Checking color: A simple tool that will save you a lot of trouble and ensure that you capture accurate color

 

 

Product photography is important for not only showcasing a product in its best light, but also for aiding consumers who are trying to purchase something online. As glamour and fashion photographer Amber Goetz puts it in her article for Fstoppers, “It’s happened to me and it has most likely happened to you: you order a shirt and can’t wait for it to arrive. Then it does and it’s a completely different hue than what was pictured in the online store or catalog.” This unfortunate situation could’ve been avoided had the photographer utilized a color chart.

Color charts don't have to be expensive either. You can get this pocketable X-Rite ColorChecker Passport for under US$100, for example. It doesn’t take a lot to throw off your color, ambient light in a studio or changing conditions outdoors can dramatically change a scene. Not only can lighting change the colors in your images, but so can different gear. Not every lens reproduces color in the same way, so a color chart helps you correct for that.

Just how do you use a color chart then? The Slanted Lens is here to help with the video tutorial below.

(Seen via Fstoppers)