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Technique Colour-matched head not photographing the correct colour compared to how it looks?

Jun 30, 2022

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    1. But of an odd one but, here we go. So I have colourmatched a normal yellow head to a light tan body using watercolour pencil and pastels, in pefson the match looks very close (just a bit yellower due tk the base resin colour but its fine) but on camera (iPhone XS or even using my Canon 100D/RebelSL1) the head looks way more yellow.

      Heres a picture of how my phone captures it (this is also very similar to how my camera does)

      [​IMG] 10B978AD-417C-4C77-BF32-4997623E8E9B

      And here is it using my camera, wiyh flash and the white balance setting also on flash, this is closest to how it looks irl but still more yellow -

      [​IMG] 81DE47E3-52F7-49C8-A3DB-8D900D27368E

      Does anyone have any insight as to why this is occuring? Even, perhaps, some solutions (aside from post-processing, that is)? Of course with a faceup with pinky blushing it’ll be a bit better but, information would be appreciated so I can at least work out why it does what it does!

      It’s a real shame as it looks nice enough in person, and I want to be able to photograph my dolls without having to look at the image and things not look ok (of course post processing is part of the process a lot of the time, but it helps if your starting point is close to what you want.)

      Thanks in Advance Everyone!
       
      #1 EmortalFreak, Jun 30, 2022
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    2. The reason it looks different is due to how the surfaces reflect light/surrounding colors, and how the camera picks that up.
      Cameras can be very harsh when it comes to even subtle color differences, and they show such differences way more clearly than the human eye often does.

      In your case for example, you have a body that is pretty shiny and slightly reflective, with a light reddish undertone for the brown.
      The head however is extremely matte due the paint job and sealant. On top of that you have a yellowish base, to which you most likely added red tones to achieve a similar color. The yellow still seems to affect the color added on top.

      Color matching is an art, and at times really difficult to do right. There is so much one needs to understand about color theory, how colors will change depending on the base color used, surface structures and co.
      The best one can basically do is just to constantly check in different light settings, with your own eyes and camera, how well the match truly is.

      In your case, it might have been better to give the head a short dye batch. Just enough to tint it into the right direction. The rest could have blended in well enough with a face-up.
      I also would advise against watercolor pencils for this job. Either pastels only, airbrush or dye.
       
      #2 Ara, Jun 30, 2022
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    3. I suspected the yellow base was partly responsible!

      I’ve used this method before and it worked well, admittedly it was taking normal skin to very very dark brown ao the underlying resin wasn’t even visible by the end.

      I did do a previous attempt using more pink for the watercolour than I did this time, and that captured far better on camera, must be an opacity thing as it was a more opaque layer compared to what I have here.
       
      #3 EmortalFreak, Jun 30, 2022
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    4. What she said....

      In addition although you used a flash unit with "flash" WB does not
      guarantee that your white balance was exactly right. All flash units
      are not exactly the same color temperature.

      Your Rebel assuredly will allow you to shoot in RAW image mode.
      You really should learn to use that mode. Then take your first photo
      with a true neutral reference card in your photo. In your editor set
      that to be neutral and record the setting. Then you can set your WB
      for your image.

      Whatever color variation is left is in the texture and coloration.
       
      #4 TomB, Jun 30, 2022
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    5. I always shoot RAW anyway for ease of post processing, but I’ll admit I’ve never really calibrated my WB’s

      Thankfully, the mention of colour theory really helped, I’ve managed to neitralise the yellow with a quick purple wash and not ruin the in person match (if anything it's now even closer!) now it captures beutifully even with iPhones horrible auto white balencing, and my dslr photographs it great too!

      Thank you both for the tips! Was a bit disheartened at first thinking I’d done a bad job!

      Photos-
      [​IMG]0737B27B-EEDA-422C-B2B8-8CDB9E13AEB4
      https://flic.kr/p/2nvrKW5[​IMG]
       
      #5 EmortalFreak, Jun 30, 2022
      Last edited: Jun 30, 2022
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