Tutorials
Product Photo Colors Look Wrong? Find the Stage Before Recoloring
Compare the original, export and website image to locate a color shift. Includes two navy-bag examples and a complete reference-image correction prompt.
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Turn inspiration into your next product ad
Bring a product image and an idea. Create a four-panel ad, a coordinated asset set, or a video with Panelly.
Create with Panelly Edit the brief before you generate.
A navy bag turns purple on your product page. Before editing the bag, compare three files on the same screen: your accepted master, the exported copy and the image served by the website. Fix the first stage where the color changes. Recoloring a correct master can make the next export worse.
Three files, one comparison
Save the original as A, your delivery export as B and the website's actual image as C. Open all three in the same color-managed application. Retrieve C through the page's image link or browser network panel; a screenshot includes another rendering step and is a poor substitute for the served file. A responsive page may serve a different file on a phone, so record the image URL and viewport as well.
| Result | Investigate next | Leave alone for now |
|---|---|---|
| A already has the wrong product color | Capture lighting, editing or generation | Website export settings |
| A looks right; B changes | Export conversion and embedded profile | Product design and scene |
| A and B agree; C differs | Website resizing, conversion or an old cached asset | The accepted master |
| A, B and C agree in the application; the page differs | Browser/display handling or CSS filters over the image | The file's product color |
| Only a second device looks different | Display modes and viewing conditions | All the campaign images |
This is a troubleshooting sequence, not a color-accuracy certification. Keep the files together so a teammate can repeat your comparison.
A navy-bag example: two different repairs
Imagine a navy canvas bag with cream stitching and a silver zipper. These are fictional examples of how to use the comparison, not results from a recorded test.
**Case 1: A is navy, B is purple.** Go back to the export. Inspect A's embedded profile, then create a separate sRGB delivery copy using profile conversion. Compare that copy with A before uploading. Do not repaint the bag to offset the failed export.
**Case 2: A is already purple.** Exporting to sRGB cannot restore the intended navy material. Compare A with the product reference and correct the image first. If warm colored light is causing the mismatch, preserve the warm room while asking for less colored light on the bag.
Adobe’s web guidance recommends sRGB. Its profile guide distinguishes conversion from assignment, which reinterprets existing values. Confirm an unknown source profile before changing it.
Keep the master. Record the delivery copy's filename, dimensions and output profile. A JPEG extension alone does not identify its color profile.
When the generated product needs a correction
In Panelly Studio, attach the product reference and select the actual image you want to revise. Replace the mentions in this example with your images:
@image1 is the product reference; @image2 is the ad to revise.
The bag in @image2 is too purple. Match the navy canvas shown in @image1.
Keep the cream stitching, rectangular front pocket and silver zipper.
Keep the warm room, but reduce the colored light on the bag itself.
Preserve the four-panel sequence and the existing headline and CTA inside the finished image.
Keep the fabric texture and natural highlights; do not turn the bag into a flat block of blue.Compare the revised bag with the reference under the same viewing conditions. Check the body color, stitching and zipper separately. A corrected body with newly blue stitching is still a problem. For lighting changes, use the product-lighting guide; for a changed outline or component, use the product-consistency guide.
Close the check on the customer-facing page
Replace the intended asset, reopen the public page and retrieve C again. Check that it is the new version. A corrected local file does not prove the website is serving it.
Keep a short handoff note: “Navy bag v4; compared with reference A; exported in sRGB; published image checked at desktop and phone widths.” Add the served URL if the site creates several sizes. This makes a later mismatch traceable without requiring a new round of subjective color adjustments.
Questions that come up during delivery
Will a hex code keep the bag identical everywhere?
No. A code specifies a color value in a context; a photographed surface also has texture, highlights and shadows. Use the product reference to judge the material, and the three-file comparison to locate delivery changes.
Should I cool the master because one phone looks warm?
Check that phone's display mode and viewing conditions first. Recoloring the master to compensate for one screen can create a mismatch on others.
Can I edit ICC profiles in Panelly?
This workflow uses Studio for the visual revision and a color-managed image application for profile inspection and conversion. They address different stages of the problem.
