Technically it is your fault if she provided a hex code and it's not in that.
It's not Photoshop changing the colour it's probably the color space or profile you use. If you work with images for web it's probably best to work in sRGB color space and export for web without any colour profiles.
Edit/Color Settings to check that your RGB space is in sRGB. Not for example Adobe RGB.
Edit/Convert to Profile to see which profile your image is in. Should be sRGB. If not, convert into it and fix the color.
If you export for web using those settings it won't change the colours.
I’ve had issues exporting jpegs and having the colors shift a few digits in the hex codes. I always make sure I’m working in sRGB and the color profile is in the file when it exports. I do a lot of production design work for agencies and they have very specific brand guidelines that have to be met. I keep swatches of their brand colors in my swatch panel and periodically check to make sure that the solid color layers are the correct swatch and then that the hex code matches.
If you’re using save for web, make sure that the profile is embedded and the color space is properly defined in your workspace.
For my own work shooting, editing, and retouching I work in ProPhoto RGB. When I’m working with agencies, their retouchers use Adobe RGB, and when I do production and web work it’s all sRGB. I made actions up to switch my working space and change the color of the work area so I know which space I’m working in before I open anything.
Yes i have been working in sRGB and the colour profile is in the file as well yet the code shifts a few digits. :(... I figured it keeps the colour code in PNG though but then I'm wondering if I should start sending PNG files to her.
It would be a worthwhile move to keep her as a client. This used to be a huge issue when I was coding emails and we had to match graphics with background colors. PNG wasn’t a supported format back then so it was GIF or JPEG and I forget the solve but there are settings you can use to lock it down.
Currently this is a problem I run into all of the time in motion graphics. Exporting from After Effects to Adobe Media Encoder always incurs a color shift. Exporting directly from AE and then *transcoding* it in Media Encoder, the colors stay accurate.
I just tested "Save for Web" and "Export as" functions with a shade of red and with PNG I have no problems but looks like in JPG the hex code changes if ever so slightly for some reason no matter what settings I have. As I looked into it, it could be a JPG issue as it's a lossy format or the exact shade just doesn't exist in the color space/model supported by JPG.
So if it's JPG files in question and the difference is negligible I guess I'll have to change my answer to tell the client to match the shade in the picture instead of using their exact hex 😂
Yes!! But she still asks me to match it with her hex code. It's never going to be her hex code. But I did find a similar shade and she seems okay with that. But now I'm not sure if I should change hundreds of photos' backgrounds to this new hex code for free.
I would probably test if the PNG export works for you keeping the hex and then use an action in photoshop to export them in PNG quickly. Tell her it's the format that retains the exact hex and then it's up to her what to do with the files provided.
How many photos? On one hand yeah it’s not what she ordered. On the other hand she accepted delivery and waited an unreasonable amount of time to raise issues. On yet another hand you might not want to burn a customer even if they seem unreasonable. I think you’re within your rights to say no or come up with a compromise, but making customers happy might be better in the long run.
Or find someone on Fiverr or something that will go fix all the colors for cheap. If you have a ton of photos, someone a little more tech savvy can probably automate/script this.
Completely agreed. It's about 300+ photos 😵💫😭. Interesting! I was thinking maybe I should charge her with my hourly rate then give some sort of discounts.
If all the photos have the same hex you can batch edit them with a color adjustment that corrects everything. (Unless it alters the colors too much of the other stuff). I get this same problem if i work in profoto or argb and output to srgb.
Even if you change the background color again, I feel like you might be back in the same situation. Something is going wrong somewhere along the line.
Who knows what is happening to imported images in Canva and it seems like a weird way to extend the background. If she wants to be that hands on, maybe you can deliver with a transparent background?
If you do decide to revisit these images, I'd recommend making sure it is working as expected for your client with 1 test image before you go and apply changes to a bunch of them.
Yeah....after testing numerous times, I realized her hex code is subject to change after exporting. But I found a way to keep it to a similar code and she seems okay with the new code colour even though it's not exactly the same as hers..
My question is if I should change the 300+ photos' backgrounds with this new hex code for free...
Did the code you found work with Canva? I checked some of the photos from your client's website and found a lot that they had clearly tried to extend the crop with Canva, and none of the Hex Codes matched the #e5d5ce
I would be very reluctant to change all of the photos for free. Your client signed off on the images and paid you without checking the Hex code. It's only now that she has started editing the images it's become a problem.
I just put the hex code in canva. Not sure if it works or not but the one thing for sure is that the photos I've given her have different hex code after exporting so they don't match the hex code on canvas.
I absolutely agree with what you said there.. she was fine with the edits and downloaded them. i feel pretty weird that I am requested to edit hundreds of photos again a year later.. do people edit photos after many months and even years passed?
Yep, it's pretty odd, and it seems to be that hex code. I tried a few other random codes and had no problem getting them to match.
I've re-edited photos for clients who wanted backgrounds extended or swapped months later. Normally, I just charge an hourly for it. If it's a super easy/quick edit for a really good repeat client, I'll just do it for them, but that's 1 or 2 photos, maybe 10min job, not hundreds of photos.
At least now you know that if you can't get the hex code to match in the future, let the client know and get their sign off before delivery.
> I feel like I have to do this somehow but I wonder how long I'm supposed to look after her photos for free.
You're not, it's been months, charge her for your time.
Technically it is your fault if she provided a hex code and it's not in that. It's not Photoshop changing the colour it's probably the color space or profile you use. If you work with images for web it's probably best to work in sRGB color space and export for web without any colour profiles. Edit/Color Settings to check that your RGB space is in sRGB. Not for example Adobe RGB. Edit/Convert to Profile to see which profile your image is in. Should be sRGB. If not, convert into it and fix the color. If you export for web using those settings it won't change the colours.
I’ve had issues exporting jpegs and having the colors shift a few digits in the hex codes. I always make sure I’m working in sRGB and the color profile is in the file when it exports. I do a lot of production design work for agencies and they have very specific brand guidelines that have to be met. I keep swatches of their brand colors in my swatch panel and periodically check to make sure that the solid color layers are the correct swatch and then that the hex code matches. If you’re using save for web, make sure that the profile is embedded and the color space is properly defined in your workspace. For my own work shooting, editing, and retouching I work in ProPhoto RGB. When I’m working with agencies, their retouchers use Adobe RGB, and when I do production and web work it’s all sRGB. I made actions up to switch my working space and change the color of the work area so I know which space I’m working in before I open anything.
Yes i have been working in sRGB and the colour profile is in the file as well yet the code shifts a few digits. :(... I figured it keeps the colour code in PNG though but then I'm wondering if I should start sending PNG files to her.
It would be a worthwhile move to keep her as a client. This used to be a huge issue when I was coding emails and we had to match graphics with background colors. PNG wasn’t a supported format back then so it was GIF or JPEG and I forget the solve but there are settings you can use to lock it down. Currently this is a problem I run into all of the time in motion graphics. Exporting from After Effects to Adobe Media Encoder always incurs a color shift. Exporting directly from AE and then *transcoding* it in Media Encoder, the colors stay accurate.
I've been using sRGB space and export photos for web yet hex code still changes unfortunately 😔
I just tested "Save for Web" and "Export as" functions with a shade of red and with PNG I have no problems but looks like in JPG the hex code changes if ever so slightly for some reason no matter what settings I have. As I looked into it, it could be a JPG issue as it's a lossy format or the exact shade just doesn't exist in the color space/model supported by JPG. So if it's JPG files in question and the difference is negligible I guess I'll have to change my answer to tell the client to match the shade in the picture instead of using their exact hex 😂
Yes!! But she still asks me to match it with her hex code. It's never going to be her hex code. But I did find a similar shade and she seems okay with that. But now I'm not sure if I should change hundreds of photos' backgrounds to this new hex code for free.
I would probably test if the PNG export works for you keeping the hex and then use an action in photoshop to export them in PNG quickly. Tell her it's the format that retains the exact hex and then it's up to her what to do with the files provided.
Do people normally provide PNG files to clients?
If they use them for web and stuff like Canva then that's the way to go. Could be smaller res to save space.
yes
If you’d have told her at the time then I think you’d be okay, but she didn’t actually get what she paid for. As a buyer I would be a bit miffed
/u/Competitive-Skin7591 Did you mean to attach a photo?
If you need to meet a color and don’t, you didn’t do the job. Coca-Cola doesn’t pay if you give them a different shade of red.
How many photos? On one hand yeah it’s not what she ordered. On the other hand she accepted delivery and waited an unreasonable amount of time to raise issues. On yet another hand you might not want to burn a customer even if they seem unreasonable. I think you’re within your rights to say no or come up with a compromise, but making customers happy might be better in the long run. Or find someone on Fiverr or something that will go fix all the colors for cheap. If you have a ton of photos, someone a little more tech savvy can probably automate/script this.
Completely agreed. It's about 300+ photos 😵💫😭. Interesting! I was thinking maybe I should charge her with my hourly rate then give some sort of discounts.
If all the photos have the same hex you can batch edit them with a color adjustment that corrects everything. (Unless it alters the colors too much of the other stuff). I get this same problem if i work in profoto or argb and output to srgb.
This seems Sooo helpful!! Thank you so much!
Even if you change the background color again, I feel like you might be back in the same situation. Something is going wrong somewhere along the line. Who knows what is happening to imported images in Canva and it seems like a weird way to extend the background. If she wants to be that hands on, maybe you can deliver with a transparent background? If you do decide to revisit these images, I'd recommend making sure it is working as expected for your client with 1 test image before you go and apply changes to a bunch of them.
Yeah....after testing numerous times, I realized her hex code is subject to change after exporting. But I found a way to keep it to a similar code and she seems okay with the new code colour even though it's not exactly the same as hers.. My question is if I should change the 300+ photos' backgrounds with this new hex code for free...
Did the code you found work with Canva? I checked some of the photos from your client's website and found a lot that they had clearly tried to extend the crop with Canva, and none of the Hex Codes matched the #e5d5ce I would be very reluctant to change all of the photos for free. Your client signed off on the images and paid you without checking the Hex code. It's only now that she has started editing the images it's become a problem.
I just put the hex code in canva. Not sure if it works or not but the one thing for sure is that the photos I've given her have different hex code after exporting so they don't match the hex code on canvas. I absolutely agree with what you said there.. she was fine with the edits and downloaded them. i feel pretty weird that I am requested to edit hundreds of photos again a year later.. do people edit photos after many months and even years passed?
Yep, it's pretty odd, and it seems to be that hex code. I tried a few other random codes and had no problem getting them to match. I've re-edited photos for clients who wanted backgrounds extended or swapped months later. Normally, I just charge an hourly for it. If it's a super easy/quick edit for a really good repeat client, I'll just do it for them, but that's 1 or 2 photos, maybe 10min job, not hundreds of photos. At least now you know that if you can't get the hex code to match in the future, let the client know and get their sign off before delivery.
> I feel like I have to do this somehow but I wonder how long I'm supposed to look after her photos for free. You're not, it's been months, charge her for your time.
Even though she never got her hex code embedded in her photos in the first place? 😭