Photogdog Loc: New Kensington, PA

MWAC,

Years ago when I first got into digital, I used to leave my white balance set on AWB (auto) all the time. Today, I honestly couldn't tell you when the last time was that I used it.

On my 5Dmkii, I usually run through sunny, cloudy, shade, tungsten or color temp until I get it right. On my NEXs, in most cases outdoors, cloudy seems to nail it (I live in Pgh, PA-weatherman's dream; predict rain & you're more than likely to be right). Indoors, tungsten or fluorescent is the usual setting even if I use flash set for fill. The display is a pretty accurate predictor for how the shot will turn out.

PD

anotherview Loc: California

This Web page instructs how to find and set the mid-gray point in an image using a simple Photoshop technique:

http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-editing/neutral-gray/

This technique not only removes color casts, but also causes a subtle but noticeable improvement in tonal relations and contrast.

Try it. You'll never go back to gray cards.

I will say, though, that so far I've seen nothing that beats setting a Custom White Balance in the camera for the given lighting conditions. The richness of an image produced with the unique CWB gives a fine coloration across the image.

MiG-15, Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum (2012)


Vertical Fractures, Capitol Reef NP (2009)


Sunset from Backyard (2009

mdeman Loc: Damascus, Maryland

To Anotherview: Thanks for letting me add a new trick to my bag for Photoshop Elements.