Violet and red visible light photons, illustration. Visible light is made of photons associated with waves whose lengths vary between 390 and 700 nanometers. Each of these waves emits a different color forming a spectrum that goes from violet to red through different shades of blue, cyan, green, yellow, and orange. The shortest waves correspond to photons of violet light (390 nm), while the largest waves to red light (700 nm). Violet light waves are more energetic than red waves, so they oscillate more frequently.