Best way of matching VW texture colours to real world colours

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If I want to use a photograph of a "real world" texture to create one in VW - any tips on how to get the best colour match?

 

For example, should I photograph it under a light with a "daylight" colour temperature?

 

Do some kind of white balance process on the photograph once I've taken it?

 

I know colour matching is massively complex, just wondering if there are any methods others use to get something that looks "about right" in renders.

[AlanW]

Hi, I always try to get a shot in even light, either full sun or full shade and don't adjust the colour in photoshop. I may lighten then but the result will always depend on the screen you are viewing it on and the print method. May have to test print and adjust to suit Media output.

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For sure the result will depend on screen or print method ... but any colour cast in these situations will apply to the whole image, not just the material I've made. I'm thinking more in terms of relative to other materials in the model. I guess the way to think about it would be: if I put it next to a pure "white" material in a rendering, I want to make sure it doesn't have an apparent colour cast, whatever the colour of light lighting it in the model might be.

 

 

[rDesign]

 You want natural, diffuse lighting when you are shooting photographs for 3d textures: full-shade, overcast or cloudy lighting conditions. I wouldn't shoot in full sun or use an artificial light source.

 

Set the color balance in your camera and shoot your photos with a calibrated white balance card. That will make it easier to correct the color balance if needed (I have the WhiBal G7 Pocket Card which has neutral white / grey / black calibration patches). 

 

A google search for "photography for 3d textures color balance" yields a bunch of results, here is one from a very good resource for HDRI sky textures: Preparing Textures in Photoshop : Peter Guthrie

 

Once you get the texture's color balance set correctly, then you don't need to worry about how it looks next to other Vw textures or whether you will be printing or viewing on screen.

Edited June 13, 2017 by rDesign

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1 hour ago, rDesign said:

 

 

Once you get the texture's color balance set correctly, then you don't need to worry about how it looks next to other Vw textures or whether you will be printing or viewing on screen.

Yes, that's what I would be aiming for. Thanks for comments. Will follow up those links.