Bride arguing about dress color ... what would you do?

[Tiffany]

So ... I have a bride who is arguing about her bridesmaid dress color. She always said her dresses were "Forest Green" so you can imagine my surprise when I showed up to find teal taffeta dresses instead of forest green. Not a big deal, I still did my job. Well, she got her pictures back and is now saying her dresses are the wrong color in the images! I'm not sure exactly what to do!

We had two photographers and the dresses are the same color in both of our images, plus they were definitely NOT forest green in person. The skin tones and all other colors in the images are correct and true to life. I'm just unsure at this point how to handle explaining to her that no, her dresses were NOT Forest Green, and what she sees is the color they were. Here's a couple examples:

http://allurephotographystudio.com/portfolio/images/0049.jpg

http://allurephotographystudio.com/portfolio/images/0100.jpg

How would you handle this?

[Tiffany]

I'm about ready to ask the bride to put the prints next to her dresses and see if they match! Here's a shot from the other photographer to compare colors:

[stupot]

how amusing... considering they are standing in front of a forest... which is green... i am surprised she hasn't noticed her dresses don't match. the colour looks fine to me. if it really bugs her they can easily be changed... perhaps at an extra cost?:)

[SuzyView]

Can you, without being completely insensitive, adjust the dresses to the "color" she thinks they should be and let her see how distorted everything else is? If she likes the skin and background colors bad and the dresses forest green, so be it! She's paying for the shots. Just make sure she doesn't show the pictures to anyone?

Now, if I were the shooter, I'd tell her that taffeta photographs like this and there is nothing you can do without ruining the pictures overall. Ask her if she wants some of her larger shots in B&W and maybe that will be satisfactory.

[Tiffany]

Thanks - I did tell her that taffeta was highly reflective and could be part of why the colors are more blue than she expected. The church was very white/beige/blue, with blue lights in some places as well. But seriously - these dresses were NOT green in person, so I'm not sure how they were supposed to photograph green! :)

I've told her I can attempt to tone down the blue but said that will alter the colors in the rest of the image as well. I'm wondering if this isn't a case of she thought things looked a certain way and then they didn't, and she's surprised? Who knows ... but I'm at a loss here!

[woffles]

She's color blind!

[woffles]

I'd seriously get your hands on one of those dresses and put it side by side with a print and show it to the bride. I wouldn't try to explain or anything, just show her.

[kampphoto]

She's color blind!

I thought women can't be color blind....

about the dresses, yeah those aren't even close to green...

[tlc]

just say: DUDE, THOSE ARE TEAL!!!!!!

[SuzyView]

Teal. No green. And really lovely or ghastly. :)

[SimonG]

I thought women can't be color blind....
It's quite possible for a woman to be colour blind, but it's not nearly as prevalent as it is with men... I believe that men are 20 times more likely to be colour blind than women.

[kampphoto]

It's quite possible for a woman to be colour blind, but it's not nearly as prevalent as it is with men... I believe that men are 20 times more likely to be colour blind than women.

oh ok. that makes sense.

[Wilt]

So ... I have a bride who is arguing about her bridesmaid dress color. She always said her dresses were "Forest Green" so you can imagine my surprise when I showed up to find teal taffeta dresses instead of forest green. Not a big deal, I still did my job. Well, she got her pictures back and is now saying her dresses are the wrong color in the images! I'm not sure exactly what to do!

We had two photographers and the dresses are the same color in both of our images, plus they were definitely NOT forest green in person. The skin tones and all other colors in the images are correct and true to life. I'm just unsure at this point how to handle explaining to her that no, her dresses were NOT Forest Green, and what she sees is the color they were.

How would you handle this?

If it were possible, shoot a shot with one of the bride's maids dresses with the Macbeth Color Checker in the shot. Then print the shot so that the Macbeth matches the print, then show her the rendition of the dress in that same photo, then compare that dress rendition with the rendition in your photos from the wedding. Standard procedure from photography for the fashion and textile industries where the observer can question the accuracy of your rendition.

[Honeybee]

Tiffany,

Even though the images are very nice, I'm seeing a different color to the dresses in each picture?

Honeybee

[tim]

Get a print made, and put it next to a dress. Problem solved.

[coreypolis]

do you have pictures of anything else that matched the dresses, like flowers, table cloths, cake frosting? She probably had something else that was the same color, and you can compare it.

[lil_miss]

Eek - sounds like she's a bit of a bridezilla even after the wedding... :S If as you say, the dresses werent even forest green to start with - I wouldnt worry about it.... sounds like she just wants someone to blame for them not being right. I think the photos look great! :)

[Franko515]

I used the magic wand tool in PS CS2 selected a dress then selected similar (had to manually add one or two more spots) the adjusted the color of the dresses. Does this work for you (it might for her)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Franko515/Edited/ViewImage1.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/Franko515/Edited/0049.jpg
Hope this helps ;)

[lil_miss]

That definately makes them look more 'green'

[tim]

You can't go in and mess with the color of the dresses in every photo. If she wanted green, she should've bought green. Unless it was a weird fabric the photo is the color of the dress, she has to learn to live with it. I really think you need to do a print, and get one of the dresses to compare it with. Even if it comes out different, it's not practical to adjust the color of the dress in every photo.

[Franko515]

You can't go in and mess with the color of the dresses in every photo. If she wanted green, she should've bought green. Unless it was a weird fabric the photo is the color of the dress, she has to learn to live with it. I really think you need to do a print, and get one of the dresses to compare it with. Even if it comes out different, it's not practical to adjust the color of the dress in every photo.


Thanks - I did tell her that taffeta was highly reflective and could be part of why the colors are more blue than she expected. The church was very white/beige/blue, with blue lights in some places as well. But seriously - these dresses were NOT green in person, so I'm not sure how they were supposed to photograph green! :)

I've told her I can attempt to tone down the blue but said that will alter the colors in the rest of the image as well. I'm wondering if this isn't a case of she thought things looked a certain way and then they didn't, and she's surprised? Who knows ... but I'm at a loss here!

Just tryin to be helpful :D

[sapearl]

You may want to consider adding a statement to your wedding contract similar to what I've used for years:

"Certain fabrics sometimes cause a color shift in clothing. Because photographic prints are made to a proper flesh tone, neither the film manufacturer, the processing lab, nor the PHOTOGRAPHER can be responsible for color shifts in clothing."

As has been pointed out, different fabrics, colors, and materials sometime will reflect light in unpredictable ways that cannot be foreseen. Naturally with photoshop we have almost unlimited "corrective abilities" but I don't think that any of us want to spend hours trying to match colors that perhaps aren't really an issue.

Anyway, I explain to clients ahead of time what to expect and rarely have problems.

[Tiffany]

Tiffany,

Even though the images are very nice, I'm seeing a different color to the dresses in each picture?

Honeybee

That would be the fun of taffeta and different lighting - as well as two cameras. The first two are mine, the second one the second photographers and I personally think it's still a tad yellow, though the greens in that location ALWAYS seem to shoot somewhat yellow. Mine - the first one is outside in sunlight, the second was inside and with the backlighting the dresses are more shaded than others. They are still teal, instead of Forest Green though :)

Thanks everyone - I have ordered a few prints for myself to compare and will ultimately have her pull out the sash of her dress made from the bridesmaid's dress material (she wore a beige one for the ceremony and a ... teal? green? one for the reception) and put it right next to the print.

The ONLY other thing that color at the ceremony was a necklace she wore. Her flowers, cake, etc., were all pink. They matched the dress color to a family heirloom emerald necklace - probably why she was insisting it was emerald green at first, and forest green now.

[deadpass]

If it were possible, shoot a shot with one of the bride's maids dresses with the Macbeth Color Checker in the shot. Then print the shot so that the Macbeth matches the print, then show her the rendition of the dress in that same photo, then compare that dress rendition with the rendition in your photos from the wedding. Standard procedure from photography for the fashion and textile industries where the observer can question the accuracy of your rendition.

Great Idea if you were trying to show this to another photographer, but for some random bride that most likely knows nothing of color profiles and whatnot, I think the plain and simple, print compared to dress method would be the most effective. It might not hurt to find someone in the wedding party or a parent of the Bride or Groom that's on your side.

[Wilt]

Great Idea if you were trying to show this to another photographer, but for some random bride that most likely knows nothing of color profiles and whatnot, I think the plain and simple, print compared to dress method would be the most effective. It might not hurt to find someone in the wedding party or a parent of the Bride or Groom that's on your side.

But it is a quite simple concept even the uninformed can follow..."If all the color samples across the board (and especially the green tones and blue tones) are dead on or quite close in rendition in both the original and in the reproduction, your dresses are accurate depicted in the same color print, aren't they?"

[Harry Settle]

My wife bought green shoes for our daughters wedding this summer, took them back because they changed colors depending upon the light they were under. People at the store told her she was nuts until she showed them.

[JMHPhotography]

This is why it's a GREAT idea to shoot a WB reference card in the same scene and lighting... preferably with the subjects in the shot as well. This way, you won't be second guessing yourself.

On the other hand, I would think that if she was color blind to the color in person, she wouldn't be able to tell any difference if there was any would she?

[Wilt]

This is why it's a GREAT idea to shoot a WB reference card in the same scene and lighting... preferably with the subjects in the shot as well. This way, you won't be second guessing yourself.

On the other hand, I would think that if she was color blind to the color in person, she wouldn't be able to tell any difference if there was any would she?

That's a reason to shoot Macbeth color samples, and not just white or gray card. Then she cannot dispute that all colors are rendered accurately, even to HER perception!

[JMHPhotography]

That's a reason to shoot Macbeth color samples, and not just white or gray card. Then she cannot dispute that all colors are rendered accurately, even to HER perception!

I have a MacBeth card.. .8x10. I also use the Whibal pocket checker for location stuff. Either will prove out color.

[Wilt]

I have a MacBeth card.. .8x10. I also use the Whibal pocket checker for location stuff. Either will prove out color.

You understand that. A non-photographer does not necessarily understand that...a non-photographer might assume that white appears white, even if green misportrays as blue in the print! Especially if she is color blind, white might still appear white to her, even when you see the color!

[Dimitry]

For those interesting in getting a glimpse into the world of colourblind people, check this page out http://www.vischeck.com/daltonize/

Gives very good examples of how SOME people see...