How can we improve color accuracy when photographing rugs for online sales?
Asked 4/6/2016
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We photograph rugs in-house for e-commerce, but every image needs a lot of post-processing to make the colors match the real product. We shoot under studio lighting with daylight-balanced bulbs, and the rugs can be many different colors and sizes.
How can we set up the studio and workflow to get more consistent, accurate color straight out of camera? For example, should we use a color or white-balance reference card, custom camera profiles, monitor calibration, or different background/room colors? We also want to avoid settings that make color or sharpness inconsistent.
As a secondary question, for rugs of different sizes, what should we keep consistent in terms of distance, aperture, and lighting to maintain sharpness across the whole rug?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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Using a color reference card, like an X-Rite Color Checker, may be something to add to the workflow if it's not already being used. Having a reference against which you can correct the color values helps with getting the color consistent and accurate, vs. correction via eyeballing. Creating camera profiles with the reference card is also very useful, because different cameras can render colors differently. You may also need to calibrate the monitor being used to process the images.
To reduce the aperture setting to get good sharpness and a deeper depth of field, flash can be a useful tool. Unlike continuous lights, you can typically get a lot more light to work with, and you won't have to rely on slower shutter speeds which can bring the possibility of blur from camera shake, unless the camera's used on a sturdy tripod.
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—color consistency is mostly a workflow and control issue.
Use a color reference or white-balance card in a test shot under the same light as the rug, then apply that correction to the whole session. A ColorChecker-style target can also be used to build camera profiles, which helps because cameras render color differently. Make sure the editing monitor is calibrated too.
Turn off auto white balance. AWB can shift from shot to shot depending on the rug colors, so set a fixed white balance or correct from the reference card. Also use a neutral camera picture style rather than vivid or landscape.
Keep lighting consistent and avoid mixed light sources. If possible, use darker neutral surroundings: medium/dark gray walls and a dark gray background can reduce color contamination from light bouncing off strongly colored rugs and nearby surfaces.
For sharpness, use enough depth of field to keep the whole rug in focus. If stopping down requires more light, flash can help more than continuous lighting because it allows smaller apertures without slow shutter speeds that risk blur. In general, keep camera position and lighting as consistent as possible, then adjust aperture only as needed for depth of field.
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