jcsnell Loc: SW Ohio

I am planning a trip to Arches National Park in Utah. I usually have my camera (Nikon D3100) set on Auto WB and it does a good job.
I have shot some with WB set for Sunny,Cloudy or Shade etc and it seems that I get better color saturation. I want to get best possible shots,any suggestions? Thanks

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Jcsnell,
If you want real WB control learn to use the Kelvin scale. You will find that to be even better than the symbols. I am a working pro and never use anything but the Kelvin scale.

MaggieR. Loc: Illinois

Jcsnell, I may be asking a dumb question but what is the Kelvin scale?

docrob Loc: Durango, Colorado

no offense but i'd bet lunch that very few (non highly skilled professional) photographers understand much less use Kelvin to customize their shots.......it works for you but how long did it take to acquire that skill?

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Doc,
Not long at all, I taught it to my assistant in less than 15 minutes. What are the values to all the graphic interfaces, now what do you do if a value falls in between two of them. With the Kelvin Scale you can adjust for that. It is that simple, nothing more than a simple adjustment. What is Kelvin for strong daylight?

George

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Maggie,
That is my wifes name also. The Kelvin Scale is White Balance put in numbers not the idioms for Sunny, overcast, incande, and so on. Once you learn how to use Kelvin you will find a much better cast to your photos.

George

les_stockton Loc: Eastern Oklahoma

I just create a custom white balance. I used an older tool to shoot through, but recently bought a Colorright Pro which is slightly more accurate than what I was using. I shoot through it at a light source (or in a general area where different light sources come in, and then use that as my custom white balance. then I just set the camera to use it, and my colors are spot on.

A nice tip though, if you don't like doing that, is to shoot in raw. that way when you're back home, you can change the white balance until you're happy with the colors. You can dial in Kelvin degrees, or just use the presets (daylight, cloudy, shade, flourescent, etc), or you can even select a reference color on the photo itself and see if that gives you the colors you want.
Raw is superb for that, especially if you aren't comfortable with playing with white balance yet.
Ultimately, I like shooting with as close a white balance as I can get, and then have as few adjustments later; in fact, most of my shots are straight outta the camera.
If you're going on an important scenic trip that you wont be able to return to better shoot if you mess up; then I would definitely shoot in RAW so you have more to work with if you need to fix something later.

CocoaRoger Loc: Cocoa Florida

Shoot RAW and you can make changes in post production

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Roger,
Why is it that everyone wants to make changes in post production? Whatever happened to getting it correct or as close to correct right out of the camera. This may sound petty but to be honest I don't care. Why have people become so damn lazy that they don't care what the photo looks like from the beginning but are willing to spend time correcting their laziness! This just amazes me.

George

CocoaRoger Loc: Cocoa Florida

Read his question. He doesn't know which WB to use, if you shoot RAW you can then figure out the correct WB in PP. His question pretty much implies he's not a pro. Soooo if one doesn't know the right setting like you do he can then get the right balance. He's not lazy, he doesn't (unlike you evidently)
know. How people can assume that there are others that don't have the same level of skills and talent and knowledge and experience amazes me. And yes, it does sound petty.

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Roger,
I don't understand your response, am I supposed to think that he is stupid or incapable of learning. Please if someone is using even a consumer digital camera today they have a learning curve that far surpasses anything I am saying. There is a hell of a lot more involved in taking a professional photograph than just setting WB, but learning Kelvin is a hell of a lot easier than post processing because you don't get something right from the beginning. When someone can get it right to start and they don't am I or anyone supposed to pat them on the back for being lazy?

CocoaRoger Loc: Cocoa Florida

How does telling him ''get it right the first time'' help him in regards to his post and question?
You say your'e a pro, great! But when you were first starting out and didn't have enough experience how helpful would it have to you to ask a technical question and the person you were asking came back with ''get it right in the camera in the first place''.

GC likes NIKON Loc: East Greenwich, Rhode Island

George, so how do you measure degees Kelvin ??? Lightmeter ?? and how do I go into my menus on my Nikon (say D200) to compensate for it ????

Can you teach us briefly here and then others may expand on it ???

pappy0352 Loc: Oregon

I have only been into photography for a short while now. I have found that using a White or Gray card to set my white balance works very well.

Pappy

George H Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Roger,
If you go back and look at my initial response I mentioned the Kelvin Scale. I said nothing about doing it right, that is your statement totally different then original response made to the individual. Oh and the person that mentored me, did not give me answers but made me think about what was needed. Have you ever used a film camera, worked a darkroom or done underwater photos on film?