Photographing Fabric
Feb 9, 2015 16:32:01 #
Shutterbug61
Loc: Nazareth, PA
Does anyone have any experience photographing fabric/wool fabric for a website? If so, what do you do to get a correct color rendition? I've tried using available light and studio lighting and still having some difficulty. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Feb 9, 2015 16:38:01 #
Have you thought of using an 18% Gray Card?
how to use an 18 gray card http://www.google.com/#q=how+to+use+an+18+gray+card
how to use an 18 gray card http://www.google.com/#q=how+to+use+an+18+gray+card
Feb 9, 2015 16:45:50 #
Feb 9, 2015 16:47:24 #
Shutterbug61
Loc: Nazareth, PA
I don't have a gray card, but I have played around trying to capture white balance or trying a custom white balance by shooting a white sheet of paper first. Guess my next thing will be to purchase a gray card. Thanks!
Feb 9, 2015 16:48:14 #
Shutterbug61
Loc: Nazareth, PA
I don't know what a color checker passport is. Do you have any links?
Feb 9, 2015 16:49:21 #
Shutterbug61 wrote:
I don't have a gray card, but I have played around trying to capture white balance or trying a custom white balance by shooting a white sheet of paper first. Guess my next thing will be to purchase a gray card. Thanks!
There are many substitutes.
Feb 9, 2015 16:50:07 #
Shutterbug61 wrote:
I don't know what a color checker passport is. Do you have any links?
ColorChecker Passport http://xritephoto.com/ph_product_overview.aspx?id=1257
Feb 9, 2015 16:51:12 #
Feb 10, 2015 05:55:02 #
Shutterbug61 wrote:
Does anyone have any experience photographing fabric/wool fabric for a website? If so, what do you do to get a correct color rendition? I've tried using available light and studio lighting and still having some difficulty. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Use the only tool that will give you 100% accurate color AND white balance - the XRite Color Checker Passport - gray cards, Expodiscs and similar products help, but nothing I have used nails the color a white balance like the CCP.
Feb 10, 2015 09:36:21 #
Shutterbug61 wrote:
Does anyone have any experience photographing fabric/wool fabric for a website? If so, what do you do to get a correct color rendition? I've tried using available light and studio lighting and still having some difficulty. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Are you using a calibrated monitor? If not the colors you see are neither true to life nor true to what your camera captured.
If you are still dissatisfied after calibrating your monitor you should experiment with changing the white balance settings. If you have the option use degrees kelvin rather than the convenient, but not particularly accurate, icons you will find on the menu. For example, regular light bulbs vary from 2400 to 3200 degrees kelvin which makes the icon useless.
Also don't trust the equipment vendors ratings. For example, I have some lights rated at 5000 degrees kelvin which I have to rate at 5400 degrees kelvin to get true color rendition.
Finally, you have to realize that most of those who view your work on the web don't have color corrected monitors so unfortunately no matter what you do they won't see your work with correct colors :-(
Jerry
Feb 10, 2015 10:02:50 #
Gene51 wrote:
Use the only tool that will give you 100% accurate color AND white balance - the XRite Color Checker Passport - gray cards, Expodiscs and similar products help, but nothing I have used nails the color a white balance like the CCP.
Even though using a calibrated display will help, if you shoot your fabric accurately, and do not change the color or white balance, the recipient will see accurate color, to the extent he/she can on their display system.
Additionally, if this is to be viewed in printed form, and the print is prepared by a commercial lab, the print will be color accurate to the capture, even if your display system is not.
In advertising and corporate graphics departments, color standards are strictly adhered to, and even ambient lighting in the editing areas is corrected and balanced. This is regardless of whether you see a product in corrected and balanced light, or on a store shelf under totally non-descript fluorescent light. The entire exercise is to ensure color as accurate as possible to real life, the eye and human perception will make the necessary adjustment to either (or both).
Feb 10, 2015 10:10:48 #
Feb 10, 2015 10:20:56 #
Shutterbug61 wrote:
Does anyone have any experience photographing fabric/wool fabric for a website? If so, what do you do to get a correct color rendition? I've tried using available light and studio lighting and still having some difficulty. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
In addition to jgitomer's excellent comments, are you shooting Raw or JPG, processing 8 bit, 16 bit, or 32 bit? Or really bad, Web colors only. For advertizing printing you probably need to stay with Raw and 16 bit and Adobe Color or higher color profile. For only Web publishing, you need not be picky beyond calibrating the WB on your camera if off, everyone's monitor is different and most other than photographers' and graphic artists' probably displaying terribly wrong colors.
Feb 10, 2015 10:41:51 #
Shutterbug61
Loc: Nazareth, PA
Thanks everyone for all of your responses. I have one other question....I do have a spider for calibrating my monitor. It's not the most expensive version, but it does seem to help some. How does the spider differ from the color checker passport, or why is the passport better? I think I might need to invest in one of the those.
Feb 10, 2015 12:54:32 #
Shutterbug61 wrote:
Thanks everyone for all of your responses. I have one other question....I do have a spider for calibrating my monitor. It's not the most expensive version, but it does seem to help some. How does the spider differ from the color checker passport, or why is the passport better? I think I might need to invest in one of the those.
Spyder provides a profile specific to your display only. The ColorChecker Passport provides a profile for the camera/lens/filter/light that prevailed at time of capture. Two totally different things. The camera profile assumes a neutral color and white balance. And yes, they are really two different things. White balance is color temperature only, and is blue-yellow continuum, and color balance, or tint - is green-magenta. For accurate color you need to balance for both.
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