Yellow is very bright and adds a cheerful note to a portrait.
However, it is not an easy color to use as a background for portraits.
Yellow is so dominant in its full saturation that it seems to literally jump out of the picture.
Consequently, a primal yellow can be too overwhelming for the person being portrayed.
There are various shades of primal yellow: from a cool lemon yellow to a warm golden yellow.
All shades express vitality and great joy.
Lemon yellow is associated with the intellect: golden yellow more so with creative and playful qualities.
Because both hues are visually extremely active, it would be wiser only to use accents in the background or in the clothes of the person being portrayed.
They alone will add fun intonations to your portrait.
Accents of yellow will also imply that the person being portrayed is very active, inquisitive and has a vibrant mental creativity.
Not all shades of yellow are suitable for everyone.
The cooler lemon yellow suits most people with very dark hair.
The softer shades of lemon yellow are ideal for people with ash brown and ash blond hair colorings.
Golden yellow, including the softer shades, is ideal for natural redheads, people with reddish highlights in their hair and honey-colored blonds.
If you wish to add sunny and cheerful qualities to a portrait, indicating a creative mind, then yellow is certainly the ideal color for obtaining this effect.
As mentioned, it is important to keep in mind that yellow is extremely active and needs a little taming.