Making neon colors look NEON

<p>Hello all. I shoot for a custom guitar parts manufacturer in Puyallup, WA. We recently introduced new neon colors for our guitar bodies. I am using a Canon 40d with a 24-105mm f/4L lens. I use cool loights rated at 5500 degrees. I have my white balance in the camera set for this color temperature as well. I have never had a problem with color. This camera does tend to turn oranges to the red side, but I adjust for this in Lightroom.<br>

My problem, however, is with the neon paint. i am trying to shoot a neon orange body. I shoot tethered in DPP and when my image preview comes up, it's not very orange. In fact it's not orange at all.It looks a milky pink. I can make adjustments in Lightroom to 'orange' it up, but the images are not as bold and vibrant as the guitar in front of me. Lighting seems to be fine. My eyes see this as a very bright neon orange, but I can't get my camera to see what my eyes see. The first image is simply imported as a JPEG with no adjustments.The second is the same image with these adjustments: Hue-Red-+29, Sturation-+40.<br>

Any suggestions would be welcome.</p>

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Could you present an offending example?

 

What are your camera settings (saturation, contrast, brightness, etc.) for JPEG file? How does the image turn out when you convert from a raw file instead?

<p>Sharpness - (+3), Contrast - 0, Saturation - 0, Color Tone - (-2) I have not shot it in RAW yet.</p>

<p>Make one exposure with a neutral white/gray card in front of the product for white balance reference. Make another exposure without card. In post, set white point to card. Apply white balance value to second exposure. Use light meter(image appears under exposed.) Check monitor calibration.</p>

<p>Don'y use fluorescent lights. Use either UV corrected flash or 3200 K tungsten.</p>

Robert, you are going to have a hard time with this, and whoever is reproducing your photos will have an

even harder time. It helps to think about what is really going on with fluorescent (aka neon) colors and why

they look as colorful as they do. Fluorescent pigments take light from the bluer ends of the spectrum,

(including ultraviolet), absorb them and re-emit the energy in longer (redder) wavelengths. The net result is

that you can have an object that seems to reflect more light than it receives. In terms of digital imaging

this is a little like being able to move the RGB sliders past 255.

 

If someone REALLY wants to reproduce these colors, they will need to use a fluorescent ink capable of

acting the same way.

 

Also, to make matters worse, it's quite possible that you are capturing something close to the color you

want, but that it is falling outside the gamut of your monitor. It would be really interesting to take a spectrophotometer reading from the guitar to see what is really going on.

<p>I use an <a href="http://www.xritephoto.com/ph_product_overview.aspx?id=1257">x-rite ColorChecker Passport</a> to make custom color profiles for the camera. It calibrates the color response of the camera under whatever lighting. All you do is install the software. Then, when you shoot, make a test shot with the color target in it, and it makes a custom camera calibration profile to correct the color. Apply the custom camera profile to the shot or shots in LR, and you're done. You could make a preset to apply them at import in LR. Simple, quick, and painless. Change the lighting, just take another shot with the target in it and create a new camera profile. You can even match up different lenses and cameras color response. Standard LR features apply, like copy/paste to selected images, or you can make a preset to apply at import. They have them at <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/651253-REG/X_Rite_MSCCPP_ColorChecker_Passport.html">B&H</a> and other places for about $100. I'm guessing (hoping) you're already calibrating your monitor, right? HTH.</p>

<p>I have the same problem with reds and yellows with my Canon 5D. It is just a little too vibrant to get accurate color sometimes. Often, it is the fault of the item color itself. I shoot for a mens clothier and the first thing I do is try to shoot all the materials to see that the colors match. It has to do with the way light is reflected back to the camera sensor or film. Definitely use RAW. It will make it easier to compensate later on. Also check your color space to make sure it is as large as possible.</p>

<p>I always cring when given neon items to shoot, for the most part i am lucky in that the products are usually only sold oline and i can use post editing to get the colours right in RGB. all bets are off when you do a cmyk conversion though.<br>

Sometimes isolating the uv colour and making a new mask layer in overlay or multiply gets the job done, perhaps a little outer glow is required to make the effect work. some colours are easier than others but in general i find the results on a dark background are always way better than those on a white background (the latter being an unfortunate requirement for images on amazon & ebay). I have also found using a piece of white card (or even a yellow post it) in the foreground helps keep the colours more true... I would say your best bet (short of going out and getting specialised equipment) is to shoot the same layout with a few different settings, often you'll get one aspect right at the cost of another, just see what works best & use a mix of those shots to get the desired effect in editing, and never stop experimenting! I just purchased a uv led torch specifically for this and i'm eagerly looking forward to the next opportunity to test it!</p><div></div>

<p>Agree with DB. Color checker passport. Also might try pro rgb, a larger color space. </p>