Any ideas why I can't get true color with camera?

[gbdolfans]

Hi,We have GREAT photographers here and they shoot their models all the time.

I used the Testors One Coat Lacquer on my '55 Chevy.It came out a color my wife says is closest to a Burnt Orange.I have tried everything to take a pic of it and can't get the right color.It photographs with more red than it has.I have tried shooting indoors with the flash and without.I have also tried shooting outside in the shade and in the sun with and without flash.I get the same thing.

Both of us see the same color and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas of what I can try.I want to post pics here when I can.

I do not have anything like Photoshop to alter the color.

thanks in advance for any help,

George Bluhm

Oh by the way,I have a Nikon Coolpix S6100 camera.

Edited June 20, 2012 by gbdolfans

[Fat Brian]

I have a Nikon Coolpix too and I hate it, mine doesn't handle red very well either. Dark red is too light and oranges are too dark, I don't know what is wrong with it but if I had paid for it myself I would have taken it back.

[Casey]

Photobucket has an Advanced Photo Editor which has many of the image editing options Photoshop offers, and should be enough for most web images. Try uploading them there and modifying them as necessary.

[Guest]

It's hard to get the exact color on Testors One Coat in photos usually. I think the problem is the size of the flake in some of the paints. I've had good luck with the "Inca Gold" and decent with the "Fiery Orange",but some won't come out right no matter what like the "Icy Blue". Also,the "auto adjust" button can be your best friend after you download your photos onto your computer.

[gbdolfans]

Thanks for your responses!!!

Casey,I will try your idea.It will be fun to try that.From what you all say,I guess I will just have to live with the color I get.

I am just an oldster and am used to a film camera where you get the right color.

[mr moto]

The problem is more likely due to the lighting where you're shooting than the camera. If you photograph under a light rated at a color temperature of 6500K or as close to that as you can find the colors should look much more natural. (Hint: I bought an 18" 6500K rated flourescent bulb to use in a small under-shelf light at an aquarium store, Home Depot sells them in 48" length.)

Also, if you're viewing your photos on a computer monitor most of them can really skew the color.

[Roncla]

Most digital cameras have adjustable white balance in their menus. Usually it will be set to auto and this will do the job but if you cannot produce natural looking colors changing the white balance using

a setting appropriate for the light source could help.

Edited June 20, 2012 by Roncla

[Art Anderson]

OK, now is it your camera, or your monitor that is causing the problem. Don't assume that your puter's monitor is giving you the correct colors, because it may very well not be!

Art

[sjordan2]

Color correction in photo editing software is the best suggestion.

On the other hand, what type of files do you use? I know from working with pro photographers that early RAW files were prone to unnatural red highlights in flesh tones and shadows, and needed a lot of work.

[wisdonm]

You might as well download a photo editor. You are going to have to crop and re-size pixs anyway. A good free one is IrfanView. http://www.irfanview.com/

Another advantage to using a program like this is it can automatically adjust the colors in your pix by relating it to white. In IrfanView you would click on the Image menu and then select Auto Adjust Colors. If that doesn't do it for you, there is also a manual Color Corrections button where you can manually change colors, brightness, contrast, and more.

You will eventually need a photo editor, so you might as well stop wasting time and do it now.

Oh by the way, the type of light bulbs you use can change your colors also.

Edited June 20, 2012 by wisdonm

[sjordan2]

Playing around with a photo editing program is very easy and can be a lot of fun. This morning, for a 1/16 Mercedes kit I'm working on, I took my original archive photo from Mercedes and adjusted overall values in iPhoto on my Mac in less than ten minutes. This can also be useful in discovering detail from your source photo that you didn't know was there.

Before:

After:

Edited June 20, 2012 by sjordan2

[jbwelda]

a Nikon Coolpix of anything approaching recent vintage is an awesome camera if you know how to use it. there are a zillion settings and if you know how they work, the color problem goes away. but then as someone said you are left with a) lighting color casts and the fact your monitor can really skew the color balance as well.

contrary to what most printed sources seem to say, i pretty much always use macro mode for models...for anything closer than a few feet actually. the perspective "problem" goes away once you figure out how to make it go away via camera placement, or you use it to good effect in the photo. and the color balance seems to be pretty nice right out of the box too.

red?

tamiya mica red w/ red clear overcoat:

pretty much looks like the real thing to me...

[Chief Joseph]

For anyone who takes photos of their models for posterity: If your camera has a manual white balance setting, it's an easy procedure to hold a white card in front of the lens and set the white balance for your lighting conditions. Works extremely well for my modest Sony and Olympus cameras.

[sjordan2]

Also, the scanner on your printer probably has built-in photo editing software.

[gbdolfans]

Thanks guys for taking the time to respond to me.I tried the Photobucket editor and find it works GREAT!!!

Thank you Casey for letting me know about that.

Thanks to all with their suggestions.I found another photo site called Picasa 3.It seams to be fun to work on this one.

It stores your pics and is very easy to edit them!!!

Thanks again guys!!!!

This is a GREAT forum and I enjoy being a small part of it.

George Bluhm

[Guest G Holding]

Photobucket has a free editor now..based on PS elements. All jpeg pictures are "corrected" in the camera. shoot a picture of a 18% gray card with a known subject.....try all the white balances in the camera, find what looks best to you

[Junkman]

...This morning, for a 1/16 Mercedes kit I'm working on...

So you are building a Gakken/Entex/Revell/Academy/Minicraft Sonder-Kabriolett?

Got a build thread somewhere?

[sjordan2]

So you are building a Gakken/Entex/Revell/Academy/Minicraft Sonder-Kabriolett?

Got a build thread somewhere?

Yes, to all of the above (Revell / Academy/Minicraft - I'm using both to back up my mistakes). Parts kit: Rolls Phantom II for needed chrome parts like bonnet side handles and locks, trunk clasps, up top chrome strip, rounder headlights, fog lights, etc. (I'm building a 1933 model as opposed to the 1928 kit), plus a few parts from the Bburago SSK.

I might add to anyone who's interested in this, the newer Minicraft version is the way to go - chrome wheel rims and wheels like Entex (useful mostly for the beauty rings), unlike the Revell gray wheels, plus the only instructions that make any sense (1998 version). The Revell 1982 instructions are pictures only - a disaster for such a complicated kit - and the 1986 Minicraft instructions are only marginally better. You can get the 1998 instructions at drasticplastic.com.

Edited June 21, 2012 by sjordan2