All Digital Photography Students: I will look for your responses to the following assignment as “Comments” to the questions below. You will click “LEAVE A COMMENT” at the bottom of this post with your response. To leave a comment you will add your first and last name and your NRHS email address. This assignment is worth a 10 point homework assignment grade. I’m guessing you have all seen this picture recently? 
Click on the articles below to help you answer the following questions: Is ‘the dress’ white and gold or blue and black? Visual perception expert weighs in and
Is That Dress White and Gold or Blue and Black?
1. What colors did you initially think the dress was? White and gold or black and blue? 2. Based on the information in the articles about visual perception, are you able to justify your initial response based on some of the suggested theories? Please explain. 3. Based on what you know about photography, how would you have photographed the dress to ensure that no one would have been confused with what color it was? Would you need Photoshop to make these adjustments?
Art With Mr. Dexter 
1. When I look at the dress I continue to see white and gold as the two colors of the dress.
2.I am seeing the dress as white and gold because I believe that the dress is in a shadow which takes out the blue cast, allowing me to see white and gold.
3.If i were to modify this photo so that no one could mistake the true color of the dress i would change the brightness of the photo. If the background were to be darker than there would be less confusion for the audience and people would be able to perceive the dress as the color that it really is.
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Julia Paladino
jpaladino@student.north-reading.k12.ma.us
1. I always saw the dress as blue and black, even when I changed the lighting/brightness I still saw blue and black.
2.I am able to justify my response because I believe that since this is my opinion and I think that the dress is blue and black. I cannot see white in gold at all, so it is blue and black in my eyes.
3. I would just use photoshop and put the dress somewhere where the light is shining on it and change the brightness. Then I would maybe see the dress as being white and gold.
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I’ve heard about 7,000 people tell me that this dress in black and blue. However, I still see it as white and gold. I’ve looked at this picture an alarming amount of times, so I have seen the image as black and blue every once in a while, but it appears as white and gold to me more often than not. Most of the evidence says the dress is black and blue, and that the white and gold is just an optical illusion, so I can’t defend my statement. To ensure no confusion, you would need Photoshop to adjust the exposure as darker or take the picture in better lighting.
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Sam Dixon, G Block
1) I have only seen the dress as black and blue, never gold and white.
2) I don’t know how many people saw it as white and gold, it is clearly black and blue. Even though the lighting may trick some eyes i think it is still clear that it is not white and gold.
3) IF i was taking the photo I would make sure the room had a clear light source and the cameras setting are evenly exposed, so there would be no confusion.
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The first time looking at a image of the dress I thought it was white and gold. I am not sure I am able to justify why I saw the dress as I did, but I do believe however, many of the suggested theories about the dress could be accurate. After reading the article I realized the color of the dress depends on the individual viewing it. We all view colors differently depending on the different lighting conditions. In order to insure a person could see the actual color of the dress, I would have shot the dress straight on, rather than at a angle. Another thing I would have done in order to prevent confusion regarding the color would be to decrease the amount of exposure.
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I have always seen the dress as blue and black. Recently, the owner of the dress came forward and announced that the dress was actually black and blue. I have never seen it as white and gold. I can understand how some people may see it as white and gold due to the insufficient quality of the picture. I believe this whole controversy could have been avoided if the person who took the picture was educated on white balance and correct lighting while taking the picture.
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When I first looked at the dress I saw Black an Blue. Only once did I see white and gold. Their is such a fuss about this ugly dress because it is based on visual perception. Each individual has a different brightness on their phone, also the angle that this image was taken allows the light above the dress to be seen as white and gold or black and blue. To ensure that the dress was viewed as its true colors, black and blue, I would shoot it in a natural lighting, also to focus to make sure the image was neither over or under exposed. Photoshop is not necessary to use, although it would be beneficial to make the colors sharper.
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1.) I initially thought the dress was white and gold.
2.) In the picture, i saw the shadow, which removed the blue cast. Also, the background in the photo was overexposed. The lighting and white balance plays an important role in how someone perceives the colors of the dress. Not once have I seen black and blue.
3.) If I photographed the picture, it would depend on the lighting of the room if you should use artificial or natural sunlight. I would make sure the white balance is correct. The background would have even exposure. Yes, you could use Photoshop to brighten the picture and reduce the shadows.
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I initially saw the dress as a black and blue color and these are still the colors I see when I look at the dress. This is because the dress is truly black and blue, and is being shot in an indoor location with a mostly white lighting. Had it been in a more natural, sunny, and blue lighting most people would see it as white and gold. In taking this picture in a more professional manner, I would have eliminated the distracting light of the background and focused solely on the dress to avoid this illusion-confusion.
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1.) Inititially, I saw the dress to be black and blue. Then I looked at what seemed to be the same picture and saw it as white and gold. This was a bit confusing, but from that point on I always saw the dress as black and blue.
2.) After reading the articles, my perception of the color of the dress was justified. It was proven that the dress is in fact black and blue. The white balance was definitley tampered with, and that’s why I think people see white and gold. My initial reaction of seeing black and gold was right which is surprising because I am color blind.
3.) If it were up to me, I would make a few changes to ensure that the picture is not percieved in two different ways. For example, I would fix the white balance to the normal setting, to ensure that there would be no confusion. I would also change the angle the picture was taken at in order to incorporate Rule of Thirds. I would say that some the changes that need to be made would be able to be done in photoshop.
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Initially I thought the dress was blue and black. I now fully understand why this was such a big conflict. Our eyes are able to assign colors to objects under a variety of lighting situations. But in this photograph, it does not give any clues to the ambient light in the room. Our eyes could not tell if the background was bright and the dress in shadow. Or if it is the whole room bright and all the colors are washed out. Different people interpret on different visual cues in the image, which can change how they interpret and name the colors. If I were to photograph the dress, I would focus in on it more and change the amount of light to insure that only one type of color can be seen. I would use photoshop if I had to.
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1. I see this dress at blue and black, I have always seen it as blue and black.
2. I can justify that the dress is blue and black because the dress in real life is blue and black. I also saw it on many peoples phones and the brightness was different on all of them, but every time i saw blue and black.
3.To make sure no one was confused about the color, I would take a picture of the dress on a person and I would also take the picture with a solid background to ensure to confusion.
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I have seen the dress as white and gold and black and blue. The dress actually is black and blue and that is due to the lighting of the picture and the shadows. To ensure that there is no confusion, the exposure should have been darker.
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I do not care what science says, this dress is magical. How do I know this? Next week is St. Patricks Day and do you know what happens on St. Patricks day? Leprechauns jump out of rainbows and change the colors of peoples dresses.
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I initially viewed the dress as blue and black and now understand the misconceptions of color. To ensure there would be no further confusion I would make sure the light was evenly balance and now other light was hitting the picture. To do this I would change the exposure for the picture to be darker, and would not need photoshop to do that.
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1) I saw the dress as white and gold
2) After reading the article I now see how the dress is black and blue and I though it was white and gold because I saw it as if it was in a shadow which is how it looks based on how the picture was taken.
3)If I were taking this picture I would have taken it in better lighting. I don’t think I would need Photoshop as long as I properly exposed the photo in the first place.
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1. I initially see the dress as blue and black, but I can see how people can see the dress as white and gold due to the brightness of the image but I cannot see it being white and gold. .
2. From the articles shown i still believe that the color I see is Blue and If the black, but if the lighting is in a shadow, it may appear gold and white, but what i can see and justify is that the dress is initially Blue and Black, due to the other photo in “NYtimes” link.
3. If I was to take a photo of this dress i would take the photo in a less lit area or less light, so that you can see the colors Blue and Black. For photoshop I would adjust the images background and make it darker so again you can see its Blue and Black, not White and Gold.
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1. I only see white and gold.
2. The photo of the dress was extremely overexposed which could explain why I see it as white and gold. Also, the lighting is in a shadow which makes it look like it’s white and gold.
3. To make it clear what color the dress is, I would photograph it in a studio where I could control the variable of light. The light is what is causing the image to appear to some as white and gold, so I would limit it to have it look like the normal blue and black.
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I initially saw the dress as black and blue. From the articles I am able to justify my perception because I did not see the dress as being in shadow and I saw it as face value for what it was. If I were to take this photo I would step back and try to capture as much of the background as possible. I would also adjust the levels in photoshop to better expose the picture and its true colors.
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1. I initially thought the dress was blue and black.
2. Based on the information in the articles about visual perception, I am able to justify my initial response because I viewed the dress as being under a very bright light source. Also, the actual dress was discovered and it is in fact blue and black.
3. Based on what you I about photography, I would have used a less bright light source by lowering the exposure and I would have shined the light directly onto the dress instead of having the light source behind it. This would have eliminated the discolored shadow. I would not need Photoshop to make these adjustments because the picture would look fine with the right light source.
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1.) Initially I saw the dress as white and gold and I still only see it as white and gold. I have never seen it blue and black unless it is a completely different picture.
2.) Yes I am able to justify why I can only see the photo as white and gold. There are multiple elements, such as the exposure and the location of the dress in that picture that cause people to see different colors.
3.) To photograph the dress so no one would see different colors I would have checked the white balance and the exposure of the photo. I would have made sure that the background wasn’t too bright and that dress was not the only thing in the frame so the color could be compared with other objects.
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I have always seen the dress as white and gold, even though I know and completely acknowledge that it is black and blue. If I were to retake the photo, I would not use photoshop, I would just use studio light to better show the real color of the dress.
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I originally saw the dress as white and gold, but after changing the brightness on my phone, I was able to see it as black and blue. So, I can see it both ways depending on how I look at the picture and the brightness. if I were to retake the photo, I would make it so that the dress is not blocking some of the light in the background, but so that the light was shining on the dress. This would make it easier to see the true color.
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I originally saw the dress as a light blue and gold. No matter how i looked at it i couldn’t see the black unless the photo was changed in a way that highlighted the black. If i were to retake the photo I would use better lighting so that there was no confusion with the colours.
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1. I see this dress at blue and black. I have seen it this way since I first saw the dress up till now.
2. I can justify that the dress is blue and black seeing as in real life the dress is actually blue and black. I also saw it on many peoples phones and the brightness was different on all of them, but no matter how many times i looked at it i see it as blue and black.
3.To make sure no one was confused about the color, I would take a picture of the dress on a person and I would also take the picture with a solid background to ensure to confusion. This would be a good idea so people can see the dress with a good background and lighting.
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