the colors very much. I rarely use saturation at all.

If I’m really not sure what color something is, I use Photoshop’s Color Picker. I select the color in question on the image. This produces a dialog box that gives me a visual representation of where things are on the RGB spectrum. Usually, that’s enough.

If I need more information or confirmation, I simply copy the color hex code, as shown above. This is simply a hexadecimal way to represent a specific color in RGB format.

Then I paste the code into a site such as ColorHexa. This provides a lot of information about the color.

Cranking That Saturation

If I am not certain about how much of a particular color is in an image, I will crank that color to 100% temporarily using a saturation slider. If that color is not there, little will change. If something does change, then I will make subtle adjustments. I don’t overdo it because other people will perceive that as oversaturated.

I have trouble using things like hue sliders and color mix panels. If I shift hues, I will crank the saturation of that color by 100% temporarily so I can determine what color that is.

How I Use Color Cast Tools to Double-Check My Images

I occasionally use the Color Cast function in Nik Color Efex. I’ll click on something that I know is supposed to be white. Even if I don’t end up applying the Color Cast function, this can sometimes help me to become more aware of some of the colors or casts in my image.

When I Know It’s Time to Ask Someone Else About Color

If I create any shifts in color, something that might occur if processing a Milky Way photo, I will ask someone if the colors look amiss. And again, I really try not to change or mess with the colors very much at all. It's a little frightening...

Can Deuteranopia Be Cured?

No, there’s not. I wish there were, but there is no cure or treatment.

Do Colorblind Glasses Actually Work for Photographers?

You’ve probably seen the videos on social media where someone weeps because they’re seeing colors for the first time. They are almost overcome with the beautiful colors they can suddenly see.

Curious about this, I purchased Pilestone red-green colorblind glasses. While I did not experience any emotional revelations, they did help me differentiate between challenging colors. However, the colors looked tinted. It was nothing that would help me edit photos. I returned the glasses.

I'd Like To Think We Have a Happy Conclusion!

With some ingenuity and persistence, almost all of us can overcome color blindness. While occasionally it might be confusing or frustrating, I would urge you not to be discouraged. Deuteranopia hasn’t stopped me from enjoying it, and it shouldn’t stop anyone else. With persistence and the right strategies, colorblind photographers can absolutely thrive behind the camera.

What about you? Have you ever worked with colorblind photographers, or do you struggle with color vision yourself? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments.