So what’s that little card?

One of the questions that regulary arises when we do one of our portrait sessions is “what’s that little black and white card all about?.  You seem to photograph it all the time?

Good question…  The answer is a little technical though.

The card is a color reference card.  We photograph it for every lighting situation that we come across.  It helps us assure that the color is right on all of our photos.

Inside, we shoot it once.  We use high quality, high consistency studio lights in our camera room so there isn’t any variation in the color of the light.  So once we shoot it, we’re good to go.

Outside, we shoot it every time we move to a new spot.  Though you eye can’t see it, the color of the light is constantly changing.  If the light comes through the trees, it tends to get green.  In the shade, it gets blue.  If we are photographing near a brick wall, it goes the color of the bricks.

After we finish the session we color correct all of our images by sampling the color card.  That assures that the color of our subjects is just right.  And it assures that if you are wearing a white shirt, it turns out white, not some other color. If we want to adjust the color after that, we can.

Many photographers don’t go to the trouble to shoot a color reference card.  And it shows in their work.

We do it because it’s the way to get the color right.  Our aim is to get things perfect, so that’s why we do it.