Market Trends

See the Colors Dominating Photography This Season

By Lars - 5 min read

A closer look at EyeEm’s Spring / Summer Visual Trends.

Last week, we released the latest edition of our biannual visual trends reports – an in-depth look at the colors, subjects, and styles that are shaping photography this season.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at the first chapter of our report: Colors.

Color Blocking

The minimalist restraint of the past years has been replaced by a color treatment that’s much bolder and aggressive: We’re noticing a trend towards dramatic visuals that use a color blocking technique. This visual effect works by putting contrasting or even complementary colors next to one another. The resulting clash of colors has a captivating dynamic, not least because it’s such a departure from the minimalism we’ve become accustomed to seeing.

Midsection of man wearing scarf against black background
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By Jonas Hafner

High angle view of sea against sky
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By Olym Li

LOW ANGLE VIEW OF BUILDING WITH SKY IN BACKGROUND

By Christian Cevoli

Red and Black

A photographic style inspired by a fashion trend: This combination of rich reds and moody blacks has a very eye-catching effect. Imagine your favorite black and white shot redressed with red instead of white: The color adds a sense of urgency and mystery. We love this look for its captivating effect, its night-club vibes, and for literally casting familiar subjects in a new light.

Silhouette woman against lanterns
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By shafiq hashim

CLOSE-UP OF ORANGE FLOWER IN BLACK BACKGROUND

By Jirawat Plekhongthu

Guitarist performing at concert
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By Tibrina

Silver

This close cousin of the previously trending gold has been showing up in more and more photographs.

Just like gold, it works particularly well as glittery accent color – but having a colder overall tone, it nicely contrasts with summer’s warmer colors.

Close-up of balloon in text shape
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By Monika Kanokova

Low section of girl against wall at home
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By Natalie

Close-up of necklace

By sali’o

Millennial Pink

In 2016, Pantone named a certain pink tone their color of the year. But the company hadn’t invented it: The color we now know as Millennial Pink got its popularity (and its name) from social networks, where it bubbled up over time. This blend of peach and salmon tones is pleasing to the eye and works nicely as contrast color with skin tones.

Full frame shot of pink ceiling

By Ch@rty

Young woman looking in mirror on wall of building at night
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By Fredrik Andersen

RED BUILDING

By André Dogbey

To see even more example pictures and to find out why pink has become politically relevant, make sure to head over to our full Visual Trends Report that you can read for free!

Header image by Koukichi Takahashi.