Re: Preview for RAW conversion
Re: Preview for RAW conversion
- Subject: Re: Preview for RAW conversion
- From: Ben Goren <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2016 08:15:58 -0700
On Jun 2, 2016, at 6:21 AM, Martin Orpen <email@hidden> wrote:
> The problem is having to visually match the look of a Finder “preview” (not even a Preview conversion) on the uncalibrated MacBook Pro screens of people on another continent after all of the retouching has been done on a campaign :(
Alas, there are far too many variables there to solve. Your first step is to make sure that everybody knows that what's being asked of you is about as impossible as turning bacon and eggs into hogs and hens. But maybe everybody could take a field trip to the SPCA and pick out a cute little kitten to take home, and that's good enough?
The suggestion of an iPhone snapshot of the screen plus a physical ColorChecker is not a bad one. I'd amend it to suggest sending a digital ColorChecker (Bruce Lindbloom's site is a good source) and having that on the MacBook next to the picture you're trying to "match."
If you do a lot of profile building, you could go that route to attempt the "match." But, if that's not something you do all the time, you're about as well off using Photoshop curves. The margin of error (big enough to sail the Titanic through) is about the same either way. First adjust the iPhone snapshot so the physical ColorChecker is "close enough" -- and, for the sake of all that's unholy, don't beat yourself up trying to get the perfect match! Then, in a new document, make a new curves layer that "matches" Bruce's ColorChecker to the now-"adjusted" iPhone snapshot. Your last step is to put the two sets of curves on top of each other.
But, even more importantly...take this as a lesson for all involved -- both your clients _and_ you -- to not waste time in the future trying to "match" colors in a non-managed workflow. Anything not managed is for composition and position only. If the client sees something not managed that they like, you get a verbal description and use that to draw inspiration for your own edits, just as if the client asked you to "give it more punch" or "dial back the greens" or "make it more moody."
Cheers,
b&
P.S. If the client gets really insistent...tell the client you'll need physical possession of the laptop for a week or so -- either they FedEx it to you or they pay your way to go to them. You can then bring all sorts of tools to bear, including colorimeters and what-not, to get reasonably (but not perfectly) close. And if it's not worth it to them to spend that kind of money, it's not worth it to you to attempt that level of precision. b&
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