The result is only as good as the photo, so shoot in soft, indirect daylight — no makeup, hair back, a white or grey background, and filters off. The maths can correct a small colour cast, but it cannot invent colour information that the lighting destroyed. Five minutes setting up the shot is worth more than any amount of re-running the tool.
Light is everything
Use soft, indirect daylight — stand a step back from a window, facing it, ideally on an overcast day or in shade. Avoid:
- Warm indoor bulbs, which make everyone read as warm/Autumn.
- Cool white LEDs and phone screens, which push everyone toward cool/Winter.
- Mixed light — a warm lamp plus a cool window — which no correction can fully undo.
- Direct sun, which blows out highlights and hides your true depth.
Prepare your face
Bare skin, no makeup, no coloured contacts. Remove glasses. Pull your hair back so your hairline is visible and no strands cross your face. If your hair is freshly dyed a colour that is not close to your natural shade, plan to use the “ignore hair” option in the tool.
Background and camera
Sit in front of a white or light-grey wall. Wear a white or grey top — a red jumper will bounce pink onto your jaw. Turn off every filter and beauty mode; use the stock camera app. Frame head and shoulders, camera at eye level.
Sanity-check the photo
Zoom in on your eye whites and teeth. They should look close to neutral. If they look distinctly yellow or blue, your lighting had a cast — move and retake.
When the photo looks right, run the free color analysis. If detection misses a spot, you can drag the sample points onto cleaner skin, iris, or hair before it recalculates.