lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

Using my Nikon D7100 and a 13mm 2.8 lens on a tripod taking indoor panorama images, how can I keep the white balance the same as I move from exposure to exposure around the room that may have exposure or color reflection deference’s?

I realize I should post this on the architectural forum, but I assume most of them also read this forum, and a lot of non Architectural readers can give me advise.

Quixdraw Loc: x

Auto WB?

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

Set a fixed WB. Either use one of the camera's WB presets, set temp/tint values directly if the camera allows or preferably set a custom WB that you feel appropriate for the entire room and use that.

Joe

Rongnongno Loc: FL

Set the WB on preset, not auto.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You can't, unless you balance the color temperature of the light sources, and use a custom, or manual, or preset white balance referenced to a target.

My strategies:

Worst case scenario, if there is a principal subject, I put a custom white balance target where that subject is, and do a custom/manual/preset white balance of the light falling there. The rest of the scene falls where it may.

If I can, I change light bulbs in lamps and fixtures to daylight LEDs, to match light from windows a bit better. Then I do a custom white balance from a target exposed to the mix.

If the predominant light source is cool white fluorescent, as it often is in a school or office, I put a .30 CC GREEN filter over my flash, and bounce flash off a white ceiling. Then I do a custom white balance from a target exposed to the mix.

If the predominant light source is incandescent (or "2700K" LED or CFL), I will put an 85 filter over my flash and bounce it off the ceiling for fill. Then I do a custom white balance from a target exposed to the mix.

If I'm photographing a theatrical production on dress rehearsal night, I'll ask the lighting director what sort of lights are in use. If all quartz-halogen, they're 3200K, so I'll dial that in. The result is that all the gels used will be reproduced at, or near, their lighting-designer-intended color. If they're LED, I'll ask the LD to give me a typical white sample. Then I do a custom white balance from a target exposed to that. Alternatively, I dial in 4800K.

There must be more than 50 custom white balance targets or tools available. Go to B&H's or Adorama's web site and check them out.

The most accurate white balance is achieved from an X-Rite ColorChecker Passport. But you can't always use one. That's why there are so many choices available.

Most targets work in both JPEG and raw capture post-production workflows. Passport is best used with raw workflow only.

Panoramas stitched from multiple captures should be exposed at the same full manual settings, to minimize transitional color/brightness jumps from frame to frame.

Remember that the human eye and brain are the best "auto exposure/auto white balance" system available. Camera sensors don't always interpret color and exposure very well. So you may have to live with a compromise.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Otherwise you chance having different images with different white balances.
I also keep my EV the same for shots going into a pano.

lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

Thanks for the great response, now I’ve got a new way to spend my time.

lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

Thanks for the answer.

lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

Thanks for the response.

lsupremo Loc: Palm Desert, CA

Thanks for the response,

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

It is easier than it sounds. I did it all with lens filters and lighting gels back in the 1980s. Custom white balance off of a Delta 1 18% gray card works great in many situations. I've been using one of those since the early days of digital, along with the ExpoDisc and the Photovision One Shot Digital Calibration Target. I only use the ColorChecker Passport when results have to be spot-on for a client.

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

Sometimes I have to shoot around a room for an estate sale. I set my Nikon 5000 on Auto WB and no flash. Then I go into Photoshop's Camera Raw (Lightroom also has this) on a key shot, and Auto and/or otherwise adjust this until it looks good to by eye. Usually this works for every shot. If there's an outlier, I use /Image/Adjustments/Match Color to the key photo or a photo of the object next to it in sequence. If that doesn't work, I hit the color sliders.

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

This is the correct answer!

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

Here's what I don't understand. A present will assume the same color/temperature light for each exposure, no? If the room has a windows both East and West and a preset is made using white or gray in the center of the room, photos from one side will have a different set of color relationships than photos from the other it seems. Is that right?

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

That's right. And that may be the best choice in a case like that with mixed light sources.

Joe