Question about proper colors using FOTOS app to preview images

[Dr. G]

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If I’m using the FOTOS app on the iPad Pro (I have the last gen) wirelessly tethered to the SL3 to preview my images, is there an optimal set of display settings on the iPad to make sure that colors are accurate?  I am doing a product shoot for my friend’s caviar company next week and in the past we have had to go back and forth fine tuning the colors of each type of caviar to get them to match the actual product.  I’d like to minimize that process and make sure that what I’m seeing on the iPad at the time of taking the photos is the same as what I’ll see when I open the files in Lightroomwhen I edit them.  I know that it’s RAW so I can do anything I want with the files, but I’d like to get it correct at the time of shooting.  Apple has so many display settings that change the screen hue.  I’m not sure that close to 100% color calibration is even possible on it.  

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[Photoworks]

There is no calibration option for iPad. all you can do is turn off Night Mode.

You say you want color accuracy to display and then open them in Lightroom. Now that is a contradiction.

Previews are generated in each program to display the low-res image. each program is not showing the same colors, especially Lightroom colors, which are over on what the camera displayed.

To add to the injury, Lr Mobile has a different color than LrC on the computer.

Fotos app is not really a tether app, it is like a remote display. It does not offer any adjustments that are important in the tether. 

The only app that has the same colors is Capture One Mobile, they have the same tech in the iPad and Desktop versions. 

[LBJ2]

2 hours ago, Dr. G said:

If I’m using the FOTOS app on the iPad Pro (I have the last gen) wirelessly tethered to the SL3 to preview my images, is there an optimal set of display settings on the iPad to make sure that colors are accurate?  I am doing a product shoot for my friend’s caviar company next week and in the past we have had to go back and forth fine tuning the colors of each type of caviar to get them to match the actual product.  I’d like to minimize that process and make sure that what I’m seeing on the iPad at the time of taking the photos is the same as what I’ll see when I open the files in Lightroomwhen I edit them.  I know that it’s RAW so I can do anything I want with the files, but I’d like to get it correct at the time of shooting.  Apple has so many display settings that change the screen hue.  I’m not sure that close to 100% color calibration is even possible on it.  

"...is there an optimal set of display settings on the iPad to make sure that colors are accurate?"

1. In general you can try the iPad Pro's Reference Mode. 

"Use Reference Mode on your iPad Pro

Reference Mode enables your iPad Pro to match the color requirements of your workflow. It targets a D65 white point and disables all dynamic display adjustments for ambient surround, like True Tone, Auto-Brightness, and Night Shift. You can also adjust the white point and luminance manually. Unsupported formats are color managed as they would be in the default display mode."

https://support.apple.com/en-us/111792

 

2. Or for more advanced/pro-grade calibration, you can work with Reference Mode on the iPad Pro and a calibration device like the one used in this "how to video" 

 

Edited June 30, 2024 by LBJ2

[jaapv]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/111792

[M11 for me]

Colors on the iPad are not the same as on a calibrated screen.

I think that it depend on what your friend is using the images for. If they stay on iPads then you could argue that most people look photographs on iPads or other tablets and you can then set your colors to suit the iPad. Otherwise you have only one chance which is to work on the colors on a calibrated screen. 

[erudolph]

Here's some thoughts:  

 

1. For professional colorists who grade film and video, the iPad is often the first choice for client review when a calibrated reference monitor is not available.

2. The iPad can be calibrated to a very limited degree, i.e., its white point can be adjusted using devices such as the Calibrate Display devices.  When I did this, I had to run the Calibrate Profiler software on a desktop while measuring the iPad's white point.  

3. If you turn Reference Mode on, you may find the difference between it and your normal viewing mode surprising, because there is generally a big difference, one big difference being the brightness.  In the past, I've compared the appearance of client projects on a Flanders reference monitor, a calibrated LG OLED consumer monitor and an iPad Pro and found that simply leaving the iPad in its normal setting, with Night Mode and any True Vision type of settings turned off, with brightness at a reasonable level, will give a fair representation.

4. Do a test ahead of time.

 

My 2 cents.

[erudolph]

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In the above post Calibrate should be Calibrite

[FlashGordonPhotography]

If you want to have the one sentence answer then…. Forget calibrating the display. Calibrate the image as you shoot. You need a color card.

The longer version……

To work in a colour managed environment is much much more than just a setting on a screen. First thing I’d do is buy a color checker. Every lighting set up needs to include a color checker shot as a reference for basic colour management in post. Without one you basically have no chance to get closer than a good guess, regardless of how good the monitor is. And no, you can’t get accurate colours eyeballing a subject. Science can’t even prove you see a colour the same way I see that same colour.

Generally, we’re looking for colour consistency, rather than absolute colour accuracy. It’s far more likely the client is asking for accurate colours but actually wanting *pleasing* colours. A color checker will allow you to do that with the least hassle, if you have access to a white balance tool. If you get a color checker *passport* you can also use the 2nd target as a way of implementing subtle white balance shifts to your clients needs. Every change in lighting, no matter how small gets a colour card added to the shot for the first frame and then every 10-15 frames, just in case something gets moved accidentally. If you’re using natural light then ever.5 shots.

Then you use the colour checker for colour consistency. Now if your client wants warmer you know where you are and you can adjust, using the dropper to measure off middle grey or the warm/cool patches. Regardless of what you do with your iPad the clients screen will NOT look identical. This is the way you can translate what he’s seeing to what you’re seeing.

Even if you could calibrate your iPad (mostly you really can’t. Apple is generally poor at this due to the limitations of most calibration hardware on mini LED screens. It’s just fortunate the factory calibration is reasonable because doing it yourself is financially prohibitive.) you need the colour checker as your baseline. Without it you may as well just kneel and say a little prayer to the gods of colour.

The first and by far, most important step in a colour managed workflow is an XRite color card. I’d get the passport version as your first option and then specialist cards later if you need.

Gordon

[Jean-Michel]

On 6/30/2024 at 6:45 AM, Dr. G said:

If I’m using the FOTOS app on the iPad Pro (I have the last gen) wirelessly tethered to the SL3 to preview my images, is there an optimal set of display settings on the iPad to make sure that colors are accurate?  I am doing a product shoot for my friend’s caviar company next week and in the past we have had to go back and forth fine tuning the colors of each type of caviar to get them to match the actual product.  I’d like to minimize that process and make sure that what I’m seeing on the iPad at the time of taking the photos is the same as what I’ll see when I open the files in Lightroomwhen I edit them.  I know that it’s RAW so I can do anything I want with the files, but I’d like to get it correct at the time of shooting.  Apple has so many display settings that change the screen hue.  I’m not sure that close to 100% color calibration is even possible on it.  

What Gordon wrote in the post above is correct.  There is absolutely no shortcut for supplying a final image that is anywhere close to the subjects's colours. For the capture: light and expose properly and do include a standard colour target, X-Write Passport is a rather good one. You then need to process your image so that it will show the correct colours in the desired publication; your someone, needs to adjust the image so that it will show well in perhaps a website — in this case you also rely on the viewer's device to be OK —, or a glossy magazine, or a newsprint publication, or … 

[RoySmith]

I had cataract surgery on my right eye a few months ago. Now what looks white to my right eye looks yellow to my left eye!  I can’t even trust my eyes to set a white point. Using a color checker is definitely the way to go.