The most easily observed example of scattering is the color of the sky. Light at the blue-violet end of the spectrum is scattered by particles in the air during periods of average daylight producing blue sky. Most commonly, light striking an opaque object will be both reflected and scattered. This happens when an object is neither wholly glossy nor wholly rough. Absorption Finally, some or all of the light may be absorbed depending on the pigmentation of the object.
Pigments are natural colorants that absorb some or all wavelengths of light.
What we see as color, are the wavelengths of light that are not absorbed. These are the basis for the tristimulus response in human vision, as well as a significant part of color reproduction. Just as spectral power distributions are a property of a light source, the spectral reflectance or transmittance curve is a property of a colored object. Spectral transmittance refers to the amount of light at each wavelength that is transmitted through a transparent colored object as compared to the amount transmitted through a clear medium such as air. As we've mentioned, seeing color depends on the triad of light source, colored object, and the human eye.