Keeping a new color manageable

[Olivercype]

I need to renew an ID photo soon, and I am thinking about tidying up my hair color before the appointment. The last color has washed out more on the ends than near the roots. It is not a disaster, but it becomes obvious in direct light, especially when I pull my hair behind my ears. My eyes are gray, and I keep finding confident online rules about which hair shades must complement them. Some examples are much darker than I would choose. None of those charts accounts for my faded ends. I looked at best hair color for gray eyes to collect possibilities, but I do not want to choose a box shade solely because it suits someone else's photograph. I mainly want the uneven areas to look less noticeable. I want to recognize myself when I see the picture years from now. Would you book a consultation before any color service? I can bring daylight photos of the current color and explain when the previous dye was applied. A clear account of the old color may matter more than my eye color. I would rather allow time for a careful correction than rush for the photo date. If you have handled uneven fading, which details helped your colorist set realistic expectations?