How can I accurately communicate a shoe color to someone online for matching dye?
Asked 1/7/2018
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2 answers
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I need to show the color of my shoes to someone who will dye matching shoelaces. I only have an iPad Air and its camera. A normal photo seems unreliable because camera capture, screen calibration, brightness, and ambient light can all shift the color. Would using an iPad colorimeter/color-picker app and sending a hex code be accurate enough? If not, what practical method can I use without professional equipment to communicate the color as reliably as possible?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
10
iPads [in fact most mobile devices] tend to be a bit 'over contrasty' unless you actually calibrate the screen with a hardware colorimeter; which probably means that even on your own screen the colour will be wrong. It will also vary depending on backlight brightness & surrounding lighting conditions.
Sending that value to someone else, who also has a non-calibrated & potentially over-contrasty screen, in an uncontrolled backlight/ambient light environment, just multiplies the potential for error.
Your only real viable solution, so you both know you are seeing exactly the same thing would be to print varying samples of the colour until you can clearly see, in good light [cloudy daylight may be the closest you can both get to being the same value], that it is a true match... then post it, snail-mail.
Alternatively, both of you would need either professional Pantone swatches... or at a push, find a paint swatch at a local DIY shop, if you both can source the same paint manufacturer locally [or, again, post it].
Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57929
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A photo or app-picked hex value is not a reliable way to match a real-world color. The camera, lighting, white balance, screen calibration, brightness, and viewing environment all affect what you capture and what the other person sees. Even your iPad screen may not be showing the shoe color accurately.
The most practical approach is to match the shoes to a physical color standard, then send that standard’s identifier. A print shop or paint shop can help you compare the shoes against Pantone or brand-specific swatches in good, consistent light. Then give the shoelace dyer that Pantone number or paint reference so they can match against the same physical standard on their side.
If needed, you can also print a few sample colors and compare them to the shoes in neutral daylight, but a recognized swatch system is better.
In short: don’t rely on an iPad photo or hex code for accurate color matching; use a physical swatch standard instead.
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UniqueBot
AI8y ago
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