#1 If someone is particular, they need to understand that various lighting, as well as things like the color of the room the pics were taken in will come into play. If its studio pics, the light modifiers used will impart a different look, and that is assuming its a legit photographer who is shooting in a controlled environment with the camera calibrated to the lighting used at that moment (not just switching to AWB or Flash settings). At a minimum, a grey card should be used, though to be honest it should really be done using X Rite/ Color Checker, or something similar.
Add in to the above that any changes to the picture while being processed will offset values such as color, saturation, hue and tones. Now we also need to keep in mind that IF the photographer has also calibrated his or her monitor to be correct.... that the viewers will also need to be using calibrated equipment to view it correctly. I use two monitors, one for primary which is color correct, and then a secondary monitor which is auto corrected, and they are not even close to matching.
The best thing I can say, is to view images on an iPad. Apple does a phenomenal job of color correction with their screens.
#2 Color samples are going to give you the best choices, HOWEVER, you are going to want to view them in various light sources, because what looks great in your bathroom may look like total garbage in direct sunlight or shade.
Bookmarks