Client asked me to match a color from a photo of a photo

Had a lady bring in a blurry cell phone picture of an old kitchen cabinet that was in a picture her mom took in 1985. She wanted me to stain a new build to match that exact shade. I explained light and aging and all that, she kept saying "but it's right there in the photo." After 45 minutes she pointed at a spot on the wall and said "like that gray." The wall was white. I quoted her double and she said yes. Has anyone else had a customer argue that a JPEG is a color swatch?

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oliver81120d ago

Honestly though, I kinda see her side a little bit. People who don't work with color every day really do think a screen shows the true shade of anything. Like, to her, that photo was proof, not a hint. The wall being white thing is hilarious though, that's a whole other level of color blindness or something. But hey, you quoted double and she paid, so you basically got paid to teach a class on how light works. At the end of the day, you got the job and she got a cabinet, so it kinda worked out, even if the process was painful.