Help! How did I magically turn black into purple?

[Minface]

Hi DPS,

Hoping someone can shed some light on this for me. I made some pictures yesterday and the woman's black tunic came out completely purple, while her other black clothing remained black! I think my exposure is o.k., and this effect occurred in several different shooting locations.

Anyone know a) what happened here and b) is it fixable? I'll attach the original file.

Thanks,
Mindy

[Minface]

Sorry, I'm having great difficulty uploading the image - it tells me that it is not a valid image. Suggestions are welcome.

[OsmosisStudios]

It could just be the fabric, to be honest.

[Minface]

It reflects differently than other black fabrics? Contains a large amount of red/purple dyes? I'd like to have something intelligent to tell my client when she asks about it : )

[Minface]

I think the attachment worked this time . . .

[OsmosisStudios]

Just looks like that cloak isnt actually black. It's probably a very very deep purple that, for some reason, appears lighter.

[LeeR]

That's really odd. I know that in fabrics black is rarely true black but more often a deep shade some other color (purple in this case). And I know that there is a phenomenon known as irridescence where light reflecting off certain surfaces can reflect different colors (like on a bubble), but neither of these seems to adequately explain what is going on here. I suspect your camera is just unusually sensitive to the color purple.