Shannon Holden Photography

Here is an interesting test to take. As a photographer, my job is all about light. Reflections, shadows, highlights, and waves.

Wait a minute … waves?

Yes, waves. As I’m sure you know, light travels in a wave. Everything we see is determined by the behavior and length of those waves. A beam of pure white light traveling from the sun is a perfect blend of all colors, which we see when it is split by a prism or microscopic droplets of water creating a rainbow. What happens to that light when it hits an object determines the color we will see. Light makes a blue car appear blue, a green leaf appear green, or a black cat appear black. Is the wave reflected or absorbed? Reflected light will show a certain color, depending on the wavelength of the light bouncing off that object. A black object absorbs all the wavelengths of light, or all the colors, so no light, no color is reflected back to our eye.

And all eyes are not created equal. You and I can look at the same object and actually see its color differently. It all depends on the structure of our own eye, the cones and rods inside, and how they interpret the light reflected back to them. It’s fascinating and complex, and of course it is all much more complicated than I’ve described here. But I’m a photographer, not a scientist.

So I found this color test really intriguing. How accurately do you think you see color? Take this test and find out. Post your score if you do! I’ll keep my score a secret until you’ve had a chance to take the test.

Color IQ Test