White balance resp. color temperature, Nikon Df: I plan on taking pictures at a baby shower, indoors, with my Nikon Df and 50 mm f1.4. For best results should I use the WB indoors...

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

I plan on taking pictures at a baby shower, indoors, with my Nikon Df and 50 mm f1.4. For best results should I use the WB indoors option or should I find the color temperature selection in the menu and select a value below 3000K? I will be shooting both RAW and JPEG fine.
Thank you for your help.

SS319

I would shoot a white card or a passport color checker and record in RAW. ASP or LR or Affinity will take care of the light balance.

Are you using flash?

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

DaveyDitzer wrote:

I plan on taking pictures at a baby shower, indoors, with my Nikon Df and 50 mm f1.4. For best results should I use the WB indoors option or should I find the color temperature selection in the menu and select a value below 3000K? I will be shooting both RAW and JPEG fine.
Thank you for your help.

I would use flash!

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

SS319 wrote:

I would shoot a white card or a passport color checker and record in RAW. ASP or LR or Affinity will take care of the light balance.

Are you using flash?

I was planning to try and avoid flash and use the higher ISO capabilities of the Df.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

DaveyDitzer wrote:

I plan on taking pictures at a baby shower, indoors, with my Nikon Df and 50 mm f1.4. For best results should I use the WB indoors option or should I find the color temperature selection in the menu and select a value below 3000K? I will be shooting both RAW and JPEG fine.
Thank you for your help.

I would use an Xrite ColorChecker Passport and a strobe - but bounced, not aimed directly at your subjects. Your jpeg images won't be necessary, other than for a little insurance. It will be far easier to adjust the raw files for white and color balance. You can use any white balance setting you want, the CCP will assign the correct profile when you sync the images.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDtebpvATzc

BebuLamar

I like to use my Df without flash but I found for color temperature below 2800K it's hard to get good color. I would use the flash and shoot at ISO1600 so that even when I use moderate aperture like f/8, I can bounce and yet shooting fast and the flash will keep up.

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

Thank you all. For all who have recommended using some kind of flash, may I assume that most strobes (without any filters) will be closer to a daylight color temperature? I have a small hot shoe (Nikon SB300) which I can use to trigger a remote flash to which I can attach a Mag Sphere soft top (looks like a fist-sized opaque rubber balloon). Guess I'd better test this set up well in advance.

CO

DaveyDitzer wrote:

Thank you all. For all who have recommended using some kind of flash, may I assume that most strobes (without any filters) will be closer to a daylight color temperature? I have a small hot shoe (Nikon SB300) which I can use to trigger a remote flash to which I can attach a Mag Sphere soft top (looks like a fist-sized opaque rubber balloon). Guess I'd better test this set up well in advance.

I see that you are mentioning strobes. Studio strobes usually have daylight balanced color temperature. My Paul C Buff strobe produces a color temperature of 5600K. I put my camera on flash white balance (5400K). I also use flash white balance with my Nikon speedlights.

A good option is to do an in-camera custom white balance. You take one shot of a photographic gray card in the scene. The camera will then create a custom white balance from that. You can then apply that to other photos taken there.

whitewolfowner

DaveyDitzer wrote:

I plan on taking pictures at a baby shower, indoors, with my Nikon Df and 50 mm f1.4. For best results should I use the WB indoors option or should I find the color temperature selection in the menu and select a value below 3000K? I will be shooting both RAW and JPEG fine.
Thank you for your help.

Put it on auto white balance and shoot in RAW. Then you can make any adjustments in post processing if needed. Use flash with a diffuser to even out the harsh light.

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

DaveyDitzer wrote:

I plan on taking pictures at a baby shower, indoors, with my Nikon Df and 50 mm f1.4. For best results should I use the WB indoors option or should I find the color temperature selection in the menu and select a value below 3000K? I will be shooting both RAW and JPEG fine.
Thank you for your help.

if you shoot raw and post process, set it auto WB and worry more about composition than WB.