how to reproduce colours accurately?

[gobbledegook]

Hi,

Need some help with this project.
I need to shoot some fabric of various colours and patterns.
I am having trouble reproducing the colours accurately on screen. I know it will look different on each different screen, but I just need it to show the original colour. sometimes the colours can come out totally wrong if you look closely at the patterns.

Any ideas on whats the best way to tackle this?

best lighting source etc?

much appreciated!

 

[Reportage]

Hi,

Need some help with this project.
I need to shoot some fabric of various colours and patterns.
I am having trouble reproducing the colours accurately on screen. I know it will look different on each different screen, but I just need it to show the original colour. sometimes the colours can come out totally wrong if you look closely at the patterns.

Any ideas on whats the best way to tackle this?

best lighting source etc?

much appreciated!

i take it your screen is calibrated.

are you using Adobe or sRGB?

 

[night86mare]

don't need lighting source, as long as there is light.

just make sure the white balance is set correctly.

 

[rendition]

Honestly, given the correct lighting source used, having a professionally calibrated monitor, using the correct configuration for your camera settings, applying 'proper' RAW processing workflow... all these may still not give you the 'right' colors, at least the way you want it and for me, this is when your eyes come to play (like as if it has never been LOL) and make the decision.

- given the correct lighting source used - Will ensure that it's closest to what the original is at least
- having a professionally calibrated monitor - Will ensure that your photos will appear similar on different monitors which also have to be calibrated
- using the correct configuration for your camera settings - Will prevent WB to shift perhaps
- applying 'proper' RAW processing workflow - errr......

Your camera can only 'see' that much colours, it can't even 'see' a white paper when placed in a tungsten litted room, as opposed to what human eyes can..... so...... as much as I wanna help, my answer is, there isn't any absolute solution. It really depends how 'close' you want your photos and original to appear.

 

[Clown]

I've been doing art reproduction for quite some time already and this is what i use:

a good calibrated screen (i'm on a dell) calibrated to 5000k or 6500k for print or for web viewing respectively
profoto mono w softbox x 2 (for color temperature consistancy) one on each side of the art piece, balanced for even lighting
gretag color chart
DSLR with a good macro lens

be sure to turn off the modelling lamp when taking the photo to prevent corruption of colors.

 

[Edwin Francis]

Depends on how picky you are. Even if you calibrate your equipment you may still run into colour issues. Digital sensors seem to have problems with reds. Vibrant red flowers and fabrics are often particularly difficult subjects.
There's a lot of discussion about this on the web. For e.g.
http://photo.net/digital-darkroom-forum/00SfPD

 

[zac08]

Hi,

Need some help with this project.
I need to shoot some fabric of various colours and patterns.
I am having trouble reproducing the colours accurately on screen. I know it will look different on each different screen, but I just need it to show the original colour. sometimes the colours can come out totally wrong if you look closely at the patterns.

Any ideas on whats the best way to tackle this?

best lighting source etc?

much appreciated!

Correct lighting,
accurate white balance and as mentioned, bring a colour chart along for comparision.

 

[tim]

I second Clown's suggestion.