As any colorist knows, lighting is key when creating a new hue. It’s no surprise that salons set aside a large part of their budgets to perfect the lighting so that each client can see her hair in its best light.

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New Zealand colorist Charlotte Morton (@hairbycharlotte.phs) knows about the power and impact of good (and bad) lighting. A golden blonde, Morton created this grid showing her own hair in different light at different times of the day and in different situations (three at home, one in a car, one in natural light at sunup and three in different areas of the salon including one in direct sunlight.) “My hair can look darker or platinum or even slightly peachy depending on which photo you look at – all because of light,” Morton says. 

The tone looks different In each photo in the grid, but Morton assures us these photos are unfiltered and unaltered in any way, shape or form, adding that they were all taken on the same day. “Lighting has such a huge impact on hair color,” Morton says. “Just because a photo on Instagram looks a certain way on our phones, it doesn’t mean that person’s hair looks like that once they step outside, sit in their car or look in their bathroom mirror.”

This is a great photo to use as a consultation tool or guide for your client. Adds Morton, "We have found it very useful in salon when trying to explain that those super white blonde photos are usually a trick of the light. We can easily pull up this photo and show the comparison. It's proven to be very helpful."

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