Ever wonder why the STUNNING color of your Bbag is SOOO DARN HARD to photograph???

[Melisande R.]

After two weeks of attempting to sneak up on my little Rouge Vif mini-compagnon and accurately record her color, I'm about to give up. And, when perusing ebay, I keep noticing what a wide variation of colors show up in photos of the same bag.

Here's an example with cornflower. (I'm not questioning authenticity or anything like that at all - and I think the photographer who took the pictures is doing really well, I can't get my bags to look consistent):

I assume that's pretty close to how it looks. Here's another picture from the same auction:

And another:

That middle one looks so different! Any ideas on which one is most accurate -given your own monitors - and on how to take good pictures?

Here's a bag I'm really really interested in - because I think it's the color I want:

That's 05 Bleu/Navy. But here's another picture of the same bag:

And another, of just the handles:

So I'm assuming (should I?) that the Bleu/Navy bag is a lot darker than cornflower - and looks more like pix 1 and 3?

Okay...now back to trying to get pix of my own bags to come out right. It's very hard. Any tips?

 

[Shasta]

This is an issue w/ just about any color especially if there is a wide range of shades of the same color i.e. aqua. Pics w/ flash and w/out are really different too.

 

[fashion-cult]

Hey there, she's my navy Twiggy!

Not sure if you were the person who I emailed comparison pics of Navy/ Cornflower too...

Navy is definately darker than Cornflower. The most accurate pictures that depict the true colour are that of the full picture of the bag on the carpet and the handles.

You're right though... colours are soooo hard to capture!

 

[fayden]

one should really keep the flash OFF when taking photos of bags. the flash usually will wash the colors out. also when taking the photos, try to adjust the white balance on your camera depending on what kind of light you have as a source. and lastly try to make sure there's enough light. it helps to know how to take a decent photo.

 

[fashion-cult]

I always take pics of my bags with the flash OFF, but if I do include pics with the flash ON, I note that so that people know...

 

[Melisande R.]

Fayden, I'm truly not a bad photographer - I use photography in my work and I've completed a year of college level photography with a grade of "A-"! But, for some reason, I just can't get the color right on the Rouge Vif, especially. Mine are flash off photos - but the Rouge Vif comes out looking more orange, over and over, than it should.

Fashion-cult, thanks for the tip (you may well have sent me photos - and thanks for letting me know which one looks best). I am watching that Twiggy very very closely.

I think my problem is with white balance and the background - going to go try against a more neutral backdrop (if I can find one around here!) and see how it goes.

As I tried to say, there's nothing wrong with the photos I posted, it's just hard to get the bags photographed correctly and I think many of us keep trying different lighting conditions. I need a Bal-bag photo studio here.

 

[Grande Latte]

Yeah, I had the same problem capturing Vermillion color. I gave up in the end. I didn't know red is such a hard color to capture.

 

[fashion-cult]

My Rouge Vif was actually the easiest to capture, and came out pretty much on the mark...

Luck of the draw I guess!

 

[powderpuff100]

Try to take pictures outside on a sunny day. Not when the sun is directly overhead or creates a glare on the bag. I find those are the truest colors and show the real color of the bag.

 

[highglossfinish]

Oh, my Rouille Twiggy was IMPOSSIBLE to photograph! All the pix showed off her orange attributes, but it was really hard to capture her red ones.

That's why I like it when sellers take a bunch of pix in different lighting situations. It's true there is no visual consensus on what the bag looks like, but I know that IRL, none of my bags are only one color. Sometimes my 05 Olive is a drab olive, and sometimes she's a golden green. Both are accurate.

 

[Celia_Hish]

Hey, i tried to take pictures esp in the day where it is brighter rather than at night.....normally i will take it with flash as somehow if i choose not to, the pictures will turn a bit dark or dull (esp when it's taken at home)....

 

[pursendipity]

After two weeks of attempting to sneak up on my little Rouge Vif mini-compagnon and accurately record her color, I'm about to give up.

I know exactly what you mean!! I want to list my Rouge Vif mini-compagnon on eBay but so far all my pics have turned out too orange and the beauty of this wallet is its deep berry red!! I will try natural light pics next, as I think my problem may be inside/night-time pics.

 

[evilarchitect]

hey gals, i'm a photographer for a living so this thread piqued my interest. i've had similar problems photographing my bags - usually when pics come straight off the camera they look horrid in terms of colour, or at least, waaayy off (thanks to the yellowness of 60w bulbs - which will make a bag look more orangish, or the overly white cast of the sky, which can fade the colour out a ton).

it may take a little extra time, but a solution is to use iPhoto (on a mac, it should be already installed) or picasa (for PC). they're fairly simple photo programs that you can use to tweak the colours to look more like what you see in real life.

not sure if you guys want to go through the extra step, but it may make your photos look more true to life and they're fun to use (at least for me...heh)! just thought i'd share. if any of you need any technical pointers feel free to message me.

http://picasa.google.com/ - Picasa for PC

 

[Melisande R.]

Evilarchitect, thank you so much for the words about picasa! I knew there was something I could use - and I'm glad someone else shares my Rouge Vif angst, Purseandpity. I bought my Rouge Vif without ever seeing Rouge Vif in real life - and I thought it was indeed more of a poppy red than it is. I love all reds, but I wouldn't have been able to see myself wearing this particular berry-strawberry shade (although as a wallet, it's perfect - I love getting it out and seeing this particular shade of red).

But "fire engine" doesn't quite describe it - and I can't get it to look like anything other than a tomato in my pictures! Gonna try picasa!

 

[Melisande R.]

Oh - and I definitely believe that there are 2 dye lots (at least) of Rouge Vif, which might make a difference if people were trying to collect matching accessories.