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Actress, ItalyFrom shadows and silhouettes to fashion and the marine depths, dark makes light pop and adds mood and complexity to images. Whether it emphasizes the shape of a figure or provides an element of contrast, black really does goes with everything.Gazing through her veil, a Sicilian actress strikes a dramatic pose in this photo that appeared on the August 1995 cover of National Geographic magazine.(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)
Photograph by William Albert Allard, National Geographic

Life in Color: Black

See how shades of black add mood and atmosphere to pictures in this new Life in Color gallery, from National Geographic.