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Custom white balance versus post processing
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Dec 13, 2020 09:30:48   #
Cubanphoto
 
DirtFarmer wrote:
I shoot raw. I use auto WB but raw doesn't care what WB I have set. That only affects the jpg that the camera produces.

When it comes to postprocessing if the image doesn't look right I correct it. If there's something that should be white (or neutral gray) in the image LR can adjust the image so it's really neutral. If there isn't, I just adjust temperature and tint until it looks right to me.


My prefer method. Anything else seems like too many extra steps (waste)

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Dec 13, 2020 09:44:37   #
anotherview Loc: California
 
Ditto. A user can readily find the black point, the white point, and the mid-tone grey point in an image in Photoshop. Doing so provides a visual balance. It can serve as a starting-point for other adjustments.
SonyA580 wrote:
Shoot RAW, correct in post.

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Dec 13, 2020 10:18:13   #
47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range
 
The only time I’m tempted to use a custom WB is when shooting IR. Even then, I’m poking around with the eye dropper in post. All shooting is in raw. Lastly, if using Canon, DPP is an excellent tool with WB post challenges.

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Dec 13, 2020 10:50:36   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
I always use auto WB. If the results don't look right, I make changes in post.

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Dec 13, 2020 11:15:30   #
Chris981 Loc: Pacific Palisades
 
Depending on the situation, i use three ways of setting WB. 1st is the quick and dirty live view WB using K adjustment to 18% grey card (Use 5% of the time). 2nd is in the studio shot with X-Rite card for reference in post for product or car work (1% of the time). 3rd is adjust WB in post with camera generally set in WB Auto (use 94% of the time).

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Dec 13, 2020 11:36:59   #
larryepage Loc: North Texas area
 
Traveller_Jeff wrote:
As soon as I had the first of my eyes treated with cataract surgery, I saw that my untreated eye cast everything I looked at in a darkish yellow, while my treated eye saw the pure colors as I remembered them. Cataracts develop so slowly that one doesn't realize how one's color perceptions are slowly changing. With both my "new eyes" now, I see color as vividly as ever. I've learned there is no such thing as "old eyes," just untreated ones. Check your vision out at an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist. If cataracts are present and treated, then in terms of your vision, you'll feel like your personal white balance has been restored.
As soon as I had the first of my eyes treated with... (show quote)


Already had cataract surgery several years ago. Both eyes You are right, it made a difference. But there are other things going on as our eyes age, as well. Our retinas also change, which the cataract surgery does not address at all. Bottom line...most of us do not have the "reference standard" vision that we believe that we have. It is obvious in a lot of post processed images.

Before everyone piles on here, let me be very clear....I am not opposed to post processing. I do it, and I teach it to others. It make a great improvement to some photographs, and it makes others possible. But it is not the panacea that it is preached as here.

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Dec 13, 2020 11:46:46   #
burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC
 
CO wrote:
There have been some threads here on UHH about white balance lately. I would like to know which approach people here like to use to obtain the most accurate white balance. We can do a custom white balance at the scene and store that as a preset in the camera. That requires a fairly large white balance card because the viewfinder or square in the viewfinder must be filled with the color of the card. It can then be selected and applied to photos immediately. Another approach would be to take a photo at the scene of a white card, gray card, or something like an X-Rite Color Checker. We can then use the eye dropper in post processing later to get the correct white balance. What do you prefer to do? Which is better?
There have been some threads here on UHH about whi... (show quote)


Both. I have two distinct ways to work (pre-processing JPEGs by setting menus, exposing accurately, and custom white balance, OR post-processing raw data in Lightroom Classic). Each workflow has a completely different set of use cases and expectations. I use the same reference tools for each.

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Dec 13, 2020 12:38:07   #
Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx
 
Just a comment about the psychology of color. If your mind knows what the color of an object should be, it automatically color corrects for you to show the color you expect even if the light source illuminating the object was not "white". If you see a photo in isolation with a small color cast, your mind will remove the color cast. If your photo contains a reference like gray card and you compare the photo to a gray card illuminated with "white" light, you will see the color cast in the photo. Unless you are doing color matching for something like catalog work, most of us try to get the important memory colors right, like flesh tones, even though other colors in the photo might be off. You will drive yourself nuts thinking you can match all the colors in an X-rite color checker using color temp and tint for raw files or auto white balance for jpgs.

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Dec 13, 2020 12:51:46   #
PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA
 
DirtFarmer wrote:
... I use auto WB but raw doesn't care what WB I have set...


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Dec 13, 2020 13:12:32   #
jlg1000 Loc: Uruguay / South America
 
I always shoot RAW and adjust temperature - and color in general - in post, typically Capture One.
I have full control that way

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Dec 13, 2020 13:21:19   #
jwinberg1
 
Jeff:

I had the identical experience! Post-op I was amazed that our apartment walls were white, and not cream!!!

Traveller_Jeff wrote:
As soon as I had the first of my eyes treated with cataract surgery, I saw that my untreated eye cast everything I looked at in a darkish yellow, while my treated eye saw the pure colors as I remembered them. Cataracts develop so slowly that one doesn't realize how one's color perceptions are slowly changing. With both my "new eyes" now, I see color as vividly as ever. I've learned there is no such thing as "old eyes," just untreated ones. Check your vision out at an ophthalmologist, not an optometrist. If cataracts are present and treated, then in terms of your vision, you'll feel like your personal white balance has been restored.
As soon as I had the first of my eyes treated with... (show quote)



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Dec 13, 2020 13:21:22   #
montephoto
 
Many people simply can't see color well enough to "call their own color" for processing and printing, even if your monitor is excellent and calibrated. If you have an uncalibrated monitor, you face a losing battle.

Your genetics, diet, amount of sleep you have had, mixed lighting in your workplace, etc., can all affect how you see color.

Visit this page at the X-rite webpage and test your own color accuracy: https://www.xrite.com/hue-test

Try to re-arrange the color swatches to make a perfect continuum of gradual color change.
How you score may alter your opinion of why your photographs have acceptable color, or not.

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Dec 13, 2020 13:43:56   #
jlg1000 Loc: Uruguay / South America
 
montephoto wrote:
Many people simply can't see color well enough to "call their own color" for processing and printing, even if your monitor is excellent and calibrated. If you have an uncalibrated monitor, you face a losing battle.

Your genetics, diet, amount of sleep you have had, mixed lighting in your workplace, etc., can all affect how you see color.

Visit this page at the X-rite webpage and test your own color accuracy: https://www.xrite.com/hue-test

Try to re-arrange the color swatches to make a perfect continuum of gradual color change.
How you score may alter your opinion of why your photographs have acceptable color, or not.
Many people simply can't see color well enough to ... (show quote)


I just took the test on my phone and scored perfect !!

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Dec 13, 2020 13:56:05   #
Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx
 
jlg1000 wrote:
I just took the test on my phone and scored perfect !!


Got a 2 at 68 years old.

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Dec 13, 2020 14:12:21   #
Argus
 
I used to use a grey card for years and then match the grey as shot in post. I switched to an ExpoDisc awhile back and it saves hours of work in post. It's a simple (but calibrated) diffusion disc you place over your lens and shoot from the model's position back to the shooting position. You use the shot as the new custom white balance. All shots going forward (as long as the lighting doesn't change) is dead on accurate. It works with daylight, flash, indoor, low light, etc. with no issues. It was the best purchase I've ever made. It is the first thing I place in my bag before anything else. You should check them out. Some people are selling older versions on ebay if you just want to try them out on the cheap.

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